A recent four-day match in Dhaka between the Bangladesh Emerging Team and the South Africa Emerging Team took an unexpected turn on Wednesday, as a physical clash erupted between South Africa’s Tshepo Ntuli and Bangladesh’s Ripon Mondol. Although emotions ran high, match officials have refrained from immediate intervention, pending the submission of an official report from the on-field umpires.
The confrontation arose shortly after Ripon Mondol launched a straight six off Ntuli’s delivery. As Mondol walked over to his partner, Mehidy Hasan, an exchange of heated glances with Ntuli escalated the situation. Ntuli advanced towards Mondol, and the two engaged in a brief shoving match, during which Ntuli twice grabbed Mondol’s helmet before umpire Kamruzzaman interceded. Several South African players appeared ready to support Ntuli, although no serious altercation ensued. Commentators expressed surprise at the incident. “This is extreme, this is unacceptable. Normally we see verbal altercations in a cricket field but we don’t often see a scuffle. Ntuli struck Ripon’s helmet at one point,” remarked on-air commentator Nabil Kaiser.
Moments after the scuffle, tensions continued to rise when Ntuli aggressively returned the ball towards Mondol after a defensive shot, forcing Mondol to protect himself quickly. The match referee is expected to file detailed reports of the incident to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Cricket South Africa (CSA), who are likely to consider disciplinary action, especially given that this match concludes the tour.
This was not the first clash between the two sides, as previous tensions surfaced during the one-day segment of the tour in Rajshahi. Incidents led to the suspension of players Andile Simelane and Jishan Alam, who both missed the subsequent match. The ongoing series marks the final game of the tour, with South Africa Emerging having lost the one-day series 2-1, and settling for a draw in the first four-day match in Chattogram.
Cricket fans and officials await further developments as disciplinary procedures progress. The focus now shifts to the tour’s final outcome and how both teams manage their emotions in competitive cricket.
