England cricketers Matt Prior and Stuart Broad were involved in a dramatic late night rescue of a British man preparing to jump off a bridge near the team hotel in Sydney, a media report said today.
Wicketkeeper Prior helped pull the man away from the edge of the bridge in Darling Harbour and chatted to him along with Broad for almost an hour before New South Wales police arrived on the scene, The Telegraph reported.
"We just did what anybody would do in that situation," Prior was quoted by the daily as saying.
"We were trying to help a bloke who was struggling and in a bad way. I look back and I'm just glad we left the bar when we did and we were there for him," he said.
The players believe the unnamed man was British. He had thrown his telephone, passport and wallet in the water.
Initially the players thought he was standing on the railings of the bridge for a dare before realising the seriousness of the situation, the report said.
They were returning from a 'Barmy Army' event last night raising funds for the Broad Appeal, a charity raising money and awareness to combat Motor Neurone Disease.
Terry Minish, the team's security officer, assisted Prior in preventing the man, who had an English accent but did not recognise the cricketers, from jumping into the water, the report said.
"Walking back to the hotel we spotted a young man on the edge of the bridge about to jump," Minish was quoted as saying.
"He was saying he just wanted to drown. Matt helped to pull him down off the edge of the bridge and sat with him until the police arrived. It all happened very quickly and we acted on impulse. It is what you do in these situations," he said.
The England team have travelled with two security men throughout the tour along with Reg Dickason, the head security officer.
Prior returned home last night while Broad is set for a rest at the start of the one-day series before captaining the side for three Twenty20 matches against Australia.
Having fronted up to England fans earlier that evening along with Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Gary Ballance, Prior and Broad helped raise another 8,000 pounds for the Motor Neurone Disease.
Despite their failures on the field, the players certainly did their bit with appreciative fans off it with Prior delivering a heartfelt apology to them on stage for the 5-0 defeat.
