Thunder Lightning Very Very Frightening

Singapore has one of the highest rates of lightning activity in the world. An average of 171 thunderstorm days (days when thunder is heard) are recorded annually with activity peaking in April/May and November. Thunderstorms mainly occur between 2 pm and 6 pm in the afternoon.

What has this got to do with cricket. Well we have just been through a lightning filled April and with most matches played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, we seem to find ourselves in an amphitheatre featuring nature’s own pyrotechnics performance on a regular basis.

A couple of weeks ago the ANZA second division side playing MUCC at Turf City won the toss and team captain, Matt Ford, elected to bat with a backdrop of threatening clouds. We slapped an impressive 219 off 36 overs, the highlight of which was 123 by Peter Alexander featuring 7 sixes, with support from yours truly with 42 and a run a ball 23 from President Clive Tilbrook towards the end of the innings.

A quick break for afternoon tea and we took to the field, there was lightning in the background and thunder in the air. Amazingly the Cricketing Gods had sent a set of wind-streams that were pushing the clouds all about us but not a drop of rain came our way. In the midst of this “new boy” Greg Adnams went on a wicket taking spree grabbing 4/19 in 5 overs, accompanied by ever diminishing light. Add to that a run-out and we had MUCC on their knees at 5/55 and victory was assured, or was it?

There was a wind-shift, all of a sudden the thunder and lightning that seemed to elude us seemed to be all around us. The thirst for victory was rapidly replaced by the instinct for survival. One crack of lightning later and we were out of there, with a classical Singaporean torrent of rain to follow and an electrical exhibition “to die for”. The match was abandoned, certain victory snatched from our grasp in an emphatic “games over boys” edict by the Grand-daddy of all umpires.

Was our sense of self preservation in order? I checked out the National Environment Agency website (app.nea.gov.sg) for the stats on lightning fatalities in Singapore - Singapore shows an average of 0.35 deaths per million population (year 2000-2003) as compared to 0.6 in the United States, 0.2 in the United Kingdom and 1.5 in South Africa, with most deaths occurring in April and November. The victims were often in open areas such as sea, beaches and football fields. Also most deaths in sheltered areas occurred while the victims were under a hut, a shed or trees.

So if you are playing sport outdoors in Singapore and the thunder and lightning descends upon you, do your best Forrest Gump impersonation, run, run , run out of harms way to your car or some serious shelter.

by Greg Joiner