An unusual malfunction caused a delayed start at Trent Bridge on the second day of the opening round of the County Championship, when a sprinkler almost drenched the umpires and players.
Durham were nine wickets down after day one and Nottinghamshire were looking to resume play on day two in search of the final wicket of the innings. As the players and umpires congregated in the middle, there was concern over a sprinkler in the ground near the pitch.
Match 3, Nottinghamshire vs Durham
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- Ball by ball Over
Several Nottinghamshire players called the umpire over to take a look, and as they did so water shot up into the air from the sprinkler, sending the players and umpires sprinting to avoid getting soaked.
The resumption of play had to be delayed while the ground staff looked to get the dysfunctional sprinkler under control. As a member of the ground staff approached the jet of water and stood over it, the sprinkler quickly petered out and a closer inspection was possible.
Sprinkler stops play. 💦💧
— Durham Cricket (@DurhamCricket) April 5, 2025
We have a delayed start here at Trent Bridge. ⬇️#ForTheNorth pic.twitter.com/apPk2D0VeZ
Thankfully, the issue was dealt with quickly and the ground around the sprinkler drained swiftly enough not to delay the match further. When play was able to begin again, the final Durham pair of Paul Coughlin and Matthew Potts were only able to put on eight more runs before Coughlin was trapped lbw by Fergus O'Neill, with the wicket completing a five-for for the Australian.
Notts' opening pair Haseeb Hameed and Ben Slater then put on a 50-stand for the first-wicket, in a partnership that is still unbeaten at the time of writing.
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