https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2023/01/06/end-bad-light-stops-play-australian-players-lead-calls-new-ball/The end of 'bad light stops play'? Australian players lead calls for new ball
Debate rages about how to ensure as much play as possible as light fades

By
Will Macpherson
6 January 2023 • 12:24pm

Cricket authorities are under growing pressure to find a solution – possibly involving adapted balls – to maximise play in fading light, after fans were left frustrated by players being taken from the field in Test matches in both Sydney and Karachi.

Pakistan’s two-match series against New Zealand ended in a 0-0 draw after the umpires took the players off three overs early on the final day of the second Test. At that point, Pakistan were nine wickets down, just 15 runs shy of their target of 319, with their numbers 10 and 11 surviving 21 balls at the crease. The final five overs of the match had all been bowled by spinners, with all New Zealand’s fielders round the bat.

This drew fierce criticism from cricketers and fans, with Scott Styris, the former New Zealand all-rounder, tweeting: “Both teams had a chance of winning and we come off the field with 3 overs to go. Exhibit A of why Test cricket is in trouble. Zzzz [sleeping emoji]. Well done both teams for battling all the way.”

There was also criticism of the state of play in Sydney, where the first three days of Australia’s Test against South Africa were beset by poor weather, including bad light.

Read more at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2023/01/06/end-bad-light-stops-play-australian-players-lead-calls-new-ball/