“Umpires did a wonderful job dealing with bad light” – Brad Hogg lauds the umpires for their officiating on Day 5 of 1st India-New Zealand Test

Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg praised umpires Nitin Menon and Virender Sharma for their conduct on the final day’s play between India and New Zealand. The umpires had to check the light level on an overly basis and communicate with the personnel on the field as the Kanpur Test ended in a thrilling draw.

The umpires brought out the meter at the end of each over and checked the level at both ends of the crease. The level detected on Stumps on Day 1 was used as the benchmark for the entire Test.

India were able to bowl the minimum overs to be bowled for the day, but play was called off due to poor light despite a few minutes still being left on the clock. While speaking on his YouTube channel, Hogg said:

“Umpires did a wonderful job dealing with bad light. They are Indian umpires, the way that they controlled themselves in the last hour of play was superb. They kept getting the meter out, kept communicating with the players all the time. They had full control of the situation.”

After a lengthy discussion with the players led by Indian skipper Ajinkya Rahane, both camps decided to walk off the field and settle the Test match as a draw.

“I like the way he uses the footmarks” – Brad Hogg on Indian spinner Axar Patel

Hogg reserved praise on Axar Patel for his efficiency while bowling to both left-handers and right-handers. The left-arm spinner notched six wickets in the first India-New Zealand Test, which comprised of three left-handers and three-right handers.

Hogg noted how Patel made use of the footmarks left by seamers, all right-handed, from both teams during the Test. This created a bunch of rough patches outside the off-stump for the left-handed batsmen. Hogg said:

“Very very difficult for the right-handers to score against him. When he was bowling to the left-handers, I like the way he uses the footmarks created by all the right-arm pacers. All of them left different footmarks and Axar Patel bowled very accurately into those.”

The former Australian cricketer added:

“He is dominant in Indian conditions as he bowls a lot of sidespin. Needs to bowl more overspin to be effective in overseas conditions.”

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All five of Patel’s Test appearances for India have come on home soil. With his bowling angle, side spin is something which comes naturally and it has brought him results as well. Despite not being a proficient turner of the ball, Axar Patel will have to employ the use of flight instead of drift in overseas conditions.