Olly Stone expresses frustration as England forced to bowl spin
The England cricket team faced an unexpected challenge during the second day of the third Test against Sri Lanka at Kennington Oval. Poor lighting conditions prompted umpires to instruct seam bowlers to step aside, allowing spinners to take over. This decision led to a strong comeback from Sri Lanka, with both Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis scoring unbeaten half-centuries each.
Stone expresses frustration over umpire's decision
England pacer Olly Stone expressed his frustration over the umpire's decision to enforce spin bowling due to poor light. Despite acknowledging that the rules are beyond their control, he admitted that it was disappointing not to be able to bowl seam. "They're the rules, aren't they? You can't change those," Stone was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. "It's just one of those things that's frustrating but has to be done."
Stone acknowledges visibility and safety concerns
Stone further clarified that while the ball was visible to players, he understood the umpire's decision was made with player safety in mind. "Everyone could see the ball, I guess. As a team, we want to be out there for as long as we can and you have to go off what the umpires say," he explained.
Sri Lanka's performance and England's strategy
Despite the setback, Stone assured fans that England would continue to provide entertainment and push the game forward with either seam or spin. At the end of Day 2, Sri Lanka had scored 211/5, trailing by 114 runs. They aim to gain a lead on Day 3 of the match with significant contributions expected from de Silva and Mendis.
