05 October,2011 02:35 PM IST | | ANI
In an age of overpaid, badly behaved sporting stars, amateur cricket has long remained a reassuringly calm oasis. So, the sight of four players sitting on their own bowler to physically restrain him after a furious clash with the batsman had spectators aghast.
The shocking incident saw the umpires take the drastic step of abandoning the match, the Daily Mail reports.
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But today it emerged that the league had responded by taking the bizarre sanction of suspending both the umpires indefinitely - a move one described as 'surreal' and 'a gross slur'.
Now, the Lancashire-based Northern League, which has been graced by the likes of Javed Miandad, Jimmy Adams and Stuart MacGill over the years, could face a boycott by its officials next summer over the unprecedented edict.
The clash took place during a meaningless but bad-tempered end-of-season match between St Annes and Preston second XIs last month.