The T20 boom has threatened the existence of Test cricket but what is also hurting the red-ball game is the "abysmal pace of play", reckons Australian great Ian Chappell.
In a column for ESPNcricinfo, Chappell blamed the batters for wasting too much time in the middle.
"The pace of play in Test cricket is abysmal. It's slowing every day and nothing is being done to improve matters.
"On the one hand, Ben Stokes genuinely strives to improve the entertainment quotient of Test cricket but he's being undermined by the administrators' lack of initiative," he wrote before asking some pertinent questions.
"Why are batters allowed to meet mid-pitch during overs to discuss who knows what without penalty? Why aren't batters informed that etiquette requires them to be in their stance at the crease when a bowler is ready to deliver?
"Heat extremes excepted, why allow drinks at times outside of the regular break? Why do glove changes occur so often? Surely this is superstition more than need," he asked.
The DRS has also contributed to the slow pace of the game, feels Chappell."Have administrators heard how players shouldn't argue with an umpire? Then why do those same administrators encourage arguing with an umpire by allowing players to review decisions? The number of tactical reviews is growing out of hand and replays are taking too much time.
"How come players are allowed to charge at umpires while they are appealing, without any recrimination? I was appalled to see Australian players indulging in this heinous behaviour in the SCG Test recently."
Pak choke in chase, NZ win
Hamilton: New Zealand overcame the loss of their captain in an innings that faltered late to beat Pakistan by 21 runs in the second T20I on Sunday, taking a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
The Black Caps failed to build on the foundation of the first half of their innings, making 194/8 batting first after being 111/1 at the end of 10 overs. The batting slump followed captain Kane Williamson retiring hurt after 10 overs with a tight hamstring.
Pakistan also stumbled in the second half of their innings and were bowled out for 173 in the 20th over.
Williamson is making a managed return from a serious knee injury and New Zealand would fear any setback to his rehabilitation. But, while he didn't field, Williamson was still padded-up and apparently prepared to bat at the end of the New Zealand innings.
Finn Allen's 74 from 41 balls set a cracking pace early on in the New Zealand innings.
“It was a good surface which we've come to expect here at Seddon Park and the way Finn Allen and the boys at the top set it up was very pleasing,” New Zealand's stand-in captain Tim Southee said.
For the hosts, Adam Milne was the best bowler with 4/33.
Brief scores: New Zealand 194/8 in 20 ovs (Finn Allen 74; Haris Rauf 3/38). Pakistan 173 in 19.3 ovs (Babar Azam 66, Fakhar Zaman 50; Adam Milne 4/33). New Zealand won by 21 runs.
With inputs from AP/PTI
