India Given '30-35 Years Old Ball' At Lord's, Huge Controversy Triggered

NDTV

2 days ago

The Dukes ball has been at the centre of attention in the ongoing Test series between India and England. Players from both camps have complained about the ball getting too soft too early. In fact, a huge controversy had erupted on Day 3 of the Lord's Test earlier this month, as the ball was changed twice alone in the morning session. Unhappy with the ball-change protocol in the series, the visitors have taken the matter to the International Cricket Council (ICC), according to a report in The Indian Express.
As per the report, the second replacement ball, which had gone out of shape after just 10 overs, turned out to be 30-35 years.
"The protocol states the replacement needs to be as old as the original but it is learnt that the umpires told the team there was no ball in stock that was 10 overs old," the report said.
The Indian team feels that the older replacement for a harder one put them at a disadvantage in the match, which they eventually lost by 22 runs.
"At Lord's, after about 10 overs, the Dukes ball lost its shape, something that has been happening so often in the series. The ball failed to pass through the rings that the umpires carry on the field to check if the ball is uniformly spherical. However, the umpires didn't have a ball that was 10 overs old, so the Indian team at a crucial moment of the match got a ball that was 30-35 overs old," the report quoted a BCCI official as saying.
The report also revealed that the Indian team would've stuck to the second new ball if they knew that the replacement was going to 30-35 years old.
"When you ask for a ball change, you aren't told about the age of the replacement you will be getting. At Lord's, we weren't told that the replacement would be 30 to 35 overs old. If we were told, we would have continued with the deformed ball that was used for 10 overs. The ICC needs to intervene. This rule needs to be changed," the official added.
ESPNcricinfo recently shared a report, comparing the average swing and swing of the second new ball and the replacement cherry.
"The second new ball... swung 1.869 degrees and seamed 0.579 degrees on average. The replacement ball swung 0.855 degrees on average and seamed 0.594 degrees," the report stated.