England star Ben Duckett defends controversial decision after being bombarded by fans' boos

England star Ben Duckett has defended the bad light rules after fans voiced their frustration at the lack of cricket on day one of the third Test against Sri Lanka.

Supporters who paid to be inside the Oval on Friday saw just 44.1 overs of play after Sri Lanka won the toss and put England in to bat. They were entertaining overs, with Ollie Pope reaching 103 not out and Duckett smashing 86 from just 79 balls as England reached 221/3 at a run-rate of five per over.

There was one stoppage for bad light in the middle of the day, despite the floodlights being on, before play was called off at just before 6pm. Boos greeted the umpires’ decision to bring the players off shortly after Pope reached his century, but Duckett said there was little that could have been done about it.

"I think they saw quite a good day's cricket in the short amount of time there was," he said. "That's living in England and playing cricket in England, they're the conditions. It's very easy to sit there as a supporter and want to see more cricket but if it does get really dark and more dangerous, we're the ones out there playing.

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“I did make a joke saying if they wanted to bowl double spinners before lunch they could do. They weren't conditions for that. Both sides did it at Old Trafford, went double spin, but when the lights were on and the ball was nipping around a bit, the umpires were taking us off and we're going to have to go with their rules."

He added: "I'm sure if it was that same Aussie attack last summer, bowling in those conditions, you'd probably want get off the field. It does have a big impact when those lights are on and they're fully on and the ball starts swinging and nipping around a bit more.

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“To be honest, it's got nothing to do us. You don't really get the option any more. If the umpires take you off you've got to go with their decision."

However, the fans’ frustration was shared by England managing director Rob Key, who told BBC’s Test Match Special: "The way they were going about it, it didn't look like it was dark. What you need is to have a proper look and some proper investment into what is dangerous. When full floodlights are on, how hard is it to see the ball? I don't think we have ever done a study on that. It is frustrating."

Former England captain Michael Vaughan suggested that the pink ball be swapped for the red ball when the light is poor, allowing the game to continue. Thankfully, the weather forecast seems better for the coming days of the Test match – and England’s rapid scoring means a result is still almost guaranteed.