IND vs Eng: Michael Vaughan criticized Ben Stokes’s decision to bowl as India has dominated day 1. Cricket news
Former England captain Michael Vaughan expressed surprise at England’s decision to bowl first against India on a dry headingley wicket in the first Test, as India reached 359 in the day to 359, Shubman Gill contributed an unbeaten 127 and Yashasvi Jaiswal contributed 101.England captain Ben Stokes selected the first ground despite the warm and humid conditions providing minimum assistance to the bowlers on the dry surface.Since Stokes took over as a captain with Brendon McCullum as a coach in 2022, England have chosen to field in the first Test matches.
This decision may be influenced by recent history in Headingley, where teams have won the first six Test matches.Vaughan told the BBC Test match special, “I am an old school traditionalist. In Leeds here, when the sun is shining, with the dry season, you bat,” Vaughan told the BBC Test match special.“You look for England and his strength is in batting. And at this time there is inexperience in bowling. Ben had a clear feeling of an intestine, and sometimes it has done it.”Quiz: Who is that IPL player?Vaughan insisted that the current circumstances should determine the decision making rather than historical examples.He said, “You will always have to choose your decisions at that moment, not those things that you did here years ago or in other times. It cannot affect what is the decision today.”Vaughan accepted the challenge of holding runs on a good batting surface, but noted that Stokes remains optimistic.He said, “It was a good pitch, so it is not easy to ban the run. Ben Stokes is still positive and he will come back tomorrow saying ‘Let’s get seven wickets’,” he said.Vaughan reserved the final decision on the status of the pitch after seeing the Indian Pace Spearhead Jasprit Bumrah Bowl.He said, “We will not know that unless we see Bumrah Bowl on him. He can bowl you with anything. As long as I see how flat I am on this pitch, I will decide on it.”
