Something crazy happened at a cricket match. Like for real. For those of you who know the YouTuber Vitaly, he was the guy whose girlfriend ran out in a bathing suit during the Champions League finals. Only this time, his mom decided to do the honours at the Cricket World Cup Finals. I guess it runs in the family.

Offset and Cardi were right, they’ll do anything for clout. In an age of pranks and thirst for clout, Vitaly stands king. He has been notorious for pranking people with cars and just about anything really. The thousands of fans felt disgust, humour, horror and intrigue all at once. These ingredients to their pot of emotions were all added during the Champions League by Vitaly’s personal chef, his girlfriend. Many thought he was taking it too far. I for one was daunted by the fact that things like those could lead to tighter security and make fewer people want to watch the game in person. 

The game was between England and New Zealand at Lords, the New Zealand Kiwis holding the English at 45/1. If the match was moving slow, this certainly sped things up. She came bursting in like a supernova, maybe that’s why the match went into a super over (a tiebreaker because both teams made runs of 241 by the end of the innings).

Vitaly’s mother did not care. She ran out onto the pitch wearing a shirt advertising her son’s adult website. The crowd’s countenances were a frenzied diversity of jeers, shock, mischief, and laughter. All stood gazing, the silence sweeping over the crowd as a ball hits for six. Security, moving with alacrity, ran across the green baize of the pitch, hoping to conceal the streaker. Cricket, not so lovely cricket.

England may have won the game, but Vitaly’s mother won… Yeah, I’m not sure what she won. Cricket, once regarded as a gentleman’s sport is one sport where you don’t expect things like this to happen. This is not the kind of publicity that I look forward to for cricket, and it is with a heavy heart that I am writing this. Though I must admit, seeing this news really grabbed my attention. Think of the danger she put herself in though. I’ve felt a cricket ball slap me, and it was not nice! I guess a mother’s love supersedes all fear…

Whether you’re reading this for the ‘mix-up’ or out of a genuine interest in cricket, let me just take this chance to say that One-day-international (ODI) Cricket is actually pretty fun to watch, not like the boring Test matches. No, you won’t likely see a lot of streaking happening, but you will feel the Caribbean vybe dancing in the breeze in a cricket contagion. I can’t wait for the next Caribbean Premier League, I just hope we don’t get similar ideas like Vitaly’s mom.

— Fabrizio Darby