Leeds: The England cricket team’s hotel was evacuated in the early hours Friday following a fire alarm, forcing the players to stand outside in heavy rain.

The players and staff were forced to wait outside the Radisson SAS Hotel in Leeds, northern England, hours ahead of the start of the fourth Ashes Test at Headingley.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said the England team’s preparations for the five-day match were “disrupted” by the incident.

“It was a fire alarm. There was an evacuation at about 4:50am and then a nice little 20 minutes standing outside with the rain falling,” an ECB spokesman said.

“Two fire engines came to the hotel and then we were all allowed back in.”

A spokeswoman for the hotel refused to divulge what caused the fire alarm to go off but insisted it was not a prank.