It disrupts play and it is disappointing to see

Mark Hodgson

The first to bare all before the Manchester crowd were a group of three grinning, middle-aged men who ran across the field and leapt into the air as the crowd roared.

The cricketers were forced to another standstill minutes later when a fourth man took off his clothes and streaked around the ground.

A fifth man wearing a black wig and a multi-coloured suit then ran around the frustrated players, dodging officials trying to catch him.

�10,000 reward

Mark Hodgson, a spokesman for the England and Wales Cricket Board, said streakers were unusual at cricket matches.

"It disrupts play and it is disappointing to see," he said.

Following the Open golf championship three women and two male streakers were fined by a Scottish sheriff.

He told them their behaviour ruined the concentration of golfers under extreme pressure.

Jacqueline Salmond interrupts Tiger Woods' concentration

Sheriff Patrick Davies said their actions had also had the potential to trigger off serious public disorder.

It was rumoured that a prize of �10,000 had been offered to anyone streaking at the competition.

Jaqueline Salmond, 20, streaked just as winner Tiger Woods played his last hole of the tournament.

A streaker also managed to make it onto Wimbledon's tennis courts this year.

He disrupted a women's doubles match featuring Russian heart-throb Anna Kournikova.

The players shielded their eyes until the man was led away.