Cristiano Ronaldo finally got his moment with Portugal, winning the Euro 2016 final 1-0 on Sunday against hosts France, but before the match, officials were busy trying to ‘swat away’ a pitch invasion by moths. HT looks at some of the other pitch invasion of the furry, feathery, and the erm…creepy-crawly variety.
Novak Djokovic vs Philipp Kohlschreiber, Wimbledon 2015
World No 1 Novak Djokovic won the 2015 Wimbledon Championships with ease, but did you know a feathery little guy tried his best to come in the way and distract him? As seen in the picture, the Serb is seen playfully trying to get the little one off the court during his first round match against Philipp Kohlschreiber. Djokovic would ease to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win. Hmmm…maybe the bird was a Federer fan.
Oldham Athletic vs Blackburn, pre-season friendly
Pre-season friendlies are fun right? Managers get to experiment with their squads, give the young ones a run in the team. Well, not for Oldham Athletic at least. During a match against Blackburn Rovers in July 2015, a swarm of bees invaded Oldham’s Boundary Park ground in Greater Manchester. Blackburn would go on to win the match 2-0. Not a great bee-season after all.
{{/usCountry}}Pre-season friendlies are fun right? Managers get to experiment with their squads, give the young ones a run in the team. Well, not for Oldham Athletic at least. During a match against Blackburn Rovers in July 2015, a swarm of bees invaded Oldham’s Boundary Park ground in Greater Manchester. Blackburn would go on to win the match 2-0. Not a great bee-season after all.
{{/usCountry}}Melbourne Stars v Perth Scorchers
Cricketers have a tough job. Not only do they have to contend with some bloke chucking a hard leather ball at them all day, with only a piece of wood to defend themselves, but fielders can get awefully bored too. Melbourne Stars’ Rob Quiney found a way to make himself useful while fielding during his team’s Big Bash League match against the Perth Scorchers last year. The batsman was captured carrying an injured seagull off the pitch after it was hit by a ball. Melbourne would go on to edge the match with three balls left. Perhaps karma does exist.
Can we keep him?
A dog strayed onto the pitch the 2009 Indian Premier League match between Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town South Africa. Mumbai would ease to a 19-run win, but judging by this picture of Mumbai coach Shaun Pollock, he probably asked someone “can we keep him?”
All duck at the Feroz Shah
The Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in Delhi has had many fine moments captured by the lens. Perhaps one of the best pictures is from the drawn third Test between India and Australia in October 2008. The pictures says it all, ‘Bee careful’.