'Sometimes Bowlers Are A Bit Dumb': On Ball Row, England Great Drops Bombshell
Former England cricket team captain Michael Vaughan criticised India's decision to change the second new ball on Day 2 of the third Test match at Lord's on Friday.
- Michael Vaughan criticised India's decision to change the second new ball on Day 2 at Lord's
- Indian players requested a new ball as the original was losing its shape during the third Test
- "I'm a big believer that sometimes bowlers are a bit dumb," Vaughan said during his analysis
Former England cricket team captain Michael Vaughan criticised India's decision to change the second new ball on Day 2 of the third Test match at Lord's on Friday. The Indian cricket team players were not happy with the ball losing its shape and Shubman Gill decided to request for a new ball. While Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets with the second new ball, England did not lose any more wickets in the first innings after the ball was changed. Vaughan said that the fielding side should not care about the shape of the ball and even made a stunning remark about bowlers during his analysis.
"I'm a big believer that sometimes bowlers are a bit dumb. I've watched cricket for a number of years, and when you have got a ball that is moving around, I don't care how big it is, I don't care what shape it is in. It's moving around, you just got three wickets," Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
Vaughan was also critical of Mohammed Siraj as the fast bowler suggested the ball change.
"Mohammed Siraj, looks to me like he's taking it on his own to the umpire saying 'I want a change in the ball'. All the rest of the team should have gone whacked Siraj on the head and said, 'What are you doing?' Then the next ball arrived and it did nothing. They should not have done that, and bowlers sometimes, they overcomplicate life," he added.
Bumrah said that learnings from the last England tour helped him to make the best use of conditions that resulted in a five-wicket haul in the third Test against England at Lord's.
Bumrah was at his absolute best on the second day of play and gave India big relief with the wickets of Ben Stokes (44), Joe Root (104) and Chris Woakes (0) in the first session. The Indian pace spearhead also got scalps of Brydon Carse, who scored a vital half-century for the home side, and Jofra Archer to get his name etched in Lord's Honours Board.
“I thought about the slope on the last tour, it did not help. My lesson from that was not keep that in mind and I got the benefit of that. In these hot conditions, it is all about maximizing the new ball. It was not like that in the previous tour, that has been the major difference,” Bumrah said.
(With IANS inputs)
India Cricket Team
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