Fan tackles streaker during T20 final in Australia, brings back memories of Andrew Symonds incident

A streaker who trudged onto the field had to deal with a shocking incident when a fan decided to take matters into his own hands and knock him down. The event happened during a grade cricket final in Queensland when a streaker was tackled — an episode bearing resemblance to what late Aussie cricketer Andrew Symonds had done back in Brisbane in 2008. The incident took place during the Mackay Cricket Association first-grade T20 Shootout final, where Walkerston clinched a 14-run win over Pioneer Valley at the Great Barrier Reef Arena. A streaker decided to enter the field and even succeeded in dodging the security guard. He reached the boundary fence and just when he thought he had outsmarted the concerned people, a member from the ground tracked him and brought him down. The fan, who wanted to remain anonymous, executed a shoulder charge that swiftly brought down the streaker and held him until security could intervene. He spoke about the event and said that as a fan it was his sense of duty to put an end to the disruptive antics. “I saw this bloke crossing the field, and I just thought he’s ruining a good night out at the local cricket,” he said, as per Daily Mail. “I just thought that I had to put a stop to it, because no one else would. It seemed like he was a bit winded,” he added. This tackle was very similar to the one that took place during the 2008 tri-series final against India, where Symonds brought down a streaker with a powerful shoulder tackle. He later spoke about his actions and said that he decided to take matters into his own hands when security personnel were struggling to apprehend the streaker heading towards the players on the pitch. Speaking about the incident, Symonds said, “We were playing India in a final and that night Australia was doing it tough and there was a couple of overweight Queensland policemen not catching up with that man as they probably should have. So I took the law into my own hands for a brief moment there and he failed to keep moving”

Andrew Symonds bodying a streaker- an absolute legend of a man pic.twitter.com/t4KoAk3Hhg

— Hayden Doumergumedov (@HDoumergumedov) May 16, 2022

The game had to be stopped for a while due to this incident which took place at the Gabba.