'That's a joke': Nasser Hussain slams umpires' decision to abandon England vs Pakistan Day 3 at Lord's

The decision to end play early on the third day of England’s second Test against Pakistan at Lord’s has sparked criticism after the weather improved soon after the umpires called it off.Rain had disrupted most of Saturday, with the morning session completely washed out and only 24.5 overs possible. Players left the field at 17:08 BST, when conditions still looked poor. But the rain soon stopped, the sky became brighter and ground staff began removing some of the covers.Despite this, umpires Paul Reiffel and Allahuddien Parker abandoned the day at 18:30, with around an hour of scheduled play still available. Some fans booed the decision, while former England captain Nasser Hussain strongly criticised it."That's a joke, honestly a joke," former England captain Hussain said on Sky Sports."I earlier said how good the umpires have been. These fans have waited all afternoon for it to stop raining. It's now bright. There's blue sky in the distance. That is an unbelievable decision, it really is."In about five minutes' time it's going to be sunny here."The weather stayed dry until the scheduled close at 19:30. Because fewer than 30 overs were played, spectators will receive a 50% ticket refund.England in control as debate continuesEngland finished the day on 177-7, holding a 357-run lead and looking well placed to win the match and series. Dan Lawrence, unbeaten on 50, said returning for only 40 minutes would not have been ideal."It would have been a tricky 40 minutes to go out there and bat," said Dan Lawrence, who made an unbeaten 50."It's nice to have a good sleep and think about how I'm going to play in the morning. I can imagine it will be with the same intent and trying to push the game forward."Forty minutes of batting at 6.45pm is never an ideal thing."The controversy came alongside a similar situation in the County Championship, where Durham were unable to chase four runs against Gloucestershire because of bad light.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.