Even the distressed Australians saw the funny side of things when third umpire Richard Illingworth got stuck in a lift while attempting to return to his post in the stands after lunch. Illingworth's troubles delayed the restart of Australia's ongoing Boxing Day Test with Pakistan, with the hosts struggling to get a foothold early on in their second innings. (Cricket News)
Watch as Illingworth reappears in the gallery, safe and sound!
Australia, having lost two wickets for six runs, waited for the resumption of their innings at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday, December 28, 2023, with batters David Warner and Steve Smith hoping to rebuild from scratch. However, the on-field umpires prevented the play from commencing post-lunch, missing their usual third umpire in the gallery, who, at that moment, was waiting for technicians to sort out the issues with the lift.
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Eventually, fourth umpire Phil Gillespie raced up to the stands to fill in for Illingworth briefly, allowing the match to resume, until Illingworth finally appeared at his post.
On the pitch, Australia built back their innings after the two early dismissals of Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne. David Warner, too, departed shortly after the restart, adding just six runs to his team's total, while Travis Head's stay on the crease lasted a ball. Nevertheless, the Aussies raced toward 100 runs, courtesy of Mitchell Marsh's rapid half-century and Smith's steady batting.
