The Indian team management has voiced serious concerns about the ball-change procedure during the current Test series in England, claiming it swung the contest at Lord's in the hosts' favor. According to The Indian Express, the management also felt that England had received "preferential treatment" when selecting the balls, and they have formally brought up the matter with the ICC match referee.
When India's second new ball went out of shape after just ten overs in England's opening innings at Lord's, controversy broke out. According to the report, India was given a replacement ball that was between thirty and thirty-five overs old, even though the rules state that it must be in a comparable condition. The team was notified by the umpires that no ball matching the original ball's condition was available.
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“At Lord’s, after about 10 overs, the Dukes ball lost its shape, something that has been happening so often in the series,” an Indian team official told the newspaper. “The ball failed to pass through the rings that the umpires carry on the field to check if the ball is uniformly spherical. However, the umpires didn’t have a ball that was 10 overs old, so the Indian team at a crucial moment of the match got a ball that was 30-35 overs old.”
For India, the ball change couldn't have come at a worse time. In a spectacular 14-ball burst, Jasprit Bumrah had just ripped through England's middle order, eliminating Chris Woakes, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes. However, the sting seemed to have vanished after the ball was changed.
“Check the scoreboard to see how the game changed after that. The bowlers lost their swing and England scored with ease,” the official said.
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India's management even begged the match referee to let them go back to the original, distorted version, but they were denied permission due to the regulations. “When you ask for a ball change, you aren’t told about the age of the replacement you will be getting. At Lord’s, we weren’t told that the replacement would be 30 to 35 overs old. If we were told, we would have continued with the deformed ball that was used for 10 overs. The ICC needs to intervene. This rule needs to be changed,” he added.
ESPNcricinfo's data further bolsters India's complaint. The initial second new ball had an average swing angle of 1.869 degrees and a seam angle of 0.579 degrees. In comparison, the replacement only provided 0.855 degrees of swing, which considerably reduced India's advantage. In the end, England prevailed by 22 runs to take a 2-1 series lead.
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