Gerard Whateley is one of many commentators that are calling for the ICC to change its outdated conventions as rain interrupted day one of the Sydney Test Match.
Only 46.5 overs were bowled on a frustrating opening day after the umpires called for six rain delays.
The laws of cricket dictate that Lunch and Tea must be taken at certain times, but Whateley believes that by following these conventions, the umpires wasted the best weather of the day.
“A lot more can be done by ditching the stayed conventions of cricket”, Whateley said on 1170 SEN Breakfast.
“We wasted a good 25 minutes of the best of the weather yesterday whilst lunch was being taken, despite the fact that only 12.3 overs had been bowled at that stage.”
Whateley also took aim at the decision to push the toss back half an hour to 10:30.
“The ground staff has to have time to do its work to prepare the ground for play…I absolutely accept that.
“(But) it felt like an unnecessary delay to push the toss (back).
“It was a default position to move it by 30 (minutes) and it felt like we wasted 20 minutes there.
“If you think about it really deeply, it’d make your head explode.”
Shane Warne has echoed the statements of Whateley but also believes that Cricket Australia should consider moving the New Year’s Test due to the prevalence of rain in Sydney over January.
“This time of year in Sydney, it rains,” Warne told Fox Cricket.
“The proof is there. The last five or six Test matches (at the SCG), it’s rained.”
The morning of Day 2 was also heavily influenced by rain, the umpires calling for multiple breaks in the first session.