
Joe Root has suggested regulating the process for fielding sides to challenge the condition of the ball in Test matches, after India asked repeatedly for the second new ball to be changed on the second day of the Lord's Test.
Speaking after the second day of play, Root advocated for a quota to be implemented on the number of times a fielding side can ask for the ball's condition to be checked by the umpires.
"I personally think that if you want to keep getting the ball changed then each team gets three challenges every 80 overs and that's it," said Root. "But the rings have to be the right size, not too big. That would be a nice way of compromising and saying it's not all on the manufacturer. Sometimes these things happen but you can't just keep asking and wasting time and slowing the game down at the same time."
Play was repeatedly held up in the morning session with India requesting the shape of the ball to be examined by the umpires. Having taken the new ball shortly before the close of play on day one, India expressed their frustration with the ball early in its life, and it was changed after just 10.3 overs of use.
Up to that point, Jasprit Bumrah had taken three wickets with the ball, including Root and Chris Woakes in consecutive deliveries. After it was changed, however, the replacement offered no serious threat to Brydon Carse or Jamie Smith, who were able to continue untroubled until lunch. India asked several times for the ball to be changed again, which it eventually was towards the end of the session.
Overs lost on both opening two days of play at Lord's
Requests for the ball to be changed have been part of significant delays to play during the Test match so far, with seven overs lost on the first day and 15 on the second. Other stoppages have included treatments being administered to players on the field, with temperatures crossing 30 degrees in London on Thursday and Friday.
"I don't want to get myself in trouble by trying to rewrite the thing but I think that's one way of policing the ball thing," Root said. "In terms of over rates, it can be quite difficult on a day like today. We're not used to this, are we? Thirty [degrees] in England feels like 45 elsewhere. But I guess just try and keep on top of it as much as you can."
Jasprit Bumrah who finished the first innings with five wickets, also commented on the requests for the ball to be changed. "The ball changes, I don't really control that," Bumrah said.
"Obviously I don't really want to lose out on money because I worked very hard, I bowled a lot of overs, so I don't want to say any controversial statement and get my match fees deducted. But we were bowling with the ball that we were given and that's how it is. We can't change it, we can't fight it. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes you get a bad ball, that's how it is."
Renewed criticism of Dukes ball batch
The batch of Dukes balls used in this series were also criticised after both the Headingley and Edgbaston Tests. “Even more than the pitch, the ball is going soft and going out of shape very quickly," said India captain Shubman Gill after the game. "If you know there are only 20 overs of any help, and then you have to spend the rest of the day on the defensive, thinking only about how to stop the runs, then the game loses its essence.”
England also made repeated requests to change the ball in Birmingham, the first of which was made when it was just 16 overs old. Separately, in the ongoing West Indies-Australia series, where Dukes balls are also used, Josh Hazlewood complained that he has never bowled with a softer 70-over-old ball.
This criticism prompted the manufacturer of the Duke's balls to propose a change to when the new ball becomes available. “Maybe the game’s authorities should consider allowing the new ball to be taken somewhere between the 60th and 70th over, instead of the current 80th-over rule," said Dilip Jajodia, the owner of the Dukes factory in England in an exclusive interview with the Mumbai Mirror. "They somehow expect the ball to stay hard until the 79.5th over, which, I’m afraid, it is not possible.
“It has become fashionable to criticise the ball. Bowlers and captains have made it a habit to try and put pressure on the umpires when they’re not able to take wickets.”
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