I've just returned from watching the cricket at the Oval. It has been a momentous day, not for the cricket as such, but for the way play ended.

In the afternoon session the umpires decided that the ball had been tampered with by the fielding side. They therefore awarded England five penalty runs, and changed the ball. No announcement was made as to the action taken, but those of us in the crowd who were also listening on the radio soon found out.

Tea was taken early because of bad light, but at the end of the interval only the umpires emerged. The Pakistan dressing room door remained closed.

After a few minutes the umpires returned. Spectators were told nothing, but most inferred that Pakistan were protesting at the earlier decision.

A few minutes later the umpires returned, and the England batsmen also walked out to the middle. Again they stood around for a few minutes, before the umpires removed the bails and all returned to theor respective changing rooms.

Again no announcement, but the only sensibble interpretation seeemed to be that the umpires had asked both teams to take the field, that Pakistan had not done so, and so had conceded the game.

Still no announcement. Pathetic.

Zaheer Abbas (one of my childhood heroes) and David Morgan appeared to meet and negotiate. The Pakistan team appeared. No umpires.

In short confusion. Finally, nearly an hour and a half after play was due to resume, came an announcement that there would be no further play today.

The BBC has a report that negotiations are ongoing.

My view is that the game is over. The rules of cricket have been applied. The umpires may have made the wrong decision when they decided the ball had been tampered with. No one can know. But crcket depends on having a couple of people out in the middle who take impartial decions in the best way they can. (There are plenty of ways to have an inquest after the game.)

When the umpires had taken a decision, that decision should have been communicated to spectators and respected.

If this Test match is resumed then - based on what I know of it - people should stay away.

And the ECB should explain why umpires decisions are not relayed to spectators.

Finally, given the poor quality of the drink on offer at the Oval, I have decided to sign Don Foster's petition against the ban on taking alcohol into Test grounds