New Delhi [India], July 18 : Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg said the slow over-rates in Test cricket are justified as long as player's intent, character and tension is revealed during the course of a match, which makes it "quality cricket".
Hogg's comments came after England's win at Lord's third Test, following which they lost two ICC World Test Championship points for maintaining a slow over rate.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Hogg, who took 180 wickets in 145 matches for Australia and also scored 1,031 runs at an average of 20.62 with three fifties, said, "As a player and the personality I had, I wanted the game to keep going. When I look at the bigger picture, Test cricket is about the storyline, about the players' intent. When things are not going as fast, the slow over-rates there, it is okay as long as there is tension in the game. We want that tension. We want the players' character showing. If there is nothing happening, no tension, no intent, then we have got to push the over-rate. But when there is lot of tension, I don't mind the slow over-rate. As long as it has got the tension, slow over-rate is good because that is quality cricket."
Expanding on his mindset further, Hogg said that in England, bowlers try to preserve their energy when the ball goes soft and go hard at batters when the batters become defensive, making the match a "cat and mouse" thing.
"It is a bit of cat and mouse. When you talk about games in England, you are trying to save the energy of your bowlers, especially when the ball softens and the batters are in control. As a bowler, you want to make sure you are keeping pressure on the batter later when they are in a defensive mindset. You want to keep rushing them. That's where the game ebbs and flows. It is all about the intent," he said.
Hogg pointed out that Rishabh Pant's run out for 74 during the first session of day one and KL Rahul getting out shortly in second session cost India the game.
"India lost that match because of one moment. It was a critical moment. Pant getting run out trying to get Rahul on strike to get his hundred before lunch. Then Rahul coming out after lunch, gets his hundred, he is celebrating and has not refocused to get back on track for the next ball and he played a terrible shot. They lost two wickets in ten balls after having a partnership of 140 on top of England. They could have been in front after the first innings, and that would have set up for a better game on the last day. India let the ball slip early on in the Test match," he concluded.
The fourth Test will take place at Manchester from July 23 onwards with the series 2-1 in England's favour.
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