Laxman slams Vaughan for Vaseline episode

India middle-order batsman VVS Laxman lashed out at Michael Vaughan for virtually accusing him of wrong-doing in the Vaseline episode.

The former England skipper accused Laxman of applying Vaseline to his bat so that the Hot Spot technology would not detect the edge. "Has Vaseline on the outside edge saved the day for Laxman?" tweeted Vaughan after the third umpire ruled the Indian not out as England pressed for the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) in the second Test at Trent Bridge recently.

"It was ridiculous," a visibly peeved Laxman told MiD DAY after a net session on Monday.

"First of all, I had never heard that batsmen could apply vaseline. I have heard bowlers using it (vaseline) to shape the ball. I was quite surprised to hear that I used vaseline on the bat. It is surprising that people can make a joke out of all this," Laxman added.

The Indian batsman was on 27 when the last delivery of James Anderson's ninth over passed his bat. The England players went up in appeal for a catch behind the stumps, but umpire Asad Rauf ruled in Laxman's favour. The third umpire too didn't favour the hosts.

Later, England pacer Stuart Broad revealed to the media that he checked Laxman's bat to see if vaseline or any liquid was applied on the bat.

However, Laxman was surprised to hear that Broad had said that. "No, Broad did not check my bat. I don't know why he made such a comment. I am surprised that people are making stories out of everything," Laxman said.

The Hyderabadi was obviously disappointed for missing out on a hundred after scoring a half-century in the second Test. "I enjoyed scoring those 13 runs in that last one hour before the close of play in the first innings.

Runs were not important at that time; the challenge was to hang in there and bat sensibly. Rahul (Dravid) and I just concentrated on being at the crease. The ball was swinging a lot, so we were trying to keep our bat as close as possible to the body.

Missed it

"Next morning I got out after scoring 54. I should have got a hundred. Rahul batted really well for his hundred (117). I just missed it. In fact, I am batting well, but am not able to score a big one," he lamented.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team have their backs to the wall with two consecutive defeats. They are also on the verge of losing their Numero Uno position in the Test rankings. Laxman admitted the upcoming challenge is tough. "We have to rise to the occasion. It is a great challenge. We all have to play positively. At the moment, I am concentrating on doing well in the next Test. We will think about the fourth Test later," he
concluded.