India believes they were at a disadvantage in the Lord’s Test, which England won by 22 runs.
As per the reports, team India and management are disappointed with the ball change rule during the ongoing five-match Test series against England. They have raised concerns to the ICC match referee about the same.
The management also feels that the English team was preferred when it came to selecting balls at the beginning of the third Test at Lord’s, as per The Indian Express.
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The replacement ball was 30-35 overs old when the second new ball at Lord’s went out of shape after 10 overs of play during England’s first innings at Lord’s. It has been revealed that the umpires informed the team that no ball in stock was 10 overs old, despite the protocol saying the replacement to be as old as the original.
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The Indian team reckons they were at a disadvantage in the Lord’s Test match, which England won by 22 runs, as they were handed a softer and older ball to replace the harder one that was effective in the first 10 overs. The fourth Test match ended in a draw, and now the two teams are set to lock horns in the fifth match, which starts on Thursday.
“At Lord’s, after about 10 overs, the Dukes ball lost its shape, something that has been happening so often in the series. The ball failed to pass through the rings that the umpires carry on the field to check if the ball is uniformly spherical. However, the umpires didn’t have a ball that was 10 overs old, so the Indian team at a crucial moment of the match got a ball that was 30-35 overs old,” said an Indian team official to The Indian Express.
The ball change transpired for the Indian team at the wrong time. India’s star pace Jasprit Bumrah wreaked havoc with the ball, tormenting England’s middle order. He snared the likes of Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Chris Woakes too.
“Check the scoreboard to see how the game changed after that. The bowlers lost their swing and England scored with ease,” the official further added.
After receiving the older ball, India proceeded to request the match referee to allow them to use the original ball that had gone out of shape, and that’s when they were told to check the rule book.
“When you ask for a ball change, you aren’t told about the age of the replacement you will be getting. At Lord’s, we weren’t told that the replacement would be 30 to 35 overs old. If we were told, we would have continued with the deformed ball that was used for 10 overs. The ICC needs to intervene. This rule needs to be changed,” he added.
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