Stuart Broad criticized the decision to cancel the game of day four at the oval with the fifth test match between England and India on a knife.
The ground staff and the referees met in the middle to discuss the conditions after the game were suspended for bad light and heavy rains. And despite the sky of rain and clarification, the game was canceled at 6 p.m., to noisy huts of the crowd.
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The players will return Monday to complete the competition, England needing 35 points and India needing four counters. England is currently running 2-1 series.
“Always 20 minutes from the possible start time,” tweeted Broad at 6:25 pm. “Everyone has their sunglasses at the station. I felt that the supporters deserved to see a finish in this test match today. I felt a lazy decision to cancel it at 6 p.m. in my opinion. I wonder who does it? “
However, neither of the two parties groaned on the decision, after another difficult day.
Joe Root greets Graham Thorpe after reaching his century (Ben Whitley / PA) (Pa Wire)
Joe Root, who struck a century to bring England back to the match, told the BBC: “It is an end fairly appropriate for the way the rest of the series was.
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“We are in a cracker, we are in a good position. We have another heavy roll available. Things could happen more quickly with the new ball, it might be easier to score. ”
A night break and additional use of the heavy roller could play in the hands of England, but a saturated external field meant that tourists did not complain.
“We can see that it’s quite wet there,” said Indian Bowling coach Morkel. “In a way that is out of our control, so that we cannot focus on making a good warm -up in the morning, prepare the boys to put the ball in the right area and start a little excitement.”
Chris Woakes, who has not been presented since he seriously damaged his left shoulder during the field on Friday, stayed with the team and is ready to beat at n ° 11 with his arm in a scarf if necessary.
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“You’ve probably seen him in his whites in the locker room. He’s all in it, like the rest of us,” said Root.
“Obviously, he suffers a lot of pain. But that means a huge amount for him and it simply shows the character and the person he is, that he is ready to put his body on the line like that for England.
“If that happens to that, I hope he can make us cross the line and win an incredible series.”
Additional reports by PA
