Former England cricketer-turned-commentator Michael Atherton has accused India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja of ignoring the on-field umpire’s instruction during the recently held Lord's Test against England.

Citing the incident as a concerning example, Atherton highlighted the diminishing 'authority' of match officials in modern-day cricket.

Atheron claimed that there was a point in the game when Jadeja was having a drink and although the umpire gestured towards him to continue play, he didn’t pay heed to it.

However, Atherton did not clearly mention at what point of the match the incident involving Jadeja took place.

“The focus is more on the umpires than the players, for the umpires to just get a grip. I don't know where the diminishing of umpires' authority comes from. Maybe it's the post-DRS thing,” Atherton told Sky Sports Cricket.

"Pre-DRS, the umpires were almost omnipotent. Since DRS, maybe that authority has just withered away. There was one point where Jaddu was having a drink, and the umpire was pointing towards the watch and was telling him to get on with it. And he just completely ignored him!"

“So I think there's room for the game to be sped up a bit, without compromising the quality.”

The Lord’s saw instances of players sledging the batter with the spat between Shubman Gill and Zak Crawley hogging the limelight. As a result, the umpires' authority became a talking point.

Moreover, the umpires came under scrutiny for slow over rates of both teams as former cricketers urged the officials to step in and take charge of the situation.

Maintaining a slow over-rate during their narrow 22-run win over India in the Test cost England two points from their World Test Championship (WTC) tally and 10 per cent fine of their match fee.

A statement from the ICC, citing Article 16.11.2 of the WTC playing conditions, said a side is penalised one point for each over short, and after time allowances were taken into consideration.

(With IANS Inputs)