Fielders should be allowed to refuse play in poor light: Miandad
Karachi, Dec 11: Pakistan coach Javed Miandad on Monday evening admitted that he talked to match referee Ranjan Madugalle and conveyed his displeasure on the continuation of the game despite poor light
12-Dec-2000
Karachi, Dec 11: Pakistan coach Javed Miandad on
Monday evening admitted that he talked to match
referee Ranjan Madugalle and conveyed his
displeasure on the continuation of the game
despite poor light.
"I talked to the match referee and asked him what
the laws said in that situation. I was upset
because my boys and the team had to suffer,"
Miandad said.
According to insiders, Miandad also had a hardhitting discussion with the umpires after the
match finished at 5.55pm and resulted in a sixwicket victory for England.
Miandad, the former captain, said he would
certainly mention the incident in his report and
would also question why England refused the
proposal of playing under lights.
"The batsman batting at 22 yards might not have
the same problems the fielder standing 75 yards
away. I mean the conditions were not equal to both
teams.
"If England had accepted the proposal of playing
under lights, this controversy had never erupted,"
Miandad said.
Pakistan's most successful batsman added that in
Karachi, the latest the match had gone was 5.20pm
while the game had ended in the upcountry by
4.15pm.
"If the light was not good to extend the match by
5.20pm on the other days, why it was taken into
extra time today.
"I am not making any excuses. The better team won.
But it hurts when you suffer.
"It is time that the game's governing body should
give equal opportunity to the fielding side to
refuse to play against bad light. Presently, only
the batting side has the option to complain
against poor light and in this case England
rejected because things were going in their way.
But what about us.
"The fielders were running in the opposite
direction because they were following the calls of
the fielders rather than judging the stroke played
by the batters."
Miandad recalled that the umpires had refused to
continue the match in one of the limited overs
games at Gujranwala against Viv Richards' team. "I
wanted to continue but the match was halted by the
umpires who also awarded the game to West Indies."