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[Saba Sports News] Following the interruption of Day 2 of the third Test between Australia and Pakistan due to bad light, former England captain Michael Vaughan advocated for the importance of pink-ball Tests to address the issue. However, Australia opener Usman Khawaja expressed his disagreement with this approach, stating that pink balls are not a solution to protect Test cricket from bad light, and he would consider retirement if that were to happen.
Khawaja, aged 37, emphasized the significance of red balls in Test matches and highlighted the role of sunlight in determining the outcome of matches. He noted that while some may have grown impatient, Test cricket has not changed significantly over the last century.
“If it is, I’m retiring. The red ball is so distinct. I’ve played white ball, I’ve played pink ball, I’ve played red ball. They all react so differently. Nothing reacts like that red ball. How they make it, the dye they put on it. The red ball is what we grew up playing with. The red ball is Test cricket, right? So unless you can find a way to replicate the sun, the lights aren’t the same,” Khawaja stated.
He further expressed his appreciation for Test cricket’s traditional nature, stating, “The beauty of Test cricket and what I love about Test cricket is it really hasn’t changed a lot in the last 100 years. I think people maybe are just getting a little bit more impatient. It sucks, but that’s Test cricket, unfortunately. And when it rains or when you have bad light, you just have to cop it. You have five days of cricket to get a result. I still think there’ll be a result in this game,” Khawaja added.
Australia is currently trailing by 197 runs after Day 2 of the Sydney Test. Khawaja and David Warner had a promising start, but both failed to capitalize on their partnership of 70 runs. Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are expected to continue the innings on Day 3.