Red ants stop play as junior match in Surrey is abandoned by swarm of insects

Newdigate had faced numerous challenges in getting cricket back this summer, and their under-14s' meeting with Reigate Priory in mid-July was an early return to action - complete with sanitising breaks and socially distanced field settings

A junior club side in Surrey was faced with an unusual threat, even for these Covid times, when they saw a match called off following an invasion of red ants.

Newdigate had faced numerous challenges in getting cricket back on this summer, and their under-14s' meeting with Reigate Priory in mid-July was an early return to action - complete with sanitising breaks and socially distanced field settings.

None of those coronavirus-safe measures, however, could account for a swarm of insects, which arrived midway through the second innings of the match, with Newdigate batting.

Coach Monjur Elahi said: "It was a hot muggy day, about 30 degrees, so you’d think it would be the perfect day for cricket.

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"Reigate Priory batted first... no problem. But halfway through Newdigate’s innings red ants emerged from everywhere”.

"There was just so many of them, that the sky had these darkened patches.

"Eventually, the players had to run off the field because they kept flying around the fielders. It wasn’t long before the umpires eventually abandoned the game."

Luckily no one was hurt, and the team were back on the field the following week.

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