Cricket is a game of joy, aggression, memories, and unforgettable moments, but what happens when such a beautiful game turns into the most haunted experience? In the past, cricketers like Shane Watson, Stuart Broad, Ben Stokes, MS Dhoni, Haris Sohail and many more well-known cricketers have reported a supernatural phenomenon experience while staying in a hotel. It shows that these experiences can happen to anyone, and they can mentally disturb the person who has faced them. Just imagine you’re alone in your hotel room and something unusual happens, like your bed starts shaking or you see a ghost itself. What will your reaction be?? These horrifying stories in Cricket history are not for the faint-hearted.
Here are some horrifying stories from cricket history:
The Ashes: Australia vs England (2005), Lumley Castle, UK
Every cricket fan knows the Ashes Series played in 2005. It’s Widely regarded as the greatest test series to be ever played wherein England beat Australia by 2-1 on September 12, 2005, and regained the Ashes for the first time since 1987 and ended the streak of 18 years! It was a memorable win for England and very devastating loss for Australia. The key player of this win was Andrew Flintoff who scored 402 runs and took 24 wickets in 5 match series. His incredible performance was crucial in helping England achieve their dream of winning the ashes series after a long wait for 18 years. The Ashes started on 21st June 2005. The real story starts when Shane Watson was resting in his ancient hotel Lumley Castle in Chester-Le-Street and saw a ghost. Shane was so terrified that he asked Brett Lee to share his room.
“I saw ghosts. I swear I’m telling the truth. I closed the blind in my room before I went to bed. But when I was awoken at 4 am by my phone the blind was open again. I looked out the window and saw a procession of white people walking past. It was amazing, very scary. I know I wasn’t dreaming because I wrote down the message from my phone and the time. Certainly, when I started to tell my story a lot of them didn’t want to know the details,”: Shane Watson
According to the reports and locals, the ancient Lumley Castle Hotel is said to be haunted because of Catholic priests murdered a 14th century aristocrat and two priest murdered Lily Lumley (the lady of the castle) for not following the Catholic church practice.
However, many cricketers have stayed in the same hotel scared. When West Indies toured England in 2000, three West Indies cricketers including Jimmy Adams also had a same experience and they didn’t take long to check out from the hotel and moved to another.
Pataudi Trophy: Ind vs England (2014), Langham Hotel, London, UK
One of the most luxurious hotels in UK, Langham Hotel is a popular attraction for many big celebrities and athletes. This hotel is the first choice for many celebrities when visiting London. However, this beautiful place also has its own dark secretes which scares many and after knowing it, no one would dare to stay in that hotel especially near the room no: 333!
In 2014, India toured England for Pataudi Trophy, and the 1st test match was held on Trent Bridge Ground, Nottingham, UK. The first test was drawn, and everything was fine until England reached Langham Hotel for 2nd test series against India. It was a time when Stuart Broad was resting in his room peacefully until he realized something unusual happening in his room. Stuart Broad didn’t take time to complain and requested the management to change his room ASAP. Not only Stuart Broad, Ben Stokes and MS Dhoni also had the same experience.
“It was so hot in my room I just couldn’t sleep. All of a sudden, the taps in the bathroom came on for no reason. I turned the lights on, and the taps turned themselves off. Then when I turned the lights off again the taps came on. It was very weird. It really freaked me out. I ended up asking to move rooms. Bealey (Broad’s girlfriend) was spooked, too, and I know Moeen Ali’s other half won’t stay there because she’s so frightened of the ghosts. Ben Stokes has had some problems sleeping as well. He’s on the third floor, which is where a lot of the issues are. I’m telling you, something weird is going on,”: Stuart Broad
Langham Hotel was opened in 1865 and Room No: 333 is believed to be the most haunted room in the hotel. Langham Hotel’s official website has also stated regarding supernatural phenomenon experiences. James Alexander-Gordon, a BBC radio announcer also had the same experience in 1973. James was sleeping peacefully in his room, and he suddenly woke up in the night to find out that fluorescent ball slowly turning into the shape of a man wearing Victorian evening wear. He then asked that man, what it wanted, and it began to float towards him with its legs cut off some two feet below the ground, arms outstretched, eyes staring emptily. At this point, James Alexander-Gordon got up and fled away
Pakistan Tour of New Zealand (2015), Rydges Latimer Hotel, Christchurch, New Zealand
Pakistani Cricketer, Haris Sohail has also experienced supernatural phenomenon, and it was even scarier than what Stuart Broad, Shane Watson and other player have experienced it. During the Pakistan tour of New Zealand in 2015, the players were staying in Rydges Latimer Hotel. It was a time when all players were sleeping peacefully and all of a sudden, Haris Sohail’s bed started.
“Sohail phoned a member of the coaching team to say he had been woken by his bed at the Rydges Latimer hotel being rattled”: Pakistan Team Manager, Naveed Akram Cheeva.
Sohail was really scared and got a high fever. He was being convinced that high fever can cause such experiences, but he was not ready to accept it because he was sure it didn’t happen because of fever, and it was real.
“He had a fever. We think it was the fever that caused it, but the player still believes his bed was shaken by something and it was a supernatural something.”: Naveed Akram Cheeva
