Time to change Cricket's ridiculously archaic treatment of 'bad-light'?

[BouncerGuy]

The bad light stopped play? Living in the 21st century and still, there is no solution to this bad light situation. I think umpires did the worst job in this series and that decision today to stop the game due to bad light (which was not even that bad that you had to go out) was one of them.

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Michael Vaughan has slammed the umpires’ decision to halt the second day’s play of the third Test match between Australia and Pakistan due to bad light, calling it one of his “bugbears with Test cricket”.

With Australia at 2-116 midway through the second session, umpires Michael Gough and Richard Illingworth made the call to direct the players off the ground, citing poor light in overcast conditions.

The Pakistani players, led by skipper Shan Masood tried to plead their case, but it fell on deaf ears and Vaughan understood their frustration.

“The umpires are out in the middle having a chat, you just wonder if they are talking about the light, I hope not. Yeah they are, here we go,” Vaughan said on Fox Cricket.

“Seriously, is it that dangerous? Come on.

“Australia have lost two wickets, is it that dangerous? One of my bugbears with Test match cricket is that we just seem to find a way of getting off the pitch at any opportunity.

“T20 cricket, 50 over cricket, you just stay out there and go through with it. It’s an entertaining business.

“There’s no threat to the batters. Alright, you might get out, you might play a poor shot. I haven’t seen one delivery where Marnus or Steve Smith has sort of looked like they haven’t picked it up out of the hand.

“I just can’t stand this happening in the game of Test match cricket, the greatest format. The game continues to have these kind of moments.”

Co-commentator and Pakistani great Wasim Akram was in agreeance, lamenting that this is “Test cricket in this day and age”.

Adam Gilchrist went on to reveal on the broadcast that the on field umpires told Masood that play could only continue under the provision that Pakistan would only bowl spin.

“(Masood) wanted to keep bowling (fast bowler) Aamir Jamal,” Gilchrist said.

“I agree with Masood. Why should he have to bowl only spin,” Akram added.

Vaughan suggested an idea the ICC should implement when situations like this one arise.

Australia will play the West Indies in a day/night Test match beginning on January 25 where a pink ball will be used, and Vaughan wondered why a pink ball couldn’t be used when poor light plays havoc in a red ball Test match.

“It’s so frustrating. In a couple of test matches we will be using a pink ball in Brisbane. Can’t we just carry on? Don’t you have a box of pink balls of certain ages and you get one out that is 47-50 overs old and just carry on with the pink ball and the game,” he said.

“I just can’t have with Test cricket that we have so many moments like this.

“There’s a good crowd in, we have a tight test match and now the cameras are going to be looking at players on the balcony doing nothing.”

Mark Waugh added: “I like that, but my solution is even simpler.

“I think we’re getting mixed up with the line between not perfect light and dangerous light. There’s no way it’s dangerous out there.

“We saw Steve Smith play a hook shot off Jamal about 20 minutes before they went off. The light was very similar.

“I think the level that it’s set at is too much in favour of not playing. We should be playing, it’s not dangerous out there. No way in the world.”

SOURCE: FOX SPORTS​

 

[MenInG]

Cricket needs to grow up.

We have bouncers being bowled to tailenders but proper batters have problems facing pacers in dim light?

 

[batandballbattle]

If the light really is still bad enough after switching on massive light towers then maybe invest in some better bulbs

In any case the rulings seem up to an umpires discretion, we are told there is a certain value on a light meter they have to look for but I've seen tests in England still continue on under thicker cloud cover

 

[MenInG]

If the light really is still bad enough after switching on massive light towers then maybe invest in some better bulbs

Exactly

Or simply switch to Pink Ball for all games so bad light is NEVER the reason for stoppage.

 

[BouncerGuy]

It has been revealed the umpires during Australia’s Test against Pakistan at the SCG did not have a working light meter when they called a stoppage of play on day two.

News Corp reported the umpires made the call to suspend play a bit after 2pm, around 40 minutes before rain actually arrived, without actually measuring the light reading. The decision was instead made on “gut feel”.​

FOX SPORTS

 

[FearlessRoar]

Australian opener batter Usman Khawaja speaks during the press conference at the end of Day 2 of the 3rd Test against Pakistan, he said:

"Pink ball is not same as red ball. No one ever, no bowler, no batsmen will ever tell you that pink ball is same as red ball, is not. It's a different it's a different base in itself. Red ball reacts way different off the wicket. Feels different off the bat, it acts different out of hand of bowlers bowling it. It's very different and inconsistent."

"The red ball is so distinct. I’ve played white ball, I’ve played pink ball, I’ve played red ball. They all react so differently. Nothing reacts like that red ball. How they make it, the dye they put on it.”

