England vs New Zealand: Pundits and cricket fans frustrated at midday lunchtime during Lord’s Day rain | Cricket news
Even those who love cricket can be frustrated by it.
One of the biggest bugs is when it can’t be played.
We saw that on the rain-affected third day at Lord’s which saw only 9.4 overs, where, in a Test that has been played at a high pace, there was a marked lack of urgency.
The wet weather delayed the start of the game but at around 11.55 in the morning, in this famous place that was bathed in the sun, the news came out that lunch will be eaten at 12.20 at night.
That meant the first ball of the day would be delivered at 1pm, when the rain was forecast to return.
It happened, after only 11 balls had been bowled.
Sky Sports Cricket’s Ian Ward called the situation “confusing” as he referred to how golf tee times are changed and F1 race times are changed in the event of bad weather.
“There’s heavy rain in the forecast from 1pm, certainly from 3pm, and there’s not going to be any action in the sunshine. That’s cricket in a nutshell sometimes, I’m afraid.”
What did you do about the weather delay?
Readers of the Sky Sports blog weren’t too happy either…
Jackson’s ad: Why on earth are they not playing now? All forecasts say it will rain around 1pm. It’s really funny.
Dave: It’s time to end these ridiculously strict rules. Why do they need lunch? Get out there and play!!!
Owen: We have this argument every time it rains, it seems like everyone, except the decision makers, agrees that we need to get the game going faster. Why does nothing change?
TomL: The sun is out and the covers are off. However, it was recently announced that the game will start at 1 pm, lunch will be played at 12.20. Rain is forecast in 45 minutes. How can this be justified in elite sports? Cricket does not win.
James: Cricket is showing itself again…this long delay when the covers come out is like these people have never lived in England. If the weather has stopped, the players must come out and be ready to go at a moment’s notice, not “oh it’s ok now, they will play in half an hour”.
Method: They are eating now that the sun is shining! They are all afternoon. We are being robbed and they don’t need to be fed.
Greg H: So, the best weather of the day, the players will be having lunch?! This is where Test cricket shoots itself in the foot. It’s funny. Get out there and play while they can and eat lunch the next time it rains!
Only 9.4 overs were bowled on Saturday as the rain was prevalent
‘Having lunch at that time would not have made sense to the fans’
Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain, commenting on this 11-ball game when the match started said: “I don’t understand why they didn’t have lunch early and start at 12.20 pm.
“Perhaps the referees wanted to give the players time to warm up but they could have done that indoors. In the sunny part we had lunch. This was a strange decision.
“When the weather was good we ate, when the weather was bad we tried to play cricket. That will not be heard by the people who came in. Saturday at King’s has a different feeling and people wait all week to come in.”
Sky Sports’ Mel Jones added: “As a game we’re not going to get this right. We’ll probably finish the summer and come back and talk again.
“Even though the rain is frustrating, I think people are very upset that the leaders of this game can’t find a way to ease the situation.
England are favorites to win the fourth day at Lord’s
Issues like this have been troubling cricket fans for years.
Bad lighting is often the cause of their irritation and the ICC has tried to combat that by announcing that the pink ball – used in day-night Tests – will be tested in normal day Tests to continue playing in the dark.
We don’t yet know when that will come into effect – it’s not an option for this England vs New Zealand series – but it should mean fans get a lot of cricket going forward.
It seems like a sensible decision, something that may have been missing when the sun was out on Saturday…
Watch the fourth day of the first Test between England and New Zealand live Sky Sports Cricket again The Great Event from 10.15am on Sunday Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or broadcast with NOW.
