Melbourne, Australia

Right after lunch on day three (on Thursday) during the MCG Test between Australia and Pakistan, the play was halted for around six minutes because the third umpire - Richard Illingworth, got stuck in a lift and failed to return on time for the game to begin.

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The players returned to the middle after lunch break for a scheduled 1:25 pm (local time) start. However, everyone waited as two on-field umpires didn’t allow the game to get underway because Illingworth couldn’t return to his position in the grandstand.

At that time, both batters David Warner and Steve Smith had to wait to resume batting, with Australia’s scorecard reading 6 for two. 

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Meanwhile, a few minutes later, the fourth umpire, Phil Gillespie, ran from the ground to the third umpire’s room for the game to start. 

After the lift issue was resolved, Illingworth reached his place a few minutes later, giving everyone a light-hearted wave as he sat down.

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While Cricket Australia (on their social media handles) detailed everyone on what went behind the scenes, the MCG reverted, saying, ‘Sorry’. 

"The game is delayed because the third umpire...is stuck in the lift," Cricket Australia posted on X.

The MCG was quick to reply: "Sorry."

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Meanwhile, Channel Seven host Mel McLaughlin got stuck in the same lift and revealed it took them about ten minutes to come out.

Cummins picks five-for

Captain Pat Cummins was the star bowler for Australia in the first innings, picking a five-for, with Nathan Lyon returning with four for 73. Muhammad Rizwan hit 42, while handy contributions from the tail (33 from Aamer Jamal and 21 from Shaheen Afridi) helped Pakistan close the gap as they got all out for 264.

Pakistan strike gold early on

Unlike how they fared thus far Down Under, Pakistan bowlers struck gold in the second innings, removing opener Usman Khawaja and batter Marnus Labuschagne in quick succession. Before Australia could stage a comeback, debutant Mir Hamza removed Warner and Travis Head to push their back against the wall.

With the scorecard reading 16 for four, the home team was staring at trouble.

Smith and Mitchell Marsh, however, bailed the team out with a 100-plus stand, putting them back in the game.