England captain Stuart Broad has criticised the umpires' decision to continue play during his side's World Twenty20 defeat to New Zealand on Saturday.

The Three Lions skipper believes that the officials should have stopped the match during the fourth over of the Black Caps' innings when lightning lit up the stadium background, as the thunderstorm gathered pace.

"It's a game of cricket, you can't put players' safety in danger," he told BBC Sport. "We had a batsman (New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum) pull away because the lightning flashed before his eyes.

"We feel a bit aggrieved that we've lost the game and I'm amazed we stayed on after 4.1 overs with the lightning around. It's not sour grapes because the New Zealanders feel exactly the same. It was unsafe for the players to be out there and, to be as polite as I possibly can, it was distinctly average decision-making.

"I asked the umpires why we stayed on the field and they said they didn't see the lightning as a threat and they didn't see it because it was behind them - I don't agree with that, I was on the field."

England lost the match by nine runs on the Duckworth/Lewis method.