Ahead of the match against the Hobart Hurricanes at the University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston on December 11, Sydney Sixers fast bowler Tom Curran had a bizarre face-off with an umpire.

Curran tried a “practice run up”, but with a difference: he ran onto “part of the pitch”. When the umpire intervened, Curran repeated the act from the other end.

The umpire now blocked Curran’s run-up to prevent him from running onto the pitch, mentioning, in no uncertain words, “you can run here, not here” while pointing at the relevant areas. Curran responded by running at the umpire, forcing the latter to move out of the way.

Match referee Bob Parry had reported Curran under Article 2.17 of the Code of Conduct, that deals with “intimidation or attempted intimidation of an Umpire, Match Referee or Medical Personnel whether by language or conduct (including gestures) during a Match”.

Curran pleaded innocent and contested the allegations. The matter went to Code of Conduct Commissioner Adrian Anderson, who founded him guilty and handed him four demerit points – in other words, handed him a four-match suspension at the BBL.

The Sixers will appeal against Curran’s suspension.

Watch the bizarre act that led to Tom Curran’s suspension:

The vision everyone's been waiting for.

This is the series of events that's led to Tom Curran's four-game suspension… pic.twitter.com/CRcBujbIl0

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 21, 2023