BIZARRE: When a cricket match came to halt for 12 stolen iPhones

On June 15, 2014, during a Lancashire league match in England between Haslingden and Church, this unusual incident happened.

Over the years, cricket matches have traditionally been interrupted by rain, as it becomes impossible to play on a wet wicket. However, there are other instances too, when a cricket match is stopped, but not due to rain. From animal invasions to sun light (yes, sun too has stopped matches in England), there are many unusual reasons which have brought cricket matches to a halt. However, did you ever imagine that phone theft could stop a cricket match? Yes, it did happen!

On June 15, 2014, during a Lancashire league match in England between Haslingden and Church, this unusual incident happened. It was brought to the notice of players by Church wicketkeeper Sam Tucker, who saw a suspicious man sneaking out of the Haslingden dressing room. It is not clear though where the Haslingden players were sitting during their side’s run chase. ALSO SEE: Video: Before rain, dog interrupted RPS-DD IPL 9 match; refused to leave the field.

Tucker had told the media that the person, who he presumed as a match official, kept getting in and out of the room before vanishing. He turned out to be a thief who stole 12 iPhones belonging to the Haslingden players. The phones were stolen from the pockets of players’ jackets and even before the thief could leave the place, he was caught by an off-duty police officer (who incidentally was one of the Haslingden players too) after a brief chase.

Police were summoned and the match was stopped as Haslingden players joined in the hunt. Technology too played a part in retrieving the phones, as GPS tracker installed on one of them helped track the thief. The match resumed after the brief halt as Haslingden chased down the target of 105 in the 29th over of the 31-over match by losing just four wickets.