Sri Lanka v Pakistan 3rd ODI: Play halted due to crowd disturbance
Quote:9.45pm From what I can gather a fight broke out in the stands some 40 minutes ago. Some people were thrown out of the ground, and a lot of stuff was consequently thrown from the stands until one rock hit a Pakistan fielder or landed near him. Since then the teams have reached the safety of the dressing rooms, riot police has arrived, armed guards have arrived and police has always been there. The offending stand - the south-eastern one - has been evacuated, and a lot of theor crowd have left by themselves. Now we are awaiting the match referee's word if the match is to be immediately awarded to Pakistan or if they will play out the rest in front of few viewers. Pakistan will win either way, that's for sure
Also it is quite possible that they were not targetting the Pakistan fielders. It is possible they were expressing their frustration at the police
Praveen: "As I have been in the grounds this fight has nothing to do with loosing the match. The fight was between two drunk crowds. Unfortunate. Please publish"
Umair: "Whoops, Srilankans are quite lovely fans, I hope this is some isolated event. Stay safe Srilankan and Pakistani players!"
Kassa: "Embarrassed on what has happened on the ground. Never thought Lankan spectators would act this way. Hope Match referee will continue the game soon. [sorry face] "
9.40pm They seem to be going off as armed guards are on the field. Ian Gould and Srinath, the match referee, are in a conversation, which also involves fixing Srinath's jacket. The offending stand is being evacuated. Riot police is in too
9.37pm More fights among the crowd in the stands. The players meanwhile are sat down safely in the middle of the ground
Heli: "Omg! Never thought something like that would happen in Sri Lanka. If what cricinfo reported has treuly happened I would like to apologise to Pakistan and all the cricket fans in behalf of Sri Lankans. "
A player has been hit by a projectile from the stands, or it has landed near him. They have stopped play for a bit. There is security out there at ground level, but this one seems to have come from the top tier. The police looked embarrassed and hassled. Match referee Javagal Srinath is out looking at stuff
Just being told there was a mini riot in that stand about half an hour ago. This is quite scary for an international match. Spectators throwing rocks at players
http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-...60273.html
