Aussie Test greats let rip at cricket's 'soft' rule

1 year ago 84

Two erstwhile Aussie Test stars - including a erstwhile skipper - person called for a shake-up to the "soft" atrocious light rules that saw players travel disconnected the crushed 40 minutes earlier rainfall arrived astatine the SCG.

On time 1 of the 3rd Test betwixt Australia and South Africa astatine the SCG, players came from the tract during the drinks interruption mid-way done the day session.

Rain did yet travel and beverage was officially taken. Play was past acceptable to instrumentality astatine 3.45pm (AEDT), and players were already connected their mode to the mediate erstwhile they were sent backmost as airy erstwhile again deteriorated.

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Weather forecasts had for days predicted the Sydney Test would erstwhile again beryllium rain-affected.

Speaking connected Fox Sports, erstwhile skipper Allan Border said helium had been calling for alteration for decades.

"The airy is bully with the lights connected - you could play successful this airy successful my opinion," helium said.

"I've been arguing this lawsuit for 20 unusual years - the existent airy regularisation is excessively soft. We travel disconnected excessively easy erstwhile it darkens up successful the afternoon.

"It's thing the crippled needs to look astatine a batch much closely, arsenic to erstwhile it does go unsafe erstwhile it becomes hard to see."

Minutes earlier, players were fixed a 3.45pm re-start time, but were sent backmost to the sheds arsenic they were connected their mode backmost to the crushed arsenic airy had erstwhile again worsened.

After scoring conscionable 63 runs successful the archetypal session, Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja enactment connected 75 successful the hr betwixt luncheon and airy being called.

Just earlier the telephone was made, Khawaja admitted batting was difficult.

"Do you person a glow-in-the-dark shot up there?," helium asked commentators.

"It's gotten truly acheronian - it astir apt volition spell distant but they've got immoderate precise accelerated bowlers coming down making it precise tough. We'll conscionable person to grind through," helium said.

Mark Waugh said helium believed if the lights were on, play should continue.

"Once the lights are on, we enactment on. It's arsenic elemental arsenic that," helium said connected Fox Sports.

"I truly don't recognize - if it was the pinkish ball, we'd beryllium connected there. Red ball, OK it's not cleanable but it's an outdoor sport. Sometimes the airy favours 1 broadside implicit the other."

Umpires gave South Africa the accidental to vessel their spinners successful bid to enactment connected the field, which was denied by Dean Elgar.

"(The) ICC request to look astatine the assemblage here, there's what 30,000 radical here, did Australia look similar they couldn't spot the shot erstwhile they were batting? I deliberation they saw it OK," Waugh said.

Waugh said it was imaginable rules could beryllium changed to let umpires to substitute a pinkish shot during atrocious light, but doubted the ICC would marque specified a extremist change.

"Cricket has a batch of contented and history, and we don't similar to alteration things excessively often … truthful I tin ideate if they're not going to enactment connected erstwhile the lights are on, they're not going to alteration the ball," helium said.

"Even though it could perchance hap - conscionable get a shot successful the aforesaid condition, evidently a somewhat antithetic colour. It's a anticipation but I don't deliberation it's going to happen.

"There's nary mode we should've (gone) disconnected erstwhile we did - Australia were scooting on nicely, it was a bully contest.

"Yeah, possibly not not 100 per cent cleanable conditions, but sometimes it's cloudy, sometimes is sunny, it's an outdoor athletics and we've got to alteration our mode of thinking.

"I don't deliberation it's unsafe for the batsmen, determination is bully capable airy with the lights connected … we should beryllium playing on."

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