Marcus Trescothick said England’s coaches were bewildered when the umpires forced the team to sideline their seamers and turn to spin under ashen skies on a rain-affected penultimate day in Manchester. Mark Wood was at the end of his run-up and preparing to bowl when Ben Stokes was ordered to stand him down at 4.20pm, leaving Joe Root and Moeen Ali to bowl the last 13 overs of the day in tandem.
“We were sat on the balcony and we didn’t think [the light] had deteriorated that much to not allow the seamers to bowl,” Trescothick said. “Obviously the umpires out in the middle deemed it was too dark. They’ve got to make that decision. It didn’t feel like it from where we were. But if that’s what we’re given then that’s what we’ll take. Any opportunity to get out in the middle we’ll be grabbing with both hands.”
