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After the lunch break on Thursday, players returned to the field, ready for the scheduled 1.25pm start to the second session. However, the two central umpires wouldn’t allow play to continue because Illingworth was unable to return to his post in the grandstand.
This left Australian batters David Warner and Steven Smith waiting to resume, with the hosts stuck on 6 for 2 in their second innings with an overall lead of 60.
After a few minutes, the fourth umpire, Phil Gillespie, ran from the boundary into the third umpire’s box so that play could resume. Illingworth made his way back a few moments later, giving a light-hearted wave as he sat down.
Cricket Australia and the MCG both produced light-hearted responses to the peculiar delay, which lasted seven minutes.
“The game is delayed because the third umpire…is stuck in the lift,” Cricket Australia’s social media arm posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The MCG was quick to reply: “Sorry.”
Channel Seven host Mel McLaughlin was also in the lift that became stuck and said that it took about 10 minutes for them to be let out.
Meanwhile, a busy afternoon for fourth umpire Gillespie continued later in the session when he was briefly called on to stand in the middle alongside Michael Gough when Joel Wilson needed to leave the field for an over.
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