Officials were once again at the centre of controversy in this Ashes series when they took the players off the field for bad light on the fourth day of the third Test at Old Trafford. Australia, 2-0 down in the five-match series and needing to win this match to stand any chance of regaining the Ashes, were 172 for seven in their second innings — a lead of 331 runs — when umpires Marais Erasmus and Tony Hill called a halt at 4.26pm local time on Sunday.
Subsequent rain prevented the match resuming and play was officially abandoned at 5.38pm, with officials — much criticised for their implementation of the Decision Review System this series — coming under scrutiny again.
Australia captain Michael Clarke, 30 not out, was clearly furious at being told to go off for bad light in a situation where any stoppage increased England's chances of securing the draw that would see them retain the Ashes.
Although the floodlights were on, the umpires decided conditions were too dangerous to continue when it looked as if fast-medium bowler Stuart Broad was about to be brought back into the attack.
"We try and play as long as we can. We were able to stay out a heck of a lot longer under the lights — but when we started losing it (tracking the ball) completely from square leg, we gave the skipper (England captain Alastair Cook) the option to use spin, and he didn't want to do that," said New Zealand's Hill.
It used to be the case the umpires would 'offer' the light to the batsmen to see if they wanted to continue or not.
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