Alastair Cook bats for flexible new-ball rule in Tests, Michael Vaughan calls for wider use of substitutes

Alastair Cook bats for flexible new-ball rule in Tests, Michael Vaughan calls for wider use of substitutes

Former England captain Alastair Cook has suggested that teams in Test cricket should be allowed to take the new ball at any stage within 160 overs, instead of the current rule that mandates a fresh ball only after 80 overs.

Cook, who retired from international cricket in 2018, said the change would add flexibility and tactical depth to the longest format of the game.

"A new rule I would add would be, how about, in 160 overs, you can take the new ball whenever you want? You have got two new balls for those 160 overs, and you can take that second ball whenever you want. You could take one after 30 overs if you wanted to,” he said during the 'Stick to Cricket' podcast.

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan, who was also part of the same podcast, called for greater flexibility in substitutions.

Vaughan said cricket was lagging behind other sports by restricting replacements to concussion cases alone, citing the recent India–England series where Rishabh Pant batted with a fracture while Dhruv Jurel only kept wickets.

"In the first innings of a game, let’s say Rishabh Pant takes a knock to his hand. He can still bat but can’t keep wickets. Under current rules, India can’t bring on another keeper like Dhruv Jurel unless it’s a concussion case,” Vaughan said.

"We have concussion subs. So why don't we have substitutes? All of the other sports have it - why are we allowing the game to be reduced in quality if someone gets a clip,” he added.