LONDON: It is not always that a game of cricket has been stopped due to a swarm of ladybirds invading the pitch. On Thursday, the first day of third Test in Lord’s between India and England, players including that of hosts encountered a peculiar phenomenon.
A swarm of ladybirds flew over the ground, some even landed on the helmet of Ben Stokes. These are unusual and rare sights but are invariably tied to the usual suspect, climate change. Rising temperature and dry spell in England has already have had an impact on the playing conditions. The beetles are only adding to the woes. The game as of now doesn’t have a rule to stop because of insect attack.
According to the groundsmen, the rising temperature in England has led to swarms of these species of beetle to invade open areas including grounds. England batter Ollie Pope admitted this was the first time he had seen anything like this. “No, I haven’t (seen that before). It’s a first and the crowd got that. I didn’t even know why we stopped,” replied Pope when questioned about the interruption during media interaction at the end of day’s play.
One of the ground staff said the menace will continue during the entire duration of the match as temperature is expected to only increase in the next few days. “It may touch 35 degrees (centigrade), which is unprecedented as the last time we witnessed this was during the first Covid wave in 2020.
The insects are harmless but can cause disruption if they come in a large number. We use spray to counter them but that will not be that effective if they swarm the venue,” said the staffer, who did not wish to be named. The extreme hot weather accompanied by dry patch also led to hosepipe ban in Yorkshire.
The warm climate is responsible for the increase in the population of the ladybirds, who anyways are evolving to adapt to different weather patterns. The warmer temperatures mean the presence of aphids (garden pest), ladybirds primary source of food, that helps them to multiply exponentially.
The recent incident at the Home of Cricket highlighted yet another reason how the sport is being challenged for its existence by external factors like extreme weather.