VIDEO | Umpires shoo away uninstructed ground-staff before calling them back due to heavy downpour
BCCI
It is always good to have proactive ground-staff at venues but if they happen to be extra proactive, it might work against the plans. In a funny sequence, the umpire sent the ground-staff back after they ran to cover the ground without any instruction before calling them back again within seconds.
At Edgbaston, the umpires had to deal with a similar action when in the first instance of rain, the ground staff started running towards the main square to cover the ground. However, there was no instruction from the umpire until that moment and Aleem Dar sent the staff back to their hut and asked them to follow the orders.
In the second such instance in three weeks, the Antigua ground-staff turned out to be smarter than the on-field umpire in their weather assessment. A massive cloud which was hanging in the sky started pouring in heavily on the western side of the stadium, and Sunil Gavaskar, on air, seemed to be very concerned by that.
Although the rain got a bit heavier, umpires were still undecided if they should end the proceedings right away or wait for a while but before the duo could give a thought, the ground staff started running in towards the business area to cover it. That perplexed the umpires as they asked the staff to return back. The reaction on Richard Kettlebrough’s face was one to savour but he was soon proved wrong as the rain got heavier, which forced the umpires to call for the covers instantly.
