HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – The Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) has launched an inquiry into a brawl which broke out between two opposing players during the final of a major tournament at St David’s.
Saturday’s Champion of Champions showdown between Cleveland County and Willow Cuts was halted for 15 minutes after Cleveland wicketkeeper Jason Anderson and Willow Cuts batsman George O’Brien began fighting.
The pair – who were team-mates in St George’s Cup Match side beaten by Somerset this season – had to be separated by Cleveland players as police drove onto the field to restore order.
Aaron Adams, a Cleveland player who tried to break up the fight, suffered a blow to the head during the scuffle. Although he carried on playing he said afterwards he had no memory of the incident.
“He can’t seem to remember most of the match,” Cleveland captain Allan Douglas, whose team won the game by 72 runs, told the Royal Gazette newspaper.
Asked what caused the fight, Douglas said: “I think a little bit of frustration built up with Jason dropping a catch and missing a stumping, but I don’t know what was said between George and Jason because I was bowling at the other end.”
When calm was restored, Anderson was asked by his president, Carlton Smith, to leave the field, with Adrian Burrows taking over the wicketkeeping duties.
The BCB said in a statement that it was “gravely disappointed by the distasteful altercation”.
It added: “The BCB expects that the match reports from the umpires and match officials, corroborated by BCB executive members at the game, will be received shortly, in addition to the video evidence already available, to enable the disciplinary committee to meet on Thursday, September 17.”
The Champion of Champions tournament, which began in 1978, was restored this season after it was removed from the domestic calendar a decade ago.
It features the winners of the three county competitions, Eastern, Central and Western. Cleveland were this season’s Eastern Counties champions, Willow Cuts took the Western title while Western Stars won the Central title.
Last month, Willow Cuts’ Premier Division game against Southampton Rangers was abandoned at Southampton Oval after one of the visiting players had his chain snatched by a spectator.
The incident prompted several Willow Cuts players to pursue the culprit, leaving only the umpires and the two Rangers batsmen on the field. The match never resumed.
