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Broad livid with umpires for continuing match against New Zealand despite lightning

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ANI Sydney
Last Updated : Mar 23 2014 | 10:20 AM IST

England Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad is reportedly upset that their match against New Zealand in Chittagong went ahead despite lightning flashing near the ground during the World T20 match.

Broad believes that players and fans were put in danger by the decision to continue playing despite the lightning and has said that he considered leading his side off in protest against the decision.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the skipper was unable to believe that although the lightning came down uncomfortably close to the playing surface in the second innings at the ZACS Stadium, umpires Aleem Dar and Paul Reiffel kept the players on the field.

Although the sides were eventually ushered off when rain began to fall, Broad was reportedly more concerned about a decision which he felt threatened life and limb.

The skipper said that it was distinctly 'average decision-making' that kept the teams on the field after the first lightning strike at the start of the fifth over, but the umpires did not see the lightning and did not feel it as a threat.

However, Broad said that he can guarantee from his team that they felt the lightning as a threat and added that the rival team felt the same as New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum and Broad had a discussion about taking their players off the field because they didn't agree with the umpires decision.

New Zealand, who had scored 51-1 after 5.2 overs, won by nine runs on the Duckworth/Lewis method, the report added.

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First Published: Mar 23 2014 | 10:06 AM IST

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