"They're the rules, aren't they?" - Olly Stone on bad-light interruptions

After reducing Sri Lanka to 93/5, England were forced to bowl spin in the last session of day two of the third and final Test at Kennington Oval due to bad light. That allowed the visitors to come back in the game, with Dhananjaya de Silva (64*) and Kamindu Mendis (54*) putting on an unbeaten stand of 118 runs. Sri Lanka now trail by 114.

England had to bowl 17 overs of spin in the final session as Sri Lanka ended the day at 211/5 in 45 overs. The laws regarding the light and weather say: "it is solely for the umpires together to decide whether either conditions of ground, weather or light or exceptional circumstances mean that it would be dangerous or unreasonable for play to take place. Conditions shall not be regarded as either dangerous or unreasonable merely because they are not ideal."

England seamer Olly Stone, who claimed 2/28 in five overs, said: "They're the rules, aren't they? You can't change those. It's taken out of our hands. We'd have obviously loved to have bowled seam there. It's just one of those things that's frustrating but has to be done.

"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, and unfortunately we couldn't bowl seam. 

“I guess there's a point where it may become dangerous, and you don't want to see anyone get hurt. We'll keep providing the entertainment whether it be with seam or spin, and trying to take the game forward.”

There was even a point when Chris Woakes was asked to bowl spin, and the right-arm seamer delivered four deliveries of off-spin, conceding a boundary to Pathum Nissanka, who hit 64 off 51 deliveries.

Talking about the incident, Stone said: "It's a tricky one where we wanted to stay out there and that was the option to do so.”

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