Former England captain Michael Vaughan expressed his disapproval of the decision to suspend the first session of the third Test between England and Sri Lanka at The Oval due to bad light, arguing that this format of the game should be revised to offer greater value to paying spectators.
The final Test between the two countries began under extremely overcast and foggy conditions. While rain stayed away in the first hour of play, most parts of the first session on Friday (September 6) were played under the floodlights.
79 minutes into the session, the umpires deemed the light to be insufficient and the players walked off. An early lunch was taken but the start of the second session was delayed due to slight drizzle and bad light, forcing Vaughan, on Test Match Special, to lash out at the organisers. The former skipper argued that the game should have carried on and that if it was a T20 game “they would be playing.”
“What delivery have we seen in the last 15 minutes that has been a physical threat? You go to a pink ball and carry on. Teams will have to accept they get unlucky. All these ideas, you're not going to appease everyone,” he said.
“I just want to see them carry on. It’s about the public who pay to watch. Test cricket is under threat more than any format. If this was a T20 they’d be playing. I’d try anything to find a way for the paying public to get better value.”
Vaughan’s “two divisions” in Test cricket suggestion
Earlier this week, Vaughan urged the ICC to divide the cricketing nations into two divisions of six teams each. He also asked the apex body to distribute the funds more evenly across the countries. “Test cricket needs to be 2 Divisions of 6 ASAP and spread the wealth of the game more evenly across all countries,” he had tweeted.
Test cricket needs to be 2 Divisions of 6 ASAP .. and spread the wealth of the game more evenly across all countries .. 👍
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 1, 2024
The MCC also raised concerns over the disappointing crowd turnouts during the England-Sri Lanka Test series. They had released a statement, acknowledging their need to review the ticket pricing structure. “We will be paying particular attention to the structure of fourth day tickets in our pricing reviews given the way that Test cricket is now being played," said the MCC's chief executive Guy Lavender.
“Sales were slower for the fourth day of this match than v West Indies likely in part to England’s dominant performance at Lord’s earlier this summer, and this Test being later than normal at the end of the school holidays.”
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