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Ben Stokes has defended the decision to hand Jacob Bethell a Test debut at No.3 against New Zealand this week, but understands why some will query England’s latest off-the-wall punt.England announced their XI for the first Test at Hagley Oval, starting on Thursday, two days early, with Bethell replacing Jordan Cox, who had been in line for his maiden Test cap before fracturing his right thumb on Sunday. With Cox originally down to keep wicket in the absence of Jamie Smith on paternity leave, Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum decided upon a solution of handing the gloves to Ollie Pope and shifting him down to No. 6.With no intention of moving Joe Root up a spot from No. 4, it means Bethell, in just his 21st first-class appearance, will slot in at first-drop for the first time in his career. A tough ask for anyone unfamiliar with the role, let alone a 21-year-old without a professional century who averages just 25.44 in red-ball cricket. The majority of his runs for Warwickshire have come in the middle order.Related

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Stokes, carded at seven, revealed the decision on the layout of the top six was made after a “two, three-minute discussion” with McCullum. While the option of leaving Pope at No. 3 if England were batting first, before shifting him down the order for their second innings was considered – a move pulled in the second Test of the 2022 Pakistan tour – it was ultimately decided a set order was necessary for clarity.”We didn’t want to make it too messy,” Stokes said. “There was another way of thinking, if we bat first Popey can bat three. But again, it was just too many moving parts.”We just wanted to keep the simplicity of it where we had the batting order, and everyone knows what they’re doing throughout the week. Fair play to Popey for stepping up and doing a role he’s done before, but obviously it’s something that he’s not quite used to.”Bethell coming in gives him an opportunity up the order, as opposed to just sort of filtering down and not being able to impose himself on the game.”Bethell only joined the squad in New Zealand on Sunday, having had time off following the white-ball tour of the West Indies, thus missing the weekend warm-up match against a Prime Minister’s XI. On Tuesday, he was partnered with Stokes on the golf course – a coincidence given pairings are picked at random. Though they were defeated by James Anderson and Zak Crawley, Stokes valued the face time with the precocious youngster. “He’s an incredibly talented kid. I think when you look at someone like Jacob, you can just see the ceiling that he has.”Jacob Bethell is set for a Test debut•AFP/Getty Images

Bethell has impressed in flashes, and the selectors were encouraged by his composure in the Caribbean, having been capped in both white-ball formats against Australia at the end of the 2024 summer. On Monday, he bagged a £245,000 contract from Royal Challengers Bangalore for his first IPL. But with just five half-centuries in 30 first-class innings, he remains a work in progress.Stokes does not regard Bethell as a punt but accepts observers will question his ascension given his modest record so far. Stokes asked for patience, and an understanding that this is more than just a shot in the dark.”I mean, you can totally understand it,” Stokes answered when asked if he could see why there is trepidation about Bethell’s spot in the XI. “But you’ve got to be true to yourself when you get given the opportunity to be able to make decisions.”We’ve always done what we feel is right for the team. It’s gone in our favour quite a lot. So, I think we do know what we’re doing. There is thought and there is process towards it, even if it does raise a few eyebrows. We’re not picking people just to wind people up.”People might not quite understand it, but that’s how me and Baz have operated for a long period of time now. And we’ve got a pretty good understanding, and I feel insight and a good eye for picking players to fulfill a role if we need to.”He’s an incredibly talented kid. I think when you look at someone like Jacob, you can just see the ceiling that he has. I remember watching the one-day series. I think it was [Josh] Hazlewood; he bowled him a full ball and got smacked off the front foot, and then he got tested out, like right there, and then whacked it.”Just those tiny little things where you see that there is something very special there. I’m looking forward to him getting going this week.”

