The play on day 2 of the third Test between Australia and Pakistan in Sydney ended early to due rain and bad light. This left former Australia opener Justin Langer and ex-England captain Michael Vaughan sharing their frustration about the same.
Pakistan had scored 313 runs on day one of the 3rd and final Test with Mohammad Rizwan, Aamer Jamal, and Agha Salman hitting half-centuries. Australia had ended the first day on 6/0.
On day two, Australia was 116/2 when bad light and then rain resulted in the day’s play being called off in the second session of play. Marnus Labuschagne was unbeaten on 23 and Steve Smith on 6*, when on-field umpires Michael Gough and Richard Illingworth reckoned that it was too dark for play to continue.
Reacting to the same, Langer said that players walking off due to bad light is “not great for the game” by any stretch of the imagination. He added that fans who had come to watch David Warner in his final Test match would be disappointed.
“It is so frustrating. I have walked in all the shoes as a player and batsman. You want to be off and want perfect conditions. And then, as a coach, you want what’s best for your team. But when you look at the big picture, it is crazy these guys aren’t playing Test cricket here,” Langer was quoted as saying on Channel 7.
“You have a big crowd here, they have come here for David Warner’s last game. It is the pink Test. It is a competitive and combative Test match, and yet we’re walking off the ground. It’s not great for the game of cricket this is happening right now,” he added.
On the other hand, Michael Vaughan took to social media platform X and said that if there is an issue of bad light, the officials should replace the red ball with the pink ball.
He posted: “Just change to a pink ball and carry on.. Test cricket continues to shoot itself in the foot..”
