AUS vs PAK | Twitter and players share giggles as Richard Illingworth's lift mishap forces long delay

‌Pakistan fought their way back into the Boxing Day Test with unflinching furor on Day 3 by reducing Australia to 16/4 after conceding a first-innings lead of 64 runs. Mir Hamza and Shaheen Afridi played the roles of wrecker-in-chief with two scalps each on either side of Lunch but an unexpectedly long period of time separated the moments of glory for the visitors, courtesy of a bizarre set of circumstances.

After the regulated 40-minute break in play, batters David Warner and Steve Smith had walked onto the pitch while the Men in Green fielders positioned themselves around the field and Hamza took the ball in hand to begin the fourth over. However, just as play was about to resume, the two on-field umpires Joel Wilson and Michael Gough approached each other with the former visibly working hard to control his laughter. The commentators eventually relayed the reason for the same being that third umpire Richard Illingworth had got stuck in a lift while returning to his working space from lunch and play couldn't continue without his essential services.

The cameras panned to David Warner giggling away alongside SMith as both contingents converged around the middle of the pitch with a general sense of good humour palpably enveloping the field of play. When there was still no news of Illingworth after a few minutes, fourth umpire Phillip Gillespie had to rush upstairs from the boundary ropes to temporarily take up the third umpire duties and avoid any further delays. Normal service was resumed two balls later when Illingworth finally made his way upto his designated space and immediately let out a hearty laugh as the absurd sequence of events sunk in, sending Twitter into frenzy.

This is just bizzare

— Travis Head (@TravisHead8441) 

Error 404 : Umpire not found

— Travis Head (@TravisHead8441) 

Wild!

A wild Richard Illingworth appeared!  

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) 

Unbeliveable

Hearing the 3rd umpire is stuck in a lift!

— Ric Finlay (@RicFinlay) 

Call 911

start of second session is delayed because 3rd umpire is stuck in the lift!

😅😅

— Dr. Idrees Mubarik (@doc_hormone) 

Delayed start (once again)

3rd Umpire got stuck in the lift and the game is delayed. 😂 

— Talha Junaid (@TalhaJunaid786) 

Waiting game is on!

Match halted as 3rd Umpire got stuck in an elevator.



Had it been happened in India our neighbours wouldn't have left any stone unturned in claiming it as a conspiracy. 

— Harsh Gaur (@HarshGaur25) 

Match paused

Match paused at the MCG due to the 3rd umpire being stuck in the lift.🤣



David Warner reaction on this 🤣 :   

— Savlon Bhoi (@First_follow_me) 

Umpire swap

Finally the fourth umpire decides it might be a good idea for him to replace the 3rd umpire while he's stuck in a lift 

— The Brain Thinker (@eamonnwarner) 

True

3rd umpire struck In a lift that's why game will not start after lunch

Most funniest scene ever in the cricket history  

— Omais Javaid (@Official_Umais)