Sport: L-bee-W: Insects halt South Africa v Sri Lanka

A swarm of bees stopped Sri Lanka's innings in their third one-day international match against South Africa on Feb. 4, 2017. Held at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, the match was interrupted twice by the insects, sending players diving to the ground for safety. The game was officially stopped at the 27th over when Sri Lanka had put up a score of 117-4. A groundskeeper had to rush in with a fire extinguisher to shoo away the bees. The match resumed after a delay of 65 minutes. Here’s a look at some other moments when animals invaded sporting pitches or interrupted the play.

Joost van der Westhuizen -- one of the greatest

South African rugby legend and World Cup winner Joost van der Westhuizen, who died Monday aged 45, will be remembered as one of the greatest scrum-halves of all time. Many former internationals rate the Springbok standout second only to former Welsh great Gareth Edwards among international scrum-half superstars.His duels with fellow scrum-halves George Gregan of Australia and Justin Marshall of New Zealand two decades ago captivated spectators and worldwide TV audiences."He will always be remembered as an incredible rugby player," Gregan said during a dinner in honour of Van der Westhuizen.

The second cricket Test match between India and England was interrupted after a stray dog invaded the field on Nov. 17, 2016, in Visakhapatnam, India. It took a while before the canine could be removed but the delay prompted officials to bring about an early tea break, much to the amusement of the players.

Hundreds of seagulls fly over the pitch as Tasmania bat during day two of the Sheffield Shield match against Victoria at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia on Oct. 26, 2016.

A moth flies past the face of Cristiano Ronaldo during the UEFA Euro 2016 final between Portugal and France in Paris on July 10, 2016. A swarm of moths invaded the stadium during the match and one of them flew close to Ronaldo's face as he sat injured on the pitch during the first half. It grabbed the attention of twitterati all over the world, giving rise to dozens of trolls and over 30 parody accounts with the name, "Ronaldo's Moth."

Joost, the Springbok warrior who dumped Lomu

Joost van der Westhuizen's place in the pantheon of rugby greats is indisputable. He earned it the hard way -- with grace, skill, but most of all guts.Taller and heavier than the norm for his position, the Springbok scrum-half played with the conviction that there was never an opponent he could not beat, a try he could not score, or a tackle he could not make.With raw courage he etched his name into the annals of Rugby World Cup finals on one afternoon -- June 24, 1995.

A black cat runs across the field during the round 18 NRL match between the Penrith Panthers and the Cronulla Sharks at the Penrith Stadium on July 10, 2016 in Sydney, Australia.

Soccer player Joel Robles of Everton tries to rescue a cat during the Emirates FA Cup third round match between Everton and Dagenham & Redbridge at Goodison Park on Jan. 9, 2016 in Liverpool, U.K.

Tennis player Novak Djokovic tries to shoo a bird from the court during his first round match against Philipp Kohlschreiber at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships in London, U.K., on June 29, 2015.

A cat invades the pitch at the start of a La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Elche CF at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, on Aug. 24, 2014.

A bird swoops at the Rod Laver Arena to pick up a moth during the Australian Open 2015 Junior Championship in Melbourne on Jan. 31, 2015.

RoboDragonfly: Tiny Backpack Turns Insect into a Cyborg

Engineers have fitted dragonflies with tiny backpack controllers that connect directly to the neurons controlling the insects' flight.To that end, engineers have fitted dragonflies with tiny, backpack-mounted controllers that issue commands directly to the neurons controlling the insects' flight.

Uruguayan footballer Diego Forlán in action as a squirrel runs past during the Champions League semi-final match between Villarreal and Arsenal at Highbury Stadium in London on April 19, 2006.

West Indies' Jerome Taylor watches as ducks cross the field of play during the Fourth npower Test at the County Ground, in Durham, U.K., on June, 18, 2007.

Cleveland Indians right fielder Shin-soo Choo is surrounded by gulls during their MLB American League baseball game against New York Yankees in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., on June 1, 2009.

A squirrel runs on the field during the NFL football game between the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Bucaneers at Wembley stadium in London, U.K., on Oct. 23, 2011.

Carroll University right fielder Jordan Stevens nearly catches a male mallard as he chases the pair during the ninth inning of a Midwest Conference NCAA Division III baseball game at Frame Park in Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S., on April 14, 2012.

A dog strays into the field during a ICC World Cup match between India and West Indies at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, India, on March 20, 2011.

Sri Lanka recalls Malinga for Australia tour

Sri Lanka on Thursday recalled veteran fast bowler Lasith Malinga to the squad for a series of Twenty20 internationals in Australia this month after his recovery from a long-running knee problem. The 33-year-old, who retired from Test cricket in 2010, has not played international cricket since last February when Sri Lanka suffered an early exit from the Asia Cup after being plagued by injury worries.Malinga gave up Test cricket after deciding he was unable to withstand the rigour of five-day matches but has continued to make himself available for Twenty20 and 50 over cricket.

Bees swam around first base during the second inning of a spring training baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants on March 4, 2012, in Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.

A pair of Rooks walk past a golf ball on the ninth hole during the first round of the British Open golf championship on the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, on July 16, 2015.

Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni (L) looks on as umpire Krishna Hariharan shoos a dog that disrupted play off the pitch in the opening game of the 2009 Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament between the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in Cape Town, South Africa, on April 18, 2009.

Golfer Ryuji Imada shoos away a bird during the Sony Open Official Pro-Am Tournament at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S., on Jan. 8, 2014.

Goalkeeper Brad Friedel of Tottenham Hotspur watches a cat walk across the pitch during a Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield in Liverpool, England, on Feb. 6, 2012.

