Oval drama as Woakes forced to bowl spin mid-over due to bad light
Thee second day of the third Test between England and Sri Lanka at The Oval descended into chaos when Chris Woakes was forced to switch to bowling spin halfway through an over.
The unusual moment unfolded in the seventh over of Sri Lanka’s innings, just after they had lost their first wicket, with Dimuth Karunaratne being run out for 9 by a sharp throw from Olly Stone.
Kusal Mendis walked in at No. 3, but before he could face his first ball, the cloud cover thickened, prompting umpires Joel Wilson and Chris Gaffaney to halt proceedings.
Despite Woakes consistently bowling at around 80mph, they declared it was too dark for quick bowling.
A ripple of boos swept through the packed Oval stands, while those in the commentary box struggled to comprehend the decision.
Sky Sports pundit Michael Atherton exclaimed, “The game’s gone mad,” as Woakes delivered his first spin attempt – a loose delivery that Mendis pulled for a single to deep midwicket. Atherton then added, “oh, that’s filth” when Woakes followed up with a wildly wayward ball that landed several feet outside off-stump.
On the field, Joe Root raised his eyebrows in amusement, while on the England balcony, Ben Stokes was visibly baffled, gesturing in disbelief before turning to leave the viewing area.
Pathum Nissanka then took full advantage of a third long-hop, hitting it for four. In total, the four-ball spin experiment cost England six runs before the farce came to an end, as the cloud cover soon cleared, and fast bowler Gus Atkinson was allowed to continue after a revised light-meter reading.
This episode added to an already contentious situation, marking the third consecutive Test where stand-in captain Ollie Pope had been forced to deal with umpires’ concerns over the light.
At Old Trafford, Pope had opted to continue under gloomy skies, deploying 12 overs of spin that allowed Sri Lanka to claw back from 113 for 7 to a respectable 236. At Lord’s, however, Pope chose to take his players off early, rather than risk wasting the new ball, a decision that had drawn sharp criticism from former England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan.
According to the laws governing play under bad light, umpires alone are responsible for deciding whether conditions are too dangerous or unreasonable for cricket to continue. However, these laws also clarify that conditions need not be deemed “dangerous or unreasonable merely because they are not ideal.”
The Woakes incident followed a frustrating opening day marred by delays. Play was halted from 12:18pm to 3:10pm due to thick cloud cover, though no rain had fallen. Another interruption occurred at 5:54pm, with the day eventually abandoned just before 6:30pm, leaving only 44.1 overs bowled out of the scheduled 90.
Despite the limited action, Ben Duckett, who contributed a brisk 86 off 79 balls, defended the decision to suspend play. Reflecting on the first day, Duckett argued that England’s performance, highlighted by Pope’s maiden home-ground century, had still provided the spectators with plenty of entertainment.
“I think the fans saw some good cricket in the time we had,” Duckett commented. “That’s part of playing in England – the conditions can change quickly. It’s easy for supporters to want more action, but when it gets really dark, it becomes more dangerous for us out there.”
