In the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series, Indian team officials told the ICC match referee that England got better treatment when it came to picking match balls.
India said that during a crucial stage of the Lord’s Test, the ball went out of shape. The replacement ball given to India was 30-35 overs old, which changed the game. Jasprit Bumrah had put England in a spot of bother by taking three wickets in the first innings of the 3rd Test, including those of Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Chris Woakes. But after just 10 overs, the ball was damaged and India wanted to change it.
According to ICC rules, the new ball should have been around 10 overs old as well. But that didn’t happen. England went from 271/7 to 355 all out with Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse scoring fifties. India then lost by 22 runs on the last day.
An Indian team official told The Indian Express that at Lord’s, the Dukes ball goes out of shape after around 10 overs which has happened a lot in the series. The ball can’t pass through the rings that the umpires use to check if it’s round. The umpires didn’t have a ball that was 10 overs old so the Indian team got a ball that was 30-35 overs old at a crucial time.
The official said that the game changed after that. The bowlers couldn’t swing the ball and England scored more easily.
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India has also suggested changing the ICC rules because teams don’t know how old the replacement ball is.
He said that when a team asks for a ball change, they are not told the age of the new ball. At Lord’s, India wasn’t told that the new ball was 30 to 35 overs old. If they had known, they would have kept using the damaged ball. The ICC needs to step in and change this rule.
The report also said that the darker red balls in the series have swung more. The official said that the fourth umpire sometimes brings a box to the Indian dressing room with only one darker red ball. When India chose that ball, they were told England had picked it as their second new ball.
The official said he wasn’t making accusations but when they asked for the darker ball, they were told England had already chosen it.Not in the dressing room.