India's Suresh Raina (L) and New Zealand's Grant Elliott watch a stray dog sprint across the playing pitch during their one-day international cricket match in Guwahati, India, on Nov. 28, 2010.

A monkey invades the field during a cricket match between England XI and Haryana at Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, on Nov. 9, 2012 .

Australia bumped from ICC ODI top spot

South Africa's 5-0 one-day international series win against Sri Lanka has allowed them to leapfrog Australia to the top of the ICC men's rankings.With Australia losing 2-0 in their recent series against the Black Caps in New Zealand, South Africa's dominance over Sri Lanka has allowed them to leapfrog Australia into first.

A squirrel sprints past St. Louis Cardinals' Skip Schumaker during a baseball game against Philadelphia Phillies in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S., on Oct. 5, 2011.

Ground workers chase a dog that intruded the pitch during a Copa Sudamericana soccer match between Brazil's Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas and Colombia's Independiente Santa Fe in Bogota, Colombia, on Oct. 25, 2011.

Cricketer Ray Lindwall chases a dog that had intruded the pitch during a Surrey vs. Australia match at the Oval in London, England, on May 10, 1948.

New Zealand's Hamish Rutherford tries to shoo away a duck off of the pitch during a match against England played at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, New Zealand, on March 14, 2013.

Bangladesh's batsman Rakibul Hasan takes guard as a stray dog sprints across the pitch during a warm-up match against Australia at Fatullah Osmani stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 7, 2011.

Australian and Indian cricketers take cover as a swarm of bees invade the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi, India, on Oct. 31, 2008. 

Alistair Robertson and Clive Whitehead (R) of West Bromwich Albion watch a dog that strayed into the pitch during their match against Arsenal in London, England, on Oct. 16, 1982.

Colombia's midfielder James Rodriguez celebrates with a locust on his arm after scoring during the quarterfinal football match between Brazil and Colombia at the Estádio Castelão in Fortaleza, Brazil, during the 2014 FIFA World Cup on July 4, 2014.

Sri Lankan PM to receive doctorate award

Deakin University is set to honour the Sri Lankan prime minister ahead of talks with Malcolm Turnbull.Ranil Wickremesinghe and his wife Maithree Wickramasinghe arrived in Melbourne on Monday night.

A ball kid takes a moth away from the court as Ekaterina Makarova of Russia (L) plays Simona Halep of Romania during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 27, 2015.

Australian batsman Mark Waugh tries to shoo away a seagull during a test match between Australia and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Dec. 29, 1999.

A mouse scurries about the pitch at the end of a game between Manchester United and Arsenal at Manchester, England, on Nov. 10, 2013.

The Liverpool "Kop" revel at a cat which ran the full length of the pitch against Arsenal on Aug. 22, 1964. This was the very first game to be shown on the "Match of the Day" program for BBC TV.

A groundsman tries to drive away flying ants during the break of the ICC Champions Trophy Final between Australia and New Zealand in Centurion, South Africa, on Oct. 5, 2009.

Pigeons flock on the field during a play break between the American football teams Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. on Dec. 7, 2014.

The Tennessee football team take time out in the Sugar Bowl game in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., on Jan. 1, 1971, to wait for a dog to run off the playing field.

Cricketer Rob Quiney removes a seagull from the ground after it was struck by a ball during a Big Bash League match in Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 21, 2015.

Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays backs out of the batter's box as pigeons land on the field during a game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S., on June 18, 2014.

FC Thun's goalkeeper Guillaume Faivre shows the way out to a marten that ran on the pitch during a Swiss Super League soccer match in Thun, Switzerland, on March 10, 2013.

A southern lapwing bird flies past Cristian Vampestrini of Argentina's Arsenal Sarandi during their soccer match against Brazil's Sao Paulo in Sao Paulo on March 7, 2013.

Mexico's Carlos Ramirez watches as a bird disrupts their football match against Italy at the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand, on Nov. 8, 2012.

A bird stands on the pitch during the 2014 World Cup qualifying soccer match between Colombia and Uruguay in Montevideo, Minnesota, U.S., on Sept. 10, 2013.

Black swans seen onto the green during the Australian Open Golf Tournament in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 12, 2011.

A fox runs across the pitch at the start of the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Scotland in London, England, on March 13, 2011.

Yassine Mikari of Tunisia carries a cat from the pitch during a soccer match against France in Tunis, Tunisia, on May 30, 2010.

A lynx walks past ski gates during first training for the men's Downhill at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, on Feb. 10, 2010.

An official attempts to catch a dog that interrupted the opening game of the 2009 Indian Premier League (IPL) in Cape Town, South Africa, on April 18, 2009.

A wild deer runs through a sand trap during the Canadian Women's Golf Open in Priddis near Calgary, Canada, on Sep. 2, 2009.

An owl interrupts an Euro 2008 Group A qualifying football match in Helsinki, Finland, on June 6, 2007.

A ground crew member removes a black cat that ran out into the outfield during a baseball game in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on May 14, 2002.

Brian Lara and Adam Gilchrist of Australia take cover as a swarm of bees interrupt a cricket match in Adelaide, Australia, on Dec. 16, 2000.

Los Angeles Dodgers ball boy Andy Cooper tracks down a live chicken that was tossed onto the field during a game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Aug. 23, 1988.

Sweden's Joel Sjoholm gestures toward a family of swans during the final of the International Golf Open in Pulheim near Cologne, Germany on June 24, 2012.

Lazio's mascot, a white headed eagle called Olimpia, flies before the start of their Italian Serie A soccer match against Empoli at the Olympic stadium in Rome on April 12, 2015.