England vs India 2014: Geoffrey Boycott surprised by move to stop play on day 2 at Old Trafford

Geoffrey Boycott

Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott has said that England and India could easily have continued to play in the light rain at Manchester yesterday.

Play was stopped by the umpires due to the weather, but the former England opener believes this should not have been the case. He also believes that such disruptions could eventually harm the game of Test cricket, which is already struggling to survive in the modern era of T20s.

Yesterday, only 36 overs were possible in the entire day due to the weather. Further, last year’s Ashes Test at the same venue was also hit by rain and ended in a draw.

“How many cricketers would run down there? This sort of thing hurts cricket. The evening is set, we could easily play on. Did the ground staff know about this? If so, they should have covered it or brought the boundary in. It wouldn’t have been pleasant fielding on it, but we have to get on with the game. There’s a bigger picture. People pay a fortune to watch. That’s bigger than a couple of cricketers slipping over,” Boycott said.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain found himself in agreement with Boycott.

Hussain said: “On a Test ground it should be possible to restart in a reasonable amount of time. It is a shame that one heavy shower has ended with the whole day called off.”