England batsman Zak Crawley admits that halting play for bad light is “frustrating” but also says there are potential “life changing” consequences should a player or umpire get hit by the ball in gloomy conditions.

The second Test has been besieged by wet weather and bad light. There were less than 90 overs completed across the first two days of the game and the third day was a total washout. The umpires faced criticism on Friday for taking the players off the field at 4.45pm when neither team wanted to stop play, and it did not appear that the light had deteriorated to dangerous or unreasonable levels. Bad light curtailed play on the opening day too.

Despite the criticism, Crawley said he understood the umpires’ dilemma given the potential dangers of playing on in poor light. “On Friday, I was at deep square when a couple of balls got hit out and I didn’t see them at all really,” he said. “I don’t know if anyone else was feeling the same. It’s a difficult one, if someone cops one on the head because they didn’t see the ball in the field or a batsman cops one on the arm and misses the rest of the series, that’s life changing differences in their career or their lives.

“I was thinking, if I was batting right now I’d probably want to go off. That’s they way you’ve got to think. As a fielder I was frustrated, you want to keep going, but walking off I was thinking I’d want to take the light if I was batting. You have to look at it from both sides and probably the right decision was made. It was pretty dark.

“It hasn’t happened in this game yet but who’s to say if we come out and it’s dark someone doesn’t breaks their arm or get hit in the head by a cricket ball…it’s a difficult balance. It’s not for me to say if it’s too dark. It’s umpires’ responsibility to look after the players.”

Although Crawley said he understood the umpires decision, he also admitted that when he was younger he was annoyed when the game was stopped for wet weather. “I’ve watched T20s when I was younger and they’ve come off when it’s drizzling,” he said. “I’ve been guilty of that, but when you’re standing there facing it, all you want to do is go off. But it is an entertainment business so maybe there’s a way to work around it and give the fans what they want.”

The forecast for the remaining two days of the Test is for more rain and cloudy skies. Given Pakistan’s first innings has not yet finished, the chances of either team forcing a result look slim. But after being left out of the summer’s previous two Tests as England played an extra bowler to provide cover for Ben Stokes, who was not fit to bowl, Crawley knows he needs a score to cement his place in the team.

“It’s an understandable decision at the time. With Ben not being able to bowl, it was to do with the balance of the side,” Crawley said. “No complaints from me. It was frustrating; I’d love to be playing for England but when we win both games it proved to be the right decision.

“I’d love to score enough runs so my position in the side becomes more stable. I probably need some runs in the next few games to cement it a bit more. Each time I go out I want to score good runs and hopefully in a few games time, or longer down the line, my place in the side will be secure and I’ll play for a while.”

Crawley’s highest score for England came in the first Test against West Indies last month, when he made a fine 76 in the second innings at the Ageas Bowl. He knows, however, that centuries are a batsman’s currency – “It’s what we are all chasing” – and he has his sights firmly set on reaching three figures for England. “I think about it all the time,” he said. “I pinch myself thinking about scoring a hundred in my room at night.

“I massively want to score a hundred for England. I don’t want to put myself under pressure, I feel that could create too much pressure as I get closer. I’m trying to score in little sets of 10. No doubt, the first one is probably the hardest to get so I’m very much looking forward to the day I hopefully can get one. There’s a lot of hard work yet.”

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