Bad light cuts short opening day of Australia’s Durban Test
Australia were 6-187 when play stopped 96 minutes early, despite floodlights operating for close to an hour.
Poor visibility brought an early close to the first Test between Australia and South Africa in Durban, halting an Australian recovery at 6-187. Umpires stopped play with 96 minutes remaining after the floodlights had been operating for almost an hour.
Matt Renshaw said conditions were dark as he faced Anrich Nortje’s pace bowling. He said the sightscreen’s LED section appeared much brighter than the surrounding sheeting, and his focus was on protecting his stumps.
South Africa’s players briefly stayed in their fielding positions after the decision. Nortje said he would favour continuing when on the bowling side, but did not know the light reading taken by the umpires.
The Durban match has a scheduled 9.30am start to account for sunset at 6pm. An additional half-hour is to be played at the end of subsequent days to recover lost time, taking the scheduled finish to 5.30pm.
The Test is the first under new ICC conditions allowing pink balls to help address poor light. Both sides must consent before the toss, however, and the pink ball must then be used for the entire match rather than introduced when visibility deteriorates.
