Not for the first time this season, bees stopped play in the County Championship. Earlier in April, Harry Brook was startled by a bee while batting on 99 during the Yorkshire vs Leicestershire game and now, a swarm of bees at the County Ground in Northampton resulted in the Yorkshire vs Northamptonshire game being stopped.

The players and the umpires had to duck for cover as the swarm flew over the pitch.

Yorkshire, who had lost the toss and were made to bat first, scored 362 in the first innings on the back of Adam Lyth’s hundred. Captain Shan Masood (60) and Jordan Thompson (53) also made handy contributions, while Luke Procter was the pick of the bowlers for Northamptonshire with figures of 3-63.

In response, the hosts were 205-7 after 61 overs on day two, with Procter leading the chase with a half-century. Each of the six Yorkshire bowlers who had bowled, meanwhile, had picked at least one wicket.

Watch a swarm of bees stop play in County Championship:

A swarm of bees caused players and umpires to duck for cover in Northampton pic.twitter.com/rpgonddWwN

— Vitality County Championship (@CountyChamp) May 25, 2024