Perhaps the best resolution to the type of situation that we saw tonight would be if the ICC ditched the traditional all-white cricket shirts & trousers and red ball and reverted to coloured outfits and a white ball all the time. Then at least they would have a ball that would be easier seen when it's getting dark!
Heaven forbid. The white ball doesn't even last 50 overs, imagine having to use it for 85!
Actually a pink ball might work but they're still not as good as the red variety.
These situations hardly ever arise. I can only think of one other and that was in Pakistan years ago. Common sense says you don't tinker with the laws/rules to deal with very rare issues.
If they have to react then a simple change to give the batsman the option to continue would suffice. An earlier start would help but doesn't guarantee that the light won't fail.
Can't disagree with any of that, Peter.
Earlier tonight Marcus (Gooner) mentioned that at the time the match was stopped, there were only 4 overs left to play. Like Marcus, I would have understood the reasoning for stopping it at that point had there been many more overs still to play, but with as little as 4 overs I would have thought the best thing to do would have been to have seen it out. It's the spectators who paid a lot of their hard-earned money to get in and see the match that I feel sorry for the most here. That said, I'm not sure how many balls/deliveries make up an over or how the beginning & end of an over is marked.
Four overs, at the rate the Aussies were bowling, would have taken another 20 minutes. If another wicket had fallen then add another two minutes for that. If the decision had been reviewed add another 2 minutes. It could have been 7.55 or later by the end - and every chance that the match would have gone to the wire.
The spectators saw the highest number of runs seen in one day's play in a Test match - so they reported. That's fantastic value even if the ending wasn't what was wanted.
To be fair, if the Aussies had been batting I suspect the crowd would have carrying the umpires from the field in celebration....
Edited by user
25 August 2013 22:30:58
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Reason: Not specified
Location: South Cambridgeshire
130 metres ASL
52.0N 0.1E