“The red ball is what we grew up playing with.The red ball is Test cricket, right? So unless you can find a way to replicate the sun, the lights aren’t the same."

“The lights shining on a red ball is still really hard to see, whereas a pink ball is a lot better, but it doesn’t react the same as red. And this is my argument. The beauty of Test cricket and what I love about Test cricket is it really hasn’t changed a lot in the last 100 years."

“So I think the game hasn’t changed. I think people maybe are just getting a little bit more impatient. It sucks, but that’s Test cricket, unfortunately. And when it rains or when you have bad light, you just have cop it. You have five days of cricket to get a result. I still think there’ll be a result in this game.”

 

[Major]

Its diffciult to see the red ball in dark. Even fielders cant see it too

 

[ahmadharis1]

Had Pakistan been batting now and lost a wicket we'd be crying because the game should have been called off for bad light

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Its diffciult to see the red ball in dark. Even fielders cant see it too

Pink balls are right for it and why can't they use stadium's flood lights. Lack of common sense I guess.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

We have to address it’: Baird wants solution as bad light stops Test

Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird has admitted Test cricket needs a solution to the problem of games being delayed for bad light after a Sydney Test was marred by inclement weather for the fourth time in five years.

Baird was speaking as a host of greats and administrators called for a pink ball to be used under darker skies following the Sydney Test being interrupted by bad light, prompting most of the crowd of 30,038 to leave before rain later washed out the second day of the third Test, with Australia 2-116 in reply to Pakistan’s 313.

Sources close to the match officials, who requested anonymity to speak freely, later said the umpires had not had a light meter with them and had decided to delay play based on their own judgement. A subsequent light-meter reading showed their initial judgement to stop the match had been correct.

“It’s very frustrating. We have to address it,” Baird told this masthead when asked about the bad-light delays.

Baird did not wish to comment further, but sources close to Cricket Australia, who requested anonymity to speak freely, later suggested solutions could include a $10 million upgrade of the Sydney Cricket Ground lights and the use of pink balls.

Former SCG Trust chairman Tony Shepherd, who last year called for the use of pink balls during the Sydney Test, called on cricket administrators to address the issue.

“I think they ought to have a good look at the light question,” said Shepherd, who stepped down as Trust chairman last year. “To stop the play today because of bad light is ********. Switch to a pink ball ... and keep the game going.”

Shepherd dismissed concerns about teams being advantaged or disadvantaged. “If the wicket breaks up, it gives one team an advantage,” he said. “That’s normal.”

Veteran opener Usman Khawaja, who scored 47 in 143 balls on Thursday, was vehemently opposed to the idea, telling the post-match media conference he would quit Test cricket if a pink ball was used permanently.

Source : The Sydney Morning Herald

 

[sweep_shot]

It was ridiculous that game didn't continue due to bad light.

Some stubborn rules need to be modified.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Australian opener batter Usman Khawaja speaks during the press conference at the end of Day 2 of the 3rd Test against Pakistan, he said:

"Pink ball is not same as red ball. No one ever, no bowler, no batsmen will ever tell you that pink ball is same as red ball, is not. It's a different it's a different base in itself. Red ball reacts way different off the wicket. Feels different off the bat, it acts different out of hand of bowlers bowling it. It's very different and inconsistent."

"The red ball is so distinct. I’ve played white ball, I’ve played pink ball, I’ve played red ball. They all react so differently. Nothing reacts like that red ball. How they make it, the dye they put on it.”

“The red ball is what we grew up playing with.The red ball is Test cricket, right? So unless you can find a way to replicate the sun, the lights aren’t the same."

“The lights shining on a red ball is still really hard to see, whereas a pink ball is a lot better, but it doesn’t react the same as red. And this is my argument. The beauty of Test cricket and what I love about Test cricket is it really hasn’t changed a lot in the last 100 years."

“So I think the game hasn’t changed. I think people maybe are just getting a little bit more impatient. It sucks, but that’s Test cricket, unfortunately. And when it rains or when you have bad light, you just have cop it. You have five days of cricket to get a result. I still think there’ll be a result in this game.”

I have to agree with Usman Khawaja here, red ball in test cricket holds tradition and history.

Yet its visibility and behavior under different conditions are different . While the pink ball offers advantages like better visibility at night. But the red ball's legacy and reliability make it an integral part of the Test cricket, red ball is Test cricket.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

red ball easily merges with darkness so I think there isn't much we can do to solve this bad light issue Unless batters start playing with emergency lights on their heads just like coal mine workers

 

[kingusama92]

Should just start using the pink ball for all Tests.

Continue to refine the pink ball in the coming years but switch over to it right now. The format is already struggling and you can't make it worse with silly stuff like bad light.

We have changed from timeless tests to five-day matches too. Things change because common sense is required.