Dawn Images

After almost three decades, Pakistan is hosting the Champions Trophy. However, knowing our country, some minor interruptions are a given. After all, one of our favourite national pastimes is interfering in other people’s businesses.

Here are four times the Champions Trophy games were interrupted by non-cricket related intruders of the animals and human variety.

Vigo the black cat

Perhaps the most iconic was when a small black cat appeared on the field, seemingly out of nowhere. The little kitty, apparently a resident of Karachi’s National Stadium, was first spotted during the tri-series between Pakistan, South Africa, and New Zealand, quickly winning hearts and capturing the attention of viewers.

But there was something even more curious about this cat’s growing fame — its uncanny timing. It seems to appear at key moments when batting teams are, well, not doing so well. Coincidence? You decide.

Here at Images, however, we love all animals and highly doubt a poor cat can bring bad luck to the team — did you maybe consider it was just Babar Azam’s batting skills?

So we ran a poll on our Instagram and asked our followers to help us name the cat. We picked three of our favourite suggestions, asked our followers to vote and named the cat Vigo! A purrr-fectly fitting name for the cutest black cat.

Hiss hiss

Perhaps not so adorable was when a green snake (maybe he supports Pakistan or Bangladesh) appeared behind the boundary near some wires. Technically, it didn’t invade the pitch, however, according to the commentators, earlier the snake was spotted at the dugout, which is where the players sit.

Pitch invader 1

Pitch invasion incidents are common in cricket and other sports across the globe when overeager fans enter the playing field to try and meet their favourite players in person.

During a match between New Zealand and Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, a fan entered the playing field and tried to hug New Zealand player Rachin Ravindra. He held a photograph of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi when he ran onto the pitch.

According to Dawn, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took serious notice of the incident.

“Ensuring the safety of players and officials remains our top priority,” the board said. As a responsible organisation, we have engaged with local security agencies, who have committed to increasing security personnel around the field of play at all venues and strengthening access control measures,“ the statement said.

The fan was escorted off the field by the security officials on duty shortly after they had entered the playing field. The intruder, identified as an Attock resident, was held and a case was registered at the New Town police station. On Tuesday, a local court granted bail to him upon furnishing a surety bond of Rs50,000.

Pitch invader 2

The priority may not have been all that important to the PCB, because a day after its statement, another fan entered the ground after Afghanistan knocked England out of the tournament on Wednesday.

A picture showed the person hysterically talking to cricketers from the Afghan team while clutching their jerseys. The fan was later escorted out of the ground by security personnel.

What or who do you think will be spotted on the pitch next? Our bet is on a dog, but tell us in the comments below!