The Oval Test between England and Sri Lanka has been marred by bad light from the very beginning, with less than half the scheduled overs on day one being bowled despite the lack of significant rainfall. However, on day two, the situation reached farcical levels as a mid-over light reading forced Chris Woakes to swap his seam deliveries for spin in a bizarre turn of events.

The incident took place after the run out of Dimuth Karunaratne, who was brilliantly dismissed by Olly Stone’s direct hit two balls into Woakes’ fourth over. With dark clouds looming, the umpires were forced to check the light levels, ultimately deciding that it was too dim for pace bowling.

This decision put England captain Ollie Pope in a tricky spot, as Woakes still had four balls left to complete his over. According to the Laws of Cricket, a bowler must finish an over unless incapacitated or suspended, leaving Pope with limited options: either ask Woakes to leave the field or have him switch to spin.

In a hurried attempt to adapt, Woakes could be seen practising his off-breaks on the outfield before resuming his spell. Pope, in turn, crowded the batter with close-in fielders, hoping Woakes could make something happen with the ball.

However, the unexpected switch didn’t pay off as Woakes struggled to adjust, delivering two dragged-down deliveries and two wide outswingers, conceding six runs in the process.

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Interestingly, another light reading was taken at the end of Woakes’ over, and the umpires, in a twist of irony, decided that conditions had improved enough to allow Gus Atkinson to bowl at full pace from the other end.

England have already clinched the series, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead going into the third and final match of the series in London. Batting first, the hosts posted 325, with captain Pope producing a sublime knock of 154. Ben Duckett also scored a crucial 86. For Sri Lanka, Milan Rathnayake was the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets. Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, and captain Dhananjaya de Silva took two wickets each.

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