Earthquake felt during U-19 WC match between Ireland, Zim

Live visuals of the ICC U-19 World Cup match between Ireland and Zimbabwe shook for a few seconds as an earthquake off the coast of Port of Spain sent mild tremors through the Queen’s Park Oval.

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: The earthquake was of 5.2 magnitude on the richer scale.

Live visuals of the ICC U-19 World Cup match between Ireland and Zimbabwe shook vigorously for a few seconds as an earthquake off the coast of Port of Spain sent mild tremors through the Queen’s Park Oval at Port of Spain, Trinidad.

While the players were unaware and continued the action on the field, the commentators could feel the tremors as the commentary box began shaking. The earthquake was measured at 5.2 magnitude on the richter scale.

Commentator Andrew Leonard described the tremors as the commentary box began to wobble.

“We are... I believe we are having an earthquake right now. In the box. We are indeed having an earthquake. It felt like not just a train going by behind us, but the whole Queen’s Park Oval media centre rocked,” he said.

The tremors were said to have lasted for 15-20 seconds.

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Ireland spinner Matthew Humphreys was bowling the fifth ball of the sixth over to Zimbabwe’s Brian Bennett when the front-on camera showing the action began to shake. Play was not stopped as Bennett played a defensive shot to mid-off, and then hit the next ball to the boundary.

“A 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck near Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday morning. According to the UWI Seismic Research Centre, the quake occurred around 9:40am at a depth of 10km,” a report in Loop News website said.

The two teams were competing for positions 9-12 at the World Cup in the Plate league, after finishing third in their respective groups. Riding on half-centuries by opener Jack Dickson (78) and skipper Tim Tector (76 not out) after pacer Muzamil Sherzad’s excellent spell of 5 for 20, Ireland emerged winner by five wickets chasing a target of 167.

An Ireland Cricket communique said, “Sherzad, though, wasn’t the only thing that struck at the Queens Park Oval today, with a 5.1 magnitude earthquake shaking the ground mid-way through the Zimbabwe innings. The commentary team, which featured Irishman Andrew Leonard, bravely continued commentating with good humour as an assessment was made of any potential damage to the historic ground that has stood on the site since 1896.”

• Zimbabwe 166 in 48.4 overs (Sherzad 5 for 20) lost to Ireland 169 for 2 in 32 overs (Dickson 78 n.o., Tector 76 n.o.)