The umpires for the third England v India Test at Lord's faced criticism for changing the ball at the end of the drinks break during the first session on day three of the match.
The controversy around frequent ball changes has been a recurring theme in the ongoing series. The latest incident occurred during the drinks break on day three of the Lord’s Test today (July 12).
India had cruised to 197-3 in response to England’s first-innings total of 387. As the players neared the end of their hydration break, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees in London, the umpires gathered to change the ball – a decision which drew criticism from commentators Ian Ward and Ravi Shastri, who felt the procedure should have begun at the start of the break.
"Well, here we go again. Another ball change!" exclaimed Ward on Sky Sports. "Now I have to say this is frankly ridiculous because if they've decided to change the ball, why was that not decided at the start of the drinks break? This procedure could have taken place or started a couple of three minutes ago? We waited for the entirety of the drinks break. They should be playing again now.
"... They've got to go through this procedure – try and find a ball that looks and resembles something like the one they're replacing, and check whether it goes through those rings that Paul Reiffel is using. This process could have started right at the start of the drinks break."
Fellow commentator Shastri echoed Ward’s thoughts, saying, "I couldn't agree more. It's just common sense what you're saying. It's basic. It's hard to explain, really hard to explain.
"Did they forget to check the ball? Because what’s quite amazing is they checked five balls, and five of them didn’t go through the ring. So why are they in the box in the first place?"
"What was that not decided at the start of the drinks break?" ⌚️
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 12, 2025
"It's common sense what you're saying. It's basic!" 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/Q431g2HpR1
On day two of the match, the manufacturer of Dukes ball faced criticism after two ball changes were made within 20 overs of taking the new ball. Nasser Hussain also criticised India’s repeated requests for ball changes as "one of the most bizarre decisions" he had ever seen.
Speaking about the day two incidents, Joe Root proposed a DRS-style ball challenge system where "each team gets three challenges every 80 overs". Root also voiced his displeasure over India’s repeated requests, stating, "You can’t just keep asking and wasting time and slowing the game down."
At Edgbaston, criticism over the condition of the ball was a constant feature, with Rishabh Pant being penalised by the ICC for showing frustration after India were denied a ball change. The criticism prompted the manufacturer of the Dukes ball to propose altering the rules on when a new ball becomes available.
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