Day 2 of the Lord’s Test provided plenty of moments to talk about, but one moment that stood out was the Dukes’ Ball getting out of shape way too often. This created a big controversy after almost an hour’s play into the day, which affected India‘s mindset as they lost focus on the real things they needed to do.
The visitors started the day really well, getting early wickets and reducing England to 271/7 at one point. But suddenly, after 10.3 overs with the second new ball, India complained about losing its shape, and the ball was changed. India were put off here as well, as they found the changed ball to be older. This led to multiple delays in the morning session and a disgruntled Indian side, which benefited England.
Dukes’ Ball Controversy makes India lose focus and affects their bowling performance.
India started well on Day 2 courtesy of their spearhead Jasprit Bumrah as he got rid of Ben Stokes for 44 and Joe Root for 104 who scored his 37th Test ton, his 8th at Lord’s and 11th against India. Bumrah got rid of Root for the 11th time in his career. Chris Woakes went first ball to Bumrah, caught behind as Bumrah had 3 in the morning and 4 in the match. In the meantime, Jamie Smith was dropped by KL Rahul when he was on 5 by Siraj, and he made India pay later on.
After 10.3 overs with the second new ball, India, courtesy of Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj, complained to the on-field umpires about the shape of the ball not being there. The umpires, after checking themselves, obliged and changed the ball. The drama did not stop there as India continued to complain about the replaced ball and this caused a lot of delay in the morning session. There were animated chats from Captain Gill and Siraj, and other Indian players were joining in.
It had an effect on India as they lost total focus and allowed England’s tail to wag. Smith was making India pay for the dropped catch while Carse was benefitting from the loose balls on offer. The duo of Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse put on 84 for the 8th wicket and that hurt India bad. One due to a dropped catch, and the other reason was wayward bowling after this controversy. India should not have lost focus at this stage is something we can agree with, but the ball losing its shape is a concern as well.
The replaced ball lasted only 48 balls as there was another ball change. There were too many ball changes as even when India were batting, the ball was changed after 34 overs for losing shape. This is not the first time this has happened in this series. We saw this happening in the first two Tests in Headingly and Edgbaston and it escalated a touch at Lord’s. Something needs to be done to fix this issue and it is an issue for both sides not just India.
History of Dukes’ Ball Losing Shape Over The Years.Â
The Dukes’ ball losing shape is not just limited to this series or this summer alone. It has happened over the years. Renowned legendary bowler Stuart Broad has spoken about it in his latest tweet and said that the ball shape problem has been around for the past 5 years. Every series a ball has lost its shape on an average after 30-40 overs. Broad reckons that balls should last 80 overs and questioned the manufacturing defect.
In the 2023 Ashes, Usman Khawaja spoke about the dukes’ ball losing shape issue. He expressed surprise as to how this is happening way too often. Even Jasprit Bumrah who had a great day at Lord’s spoke about this and how it is really challenging the bowlers to do well. There was a comment from the dukes’ ball owner and he urged ICC to amend rules and take the second new ball after 60 overs which was very weird. Even if that rule is applied, the ball is losing shape way before 60 overs. It’s losing shape in 30-40 overs and in yesterday’s case 10 overs.
The time has come for the manufacturers to stand up and take responsibility for the shape of the ball. They need to first acknowledge the problem and then sort out the issue. The quicker it happens, the better but for this series we do not expect it to have a drastic change as the series is ongoing. The same set of balls will be used and these problems and controversies will continue to rise. But for the upcoming series/summer, this can be fixed and changed one hopes.
What Lies Ahead
England have their noses in front after the first two days at Lord’s. They posted 387 and have India in a spot of bother at 145/3. The visitors still trail by 242 runs with 7 wickets in hand. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are at the crease. England will hope to get a big lead of over 100 runs and dominate the Test from here. India will have to grind it out and get closer to parity as possible if not overhaul England.
The stage is set for the moving day of the Test match. Will England run away with the match with a big lead or will India show fight and stay in the game. We shall find out soon at the Home of Cricket when Day 3 commences. We are into the weekend and we expect the crowds to be in full attendance in what should be a rip roaring and important day in Test and series.
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