A spectator at the Gabba tried to turn back the clock three decades by releasing a pig onto the ground on Thursday.

It has been 31 years since a pig with the names 'Botham' and 'Eddie' painted on its side was smuggled into the Brisbane Cricket Ground in an Esky, after being anaesthetised by a group of vets and its mouth filled with an apple.

It was famously allowed to run onto the surface of the ground during a one-day game that day, but this time around, the prankster was not as successful.

The offender is alleged to have brought the animal into the venue in a pram - disguising it as a baby.