Famous St George's brass band asked to pipe down

Port Elizabeth's famous brass band has been asked to push pause during play between South Africa and Sri Lanka by match referee David Boon. The instruction came in the second session of play on Monday. The band will be allowed to strike up a tune in any of the breaks, however.

The band's music, which started early on the day, was heard throughout the first session. They were also playing early in the second session, but the silence was notable as the tea interval approached. In the over before tea, though, they resumed playing again. Traditionally, the band has reserved that over and the third session to play their loudest.

"It's news to me [that the band were asked not to play]," JP Duminy said after the day's play. "I love the band especially when they start saying 'JP jou lekker ding'."

'JP you good thing' is one of the band's best known refrains but they were not able to belt it out when Duminy got to fifty. Instead, it appeared on the scoreboard.

This was not the first time the band was silenced. In 2000, New Zealand's batsmen had complained that they could not concentrate because the music was too loud and the band was asked not to play during their innings. They were allowed to play when South Africa batted.