Former England captain Michael Vaughan has called on umpires and cricket administrators to rethink their approach to Test cricket after the opening day of the fifth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground was marred by poor light, rain and lightning. Despite a near-capacity crowd, Day 1 ended well before the scheduled stumps, leaving fans frustrated.
Vaughan felt that Test cricket was again unchanged compared to the shorter formats of the sport, where the game is often pushed despite similar conditions. During commentary duties and reflecting on the day’s events, Vaughan argued that the mindset around the protection of Test cricket needed an urgent change.
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“From what I’ve seen of the rain, the light and the conditions over the last hour, I think we’ve at least cut a couple of hours off the public that paid their money,” Vaughan said on BBC Test Match Special.
“Throughout our coverage of Test match cricket, this is the one format that we keep talking about how we have to do something to make sure we protect it,” he added.
“In T20 cricket, that’s what you play in. Test cricket is the only format where we do everything we can to get off the field. In the other two formats, we do everything we can to get on the field.”
Vaughan admitted he struggled to understand the contrast in decision-making.
“I just don’t understand why we don’t have the same mindset in Test match cricket,” he said, pointing out that spectators were denied valuable playing time on a day that still offered windows for play.
The frustration was heightened by the context. A crowd of 49,574, the highest Test attendance at the SCG since the 1975–76 season, watched England reached 211 for 3 in 45 overs. Play was suspended 15 minutes before the scheduled tea break after umpires Ahsan Raza and Chris Gaffaney called off the players due to deteriorating light.
Lightning strikes in the area then delayed the start of the final session, with rules preventing play from resuming until 30 minutes after the last strike. Although the rain later eased, play was abandoned just after 17:00 local time, half an hour before stumps, with the ground staff opting against a clean-up amid forecasts of more showers. The announcement was met with boos, although the rain returned shortly afterwards.
England batsman Harry Brook later explained that visibility had become a real problem and that both teams were unsure how long the game would continue.
“We could hardly see the ball when I was batting at the end,” Brook said.
“It was dark and then obviously it was raining so we just sat and waited for it to be called off, really.
On the field, England recovered well after Ben Stokes opted to bat and lost the first three wickets. Joe Root and Harry Brook put on an unbeaten 154 for the fourth wicket, unbeaten in their 70s, firmly set on the wicket as the series moves into Day 2.
– The end
Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
January 4, 2026
