MUMBAI: A freak incident halted play for close to 10 minutes on the first day of the fourth Test. Australian umpire Paul Reiffel was hit on the head by a throw from the deep and was taken to hospital for precautionary tests. The third umpire Mark Erasmus took his place.
It happened in the second about an hour after lunch when Bhuvneshwar Kumar threw the ball back from deep square-leg. It was more a lob than throw aimed at a player standing near the leg umpire, but hit Reiffel from behind, on the back of his head.
The former Australia medium pacer, part of the 1999 World Cup-winning team, collapsed to the ground. The physio of the England team was the first to rush to the ground. Reiffel lay on the ground for a while and was taken off after he said he wasn’t feeling well.
With Erasmus coming onto the field, reserve umpire C Shamsuddin was assigned the responsibility of the third umpire. There was no immediate update on Reiffel, other than the news that he had been taken to the hospital. He didn’t take the field when play resumed after tea.
A freak incident halted play for close to 10 minutes on the first day of the fourth Test. Australian umpire Paul Reiffel was hit on the head by a throw from the deep and was taken to hospital for precautionary tests. CT scan report was fine and he was advised rest.
It was learnt later that Reiffel was alright. Although he didn’t take part in the rest of day’s proceedings, he is expected to resume duty on Friday. Third umpire Mark Erasmus took his place. Reserve umpire C Shamsuddin was assigned the responsibility of third umpire.