Let’s start to report pitches that are batting friendly, too!

I AGREE with Bill McTimomney about dead wickets doing serious damage to the four-day game that he and I love. The problem does seem to stem from the bizarre toss rule.

At Trent Bridge we had a great wicket for the recent Warwickshire match.We lost because they played the better cricket, but then we played safe with two terrible flat tracks that gave the bowlers nothing.

Batting second, Durham and Lancashire had to play for a draw, as with the example of Yorkshire that Bill gave, again with no prospect of a win.

Wickets should be reported, and points deducted, for favouring batsmen too much, as they are for being too bowler friendly.We need a real contest for people to watch. Every rule change seems to make the bowlers’ task harder.

Another quick point, it is high time the pink ball is used in two innings matches when there is bad light and the lights are on.

We have gone back with the illogical rule of “artificial light should not replace natural light” to the bad light misery of the Eighties and Nineties. Pink balls have been proved at Loughborough University, in full testing authorised by the ECB, to be best for the eye to see.

They proved better than red,white and amber. They have been used in a day/night Test in Australia, in night time conditions. So, if used in bad light, we would not need to go off for bad light at all.

Then there is the need to at least start a trial of day/night four-day matches in England, next season. Otherwise we could find England playing a day/night Test with a pink ball, with no experience or preparation.