Friday, 21 August 2020, 9:11 PM
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In Schiedam, the exhibition match between Hermes DVS and Punjab in Rotterdam was halted on Friday evening after disturbances.
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According to board member Jaco van Giezen of Hermes DVS, things suddenly went wrong. “And at one point the wicket-keeper ran after one of the Hermes players with a bat,” said the board member. “With that, the umpires immediately stopped the game.”
Van Giezen says that players and board of both clubs immediately intervened, so that the situation did not escalate further. “Real compliments to both teams,” says the board member. “As a result, there was no question of a worked-up atmosphere afterwards.”
What caused the aggression is not clear. It is possible that the batsman and the wicket-keeper have said something to each other, because the two are right next to each other on the field. “I really wouldn’t know, but it’s a possibility,” explains Van Giezen of Hermes DVS.
The police came to have a look at the Hermes DVS site, but hardly had to do anything. “Peace had already returned when we arrived,” said a spokesman for the police. The culprit had already left by then.
Van Giezen had to admit that it was quite exceptional that there are disturbances in the ‘gentlemen sport’ of cricket. “Indeed, I don’t remember anything like this having happened before,” explains the Hermes DVS board member. “Maybe a long time ago. But it is very annoying, for everyone involved, that this has happened.”
Cricket club Punjab was not available for comment.
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