'Pellet' stops play

England's one-day international against India was halted when Andrew Flintoff was hit by what appeared to be a pellet fired from the crowd at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium today.

Halfway through India's reply to England's 271 for five play was temporarily suspended when England captain Nasser Hussain informed the umpires Flintoff had been hit while fielding on the midwicket boundary.

Security forces moved into the fenced–off area, and England tour manager Phil Neale also came on to the pitch to discuss the situation.

Word filtered back from the England camp that they feared Flintoff had been fired at by a spectator – but it was not clear whether an airgun had been used or something less sophisticated.

The game restarted only for a plastic bottle to be thrown at Marcus Trescothick as he attempted to stop the ball racing to the third–man boundary.

Match referee Denis Lindsay is bound to include the security problems within his match report, and it remains to be seen what action is taken.