In a rare and amusing moment, play was briefly stopped during the 43rd County Championship Division One 2025 match between Somerset and Nottinghamshire at the Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton on Sunday, June 29.

This interruption happened not due to weather or injury, but because of a massive flock of seagulls at the Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton. The unusual incident took place during the 59th over of Somerset’s innings against Nottinghamshire on Sunday.

Flock of Seagulls halts Somerset vs Nottinghamshire County Championship clash at Taunton

A large group of seagulls swooped in and gathered near the pitch, forcing the on-field umpires to halt the County Championship game between Somerset and Nottinghamshire temporarily for the safety of the players and to clear the unexpected intruders.

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Players from both the Somerset and Nottinghamshire sides watched on in amusement as the birds took over the field, with ground staff stepping in to gently shoo them away.

Though play resumed after a few moments in Taunton, the scenic interruption quickly made headlines and entertained fans in the stands. The clip of the moment from the County Championship game was shared by Somerset on the official X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.

Anyone know if seagulls have stopped play in cricket before? 😅😅#SOMvNOT#WeAreSomerset pic.twitter.com/2QCjAO6XTn

— Somerset Cricket (@SomersetCCC) June 29, 2025

Seagull hit and killed in BBL match at MCG

Last time, such an incident happened during the Big Bash League (BBL) earlier this year, but it was an unfortunate one. Similar scenes had unfolded during the BBL clash between the Sydney Sixers and the Melbourne Stars at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in January 2025.

However, in an unfortunate moment, a seagull was struck by a powerful shot from Sydney Sixers’ James Vince. The Englishman launched a big drive straight down the ground off Melbourne Stars’ bowler Joel Paris. The ball stayed low but had plenty of power behind it.

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Just inside the boundary, a group of seagulls was gathered, and one of them didn’t manage to fly away in time. The ball hit the bird directly, causing a brief pause in play as players and fans looked on with concern. It was a rare and sad incident as the seagull lost his life on the field.

Sixers power hitter James Vince has taken out a seagull during a clash with the Melbourne Stars at the MCG. The bird was later taken from the field by a security guard, The Sixers failing to take home the win. #bigbash #sydneysixers #melbournestars #cricket #seagull #MCG… pic.twitter.com/RwfCkvhg87

— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) January 10, 2025

In May 2025, a swarm of bees forced the players off the pitch during the County Championship match between Warwickshire and Hampshire. However, that County Championship game was also resumed after a few minutes delay.

Somerset fight back to reach 275/6 at stumps on Day 1 after early collapse against Nottinghamshire

Meanwhile, Somerset recovered from early trouble to finish Day 1 at 275/6 against table-toppers Nottinghamshire in the ongoing County Championship Division One 2025 match at Taunton. After opting to bat first, Somerset collapsed to 46/3 as Sean Dickson (0), Tom Lammonby (2), and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (31) fell cheaply.

Brett Hutton and Mohammad Abbas claimed two wickets each for Nottinghamshire. Then, James Rew (58) and Tom Abell (64) led the fightback with a 99-run stand. Rew reached his half-century off 86 balls with 8 fours before falling to a return catch by Lyndon James. Abell followed after edging Patterson-White down the leg side.

Tom Banton dropped on 2, played a cautious knock of 57* off 103 balls, and he was well supported by Archie Vaughan (35), who fell to Abbas with the second new ball. Despite a short boundary, runs were hard to come by due to tight bowling.

Kasey Aldridge ended the day unbeaten on 4, helping Banton take Somerset safely to stumps at 275/6 in 96 overs against Nottinghamshire.