The World Cup match between Sri Lanka and South Africa on Friday was halted for a brief period after a swarm of bees invaded the centre of the ground here.

Players and on-field umpires were forced to hit the ground to save themselves after a swarm of bees entered the field, but luckily none was stung by the insects.

The interruption occurred for about a minute in the 48th over of Sri Lanka’s innings.Incidentally, it is not the first occasion when bees played spoilsport during a match between the same two sides.