London [UK], July 12 : Former cricketer Ian Ward gave his take on the "ridiculous" ball change which caused an unprecedented delay in the first session of Day 3 during the third Test between England and India at Lord's on Saturday.
The Dukes' balls continued to be at the centre of attention yet again. The process to identify the replacement began moments after the drinks break ended in the first session. Ward fumed at the umpire's decision not to change the ball during the drinks break, but after it, which led to a seven-plus minute break.
"They have decided to change the ball again, it's quite frankly ridiculous because if they've decided to change the ball, why was that not decided at the start of the drinks break?" Ward said on Sky Sports.
"We waited for the entirety of the drinks break; they should be playing again now, and now the umpires have decided to change it and go through the procedure," he added.
The ball change fiasco wasn't limited to the third day. Just a couple of overs into the second day, India complained about the Dukes ball, which was around 10 overs old. The umpire tried to put the ball through the hoop, but it didn't go through. India captain Shubman Gill was seen having a heated discussion with the umpire, possibly expressing his discontent with the replacement ball.
Even in the drinks break, Gill appeared to be livid during his conversation with the umpire. The endemic concern with the ball continued when, 48 deliveries later, the ball lost its shape and required changing yet again. In the final session, England also asked for a change, but the ball passed the hoop, which led to the continuation with the same delivery.
After the second day, England's talismanic batter Joe Root weighed in on the recurring theme and suggested a way to keep it limited and told reporters, "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, if you want to get it changed."
"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," he added.
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