WHAT A FARCE!
With floodlights on, you CAN’T walk off with just 25 runs to win, insists Nasser
FORMER England captain Na ss e r Hussain has hit out at the ‘farcical’ end to the first Test here on Saturday after England were denied a dramatic victory against Pakistan by bad light.
Regulations forced the teams off the field with England 25 runs short of their target of 99 with ei ght overs l ef t — despite floodlights being in use.
And Hu ss a i n says the International Cricket Council now have a duty to look into such unsatisfactory finales.
‘ People have compared the scenes in Abu Dhabi on Saturday evening with England’s famous win in the dark in Karachi 15 years ago when I was captain,’ said Hussain.
‘But make no mistake, if Alastair Cook’s side had pulled off victory over Pakistan it would have been an even greater achievement.
‘ To have f ought back after Pakistan’s first innings of 523, and on a pitch that had absolutely nothing in it for the bowlers, was an amazing effort
‘ But t he r egulations have changed now. It’s all about light meters and all the Pakistanis had to do was stay on the right side of the line when it came to eating up time. I felt they did that. And let’s be clear — if I’d been in Misbah-ulHaq’s position, I’d have slowed things down, too.
‘The question cricket should be asking itself is this: why do you turn the floodlights on, then half an hour later walk off the field with one team needing only 25 to win?
‘I’d have said exactly the same thing if it had been Pakistan batting. There’s no way it was dangerous out there, but because the umpires had set a precedent earlier in the match with their light-meter readings, off they all trooped. It was farcical.
‘I understand there are difficulties in seeing the red ball, which is why they’re experimenting with a pink one. But cricket can’t afford to throw away an exciting finish after five days of grind on a dreadful pitch. They should look to stay out there for as long as possible.’
Meanwhile, Trevor Bayliss has backed Adil Rashid to extend his England career beyond t he spin-friendly pitches of Asia and become a regular fixture in his Test side.
Rashid recovered from the low of the worst figures by a debutant in the first innings of the first Test to set up England’s improbable push for victory in the second with the first five-wicket haul by an English leg- spinner since 1959.
It was vindication f or an England coach who has pushed f or the Yorkshireman’s i nclusion s i nce taking over ahead of the Ashes and has f i nally been able to make room for Rashid in the England Test side by pr o mo ti n g Moeen Ali to opener.
‘ He’s definitely not a selection for j ust here,’ s ai d Bayliss. ‘It will come down to whether he is bowling well enough to stay in the team and it’s a lot easier to keep him if you’ve got Moeen and Ben Stokes in the top six or seven. The possibilities of combinations we are able to play with those guys are big.’
The Australian was delighted with the way Rashid put the nightmare of figures of nought for 163 behind him to demolish the Pakistan lower order on the final day.
‘It was testament to his ability and mind-set,’ said Bayliss before England moved on to Dubai for Thursday’s second Test.
‘I don’t think a lot gets to him. After the first innings, I’m sure he was disappointed but none of the other spinners took wickets in the first few days either.
‘It wasn’t a great wicket to bat on but it was even harder to bowl on and he knew that, come the fifth day, he would be in the game.
‘All the boys were giving him encouragement.’
Bayliss, meanwhile, said he had no c o mplai nt s about the regulations for bad light that saw the teams leave the field in sight of a dramatic victory for England.