'Half hour early start, brighter ball': Root's suggestions to counter bad light
Southampton [UK], Aug 18 (ANI): After the second Test of the three-match series against Pakistan ended as a draw, England's Test skipper Joe Root said that the issue of bad light needs to be looked at so the game can improve.
Only 134.3 overs were bowled in the second Test with 38.1 of them being bowled on the final day. The entire second Test was hampered by the combination of bad light and rain.
Root suggested starting the match half an earlier than usual when a respectable amount of time has been lost in the match and also suggested the use of a brighter ball to counter the bad light situations.
"Maybe we could start half-an-hour earlier if we've lost time. You don't necessarily have to start every game at 10.30 am, but maybe if you need to make time up that is something to look at so light isn't as much of an issue. It's something to look at. It may be a possibility," ESPNCricinfo quoted Root as saying.
"There is a Memorandum of Understanding that's been put in place ahead of this series, so I'm not sure how flexible things are to change. But moving forwards, it is something that could potentially be looked at beyond this series. Maybe there's got to be a minimum standard of floodlights and we should play on throughout. Maybe we could use a lighter red ball rather than a dark Dukes ball," he added.
The Test skipper also admitted that losing cricket due to bad light is very frustrating and the issue needs to be addressed.
"There are different things that could be trialled to avoid similar scenarios in the future. It's not very often you lose so much cricket to bad light, but it's frustrating and a huge talking point. I think it needs to be addressed somewhere, somehow," Root said.
"I don't think I've ever seen a game be affected by bad light as much as this. Which is very frustrating. But it's been very wet throughout the week and the ground staff has done everything they can to get it dry. I do think it's hard to blame the umpires here. I think there's something bigger that needs looking up higher up the chain. This is way above my pay grade," he added.
Pakistan had scored 236 runs in the first innings, and England only got a chance to spend a respectable amount of time in the middle with the bat on the final day of the match.
The side managed to put up 110/4 before the match ended in a draw.
England has a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after winning the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford by three wickets.
The third and final Test will be played at Southampton from August 21. (ANI)
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