
Rishabh Pant is clearly injured. Is it time for substitutes in cricket?
It was remarkable Pant could not only continue an innings interrupted when he was struck a nasty blow on his right foot by Chris Woakes on the first day of the fourth Test, but smack Jofra Archer for six.
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Even though India's batter-wicketkeeper deserved huge credit for extending his score of 37 to 54 on the second day before having his off-stump removed by Archer, it does seem extraordinary India could not replace Pant after such a serious injury so early in the game.
Cricket has always allowed an injured or sick player to be substituted in the field — and India had brought in Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps in the third Test at Lord's when Pant suffered a finger injury — but they cannot bat or bowl.
That is in contrast to cricket's closest 'cousin' in baseball where teams are permitted to substitute players any time the ball is dead — as long as the team manager notifies the umpire of the switch and the substitute bats in the same position as the player they replaced.
It is more complicated in cricket where Law 24 has never been broken. But it was softened six years ago when Australia's Marnus Labuschagne became the first substitute allowed to bat in a Test after Steve Smith was struck on the head by Archer at Lord's and suffered a concussion.
If you can have concussion subs, the argument goes, why can that not be extended to other injuries? The sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council, plan a six-month trial from October to allow substitutes in domestic cricket in all their full member countries. But it will only be for 'serious' injuries and only 'like for like' replacements will be allowed.
It is a move welcomed by former England captain Michael Vaughan, who has long been an advocate of full cricketing subs. 'Ever since they brought in substitutes for concussion I've been crying out for it to be extended to other serious injuries,' Vaughan told the BBC's Test Match Special. 'Just say that ball had ballooned off Pant's foot and hit his head. Could India have claimed he'd suffered a concussion and brought in a replacement?
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'This has been a great series but we were faced with the prospect of 10 against 11 if Pant hadn't been able to bat. And even though he was able to he was severely restricted. I just want a top-quality product and it's lessened if a team has such an obvious advantage.'
It seems a logical argument but not everyone agrees. His fellow former England captain Sir Alastair Cook is concerned the introduction of substitutes could create more problems than it solves.
'There will always be a scenario which is not covered by the rules and it will cause issues,' Cook replied on the TMS podcast. 'What happens if a player appears seriously injured and wants a replacement but nothing shows up on the scan? He's clearly in discomfort but it's only a bruise. Is he allowed a sub?
'The way it stands sometimes the cricketing gods look after you and sometimes they don't. If you want to have a sub for injury or tactical reasons then at least that would be clearer. Otherwise it can be abused.'
That potential for skulduggery was highlighted by a third former England captain at Old Trafford in Nasser Hussain. 'I'm not a fan of substitutes because if you make any change like that players can use it to their advantage,' Hussain told Sky Sports.
'If it was a like-for-like sub like concussion ones then maybe it would work but even with those we've occasionally seen some odd changes.
'You could have four days of a game and you might want a different type of spinner and miraculously your finger spinner suddenly goes in the hammy and you can bring a wrist spinner in as a sub. Is that fair? Anything you change, players will find a way round it.'
That potential for manipulation of 'like for like' subs was highlighted earlier this year when India's Shivam Dube was struck on the helmet by England's Jamie Overton in the fourth T20 international in Pune when he had scored 53.
Batting all-rounder Dube carried on for the last ball of the Indian innings but was then replaced for the England innings by concussion substitute Harshit Rana — a specialist bowler.
By the time England could complain about the switch to match referee Javagal Srinath Harshit had taken three wickets and India had romped to victory.
'We disagree with the decision,' said then England captain Jos Buttler. 'It's not a like for like replacement. Either Dube has put on about 25 miles per hour with the ball or Harshit has really improved his batting.
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'We had no consultation. As I came out to bat I asked the umpire why Harshit was on the field and he said 'he's the concussion substitute'. Maybe next time we'll pick 12 players as well.'
Even the long established allowance of a fielding substitute has caused controversy. England brought in Gary Pratt, a Durham batter who was nowhere near international quality, as a specialist sub for the 2005 Ashes simply because he was so strong in the field.
Pratt regularly appeared for brief spells when England's bowlers were supposedly 'injured', much to Australian captain Ricky Ponting's annoyance — never more so than when Pratt ran him out with a brilliant direct hit in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge.
Cue a furious Australia captain, who was chuntering all the way back to the pavilion where he confronted England coach Duncan Fletcher, and an iconic Ashes moment.
'It was something that was always part of the plan,' remembers Pratt, who ended up joining England on their victory parade through London.
'The plan was always for the guys to go off and get showered and freshen up — especially the bowlers — and then come back out and have another spell.
'When Ricky was complaining he was doing it at the wrong time because Simon Jones (who Pratt had replaced in the field when he really was seriously injured) was in hospital.'
There was a time when Pant would have been allowed a 'runner' — a member of his side who had been dismissed — to come out and run for him in the fourth Test when he was clearly struggling to manage singles.
But they were outlawed after another controversy in 2009 when England captain Andrew Strauss refused to allow his South African counterpart Graeme Smith a runner as he had cramp. Smith was not seriously enough injured, argued Strauss, and that will always be cricket's problem.
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What is the definition of a serious injury? Who will decide whether it is serious enough? Would there have to be independent medical experts at every match? And just what constitutes a like-for-like replacement?
Until the sport finds answers to those questions then the substitute debate will rumble on and on. And those cricketing gods that Cook talks about will just have to have the final word.
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