Jasprit Bumrah, India’s stand-in captain, expressed disappointment at not being able to have a crack at Australia on what he described as “the spiciest wicket of the series” in Sydney.Bumrah didn’t bowl in India’s defence of 162 following back spasms that flared up during play on Saturday. Bumrah went for precautionary scans and didn’t return to take the field for the remainder of the Test. He finished the series with 32 wickets in nine innings at 13.06, to be named Player of the Series.”It’s a little frustrating, but sometimes you’ve got to respect your body, you can’t fight your body,” Bumrah told Isa Guha on the official broadcast after the game. “It’s a little disappointing in the end because I probably missed out on the spiciest wicket of the series, but that’s the way it is. Sometimes, you have to accept it and move forward.”Related

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Bumrah revealed that he had gone off on the second day after he “felt a little discomfort, [and] wanted to check it out what’s happening in the first innings when I came back from my second spell”.In Bumrah’s absence, Prasidh Krishna, playing his first Test on tour, and Mohammed Siraj helped polish off Australia’s lower order to secure a slender four-run lead. In the second innings, they managed to pick up four wickets but fell short in the end.”The chat was about belief, the other bowlers stepped up in the first innings,” Bumrah said when asked about their plans in their small defence. “With one bowler short, the others had to take extra responsibility. This morning, the chat was about having belief, and that we are good enough and if we create enough pressure, we will be able to do some damage.”Reflecting on the tour on the whole, Bumrah said there were a lot of learnings for the younger group to take back, especially in handling different situations under pressure.As many as 15 of the 17 players in the squad got opportunities in the series. India handed a Test cap to Harshit Rana, while Prasidh returned to play a Test after nearly a year after Akash Deep’s injury. Siraj featured in all five Tests, while Yashasvi Jaiswal, who began the series with a century in Perth, was among the standout batters along with KL Rahul.”So, a lot of ifs and buts, because the whole series was well fought, and today as well we were in game; it was not like it was totally one-sided,” Bumrah said. “This is how Test cricket goes; in the nervy moments, whichever team holds their nerve for the longest and sticks together and tries to find a way out of that will win the series.”I think it was a well-fought series, a lot of learnings for us and experience that our players have gained who’ve come here for the first time. Being in the game for longer, creating pressure, sometimes absorbing pressure when wickets are difficult, sometimes playing to the situation.”Sometimes all these learnings are important. Young players come up and they score runs, have success through a certain way, but in Test cricket you have to sometimes adapt to the situation, make your game work in a different manner as well. These learnings will help us in the future.”They’ve gained a lot of experience; they’ll only go from strength to strength from here. Australia is not the easiest place to play cricket, but we’ve shown we have a lot of talent in our group, it’s all about adapting and learning new things about your game. I’m sure a lot of youngsters are keen, obviously they are disappointed we weren’t able to win the series, but they want to take the learning forward.”Jasprit Bumrah and Gautam Gambhir hatch a plan•Getty Images

Bumrah did ‘everything possible’, says Gambhir

Speaking at the press conference after the series, India head coach Gautam Gambhir summed up Bumrah’s performance both as bowling spearhead and a leader in the group as “absolutely outstanding”.”I think he’s led the attack really well. He’s bowled a lot of overs. And whenever he’s come on to bowl, he’s done a fabulous job,” Gambhir said. “He’s taken wickets. He’s done everything possible he could from his side. But then he’s been helped a lot from the other end as well.”He’s been helped by Mohammed Siraj. He’s been helped by some of the young boys as well, like Harshit Rana in the first two Test matches, Akash Deep… Ultimately, yes, you will always see the wickets and runs. But yeah, there has been a lot of other contributions as well. But from Jasprit Bumrah’s point of view, he had a phenomenal series.”

South Australia’s bid to host the Sheffield Shield final at Adelaide Oval has been blocked by the AFL with the decider to be played at Karen Rolton Oval as it was originally scheduled.The South Australia Cricket Association and South Australia premier Peter Malinauskas had led a public push to play the final at Adelaide Oval after South Australia locked in hosting rights with a win over Victoria last Sunday.Cricket Australia had originally expected the final to be played at Karen Rolton Oval, starting on March 26, given the drop-in pitches had already been removed from Adelaide Oval for the start of the AFL season. But CA were happy to support Malinauskas and the SACA in their bid to stage the game at the iconic venue which would have required to match to be moved forward two days to start on Monday March 24 to allow for Adelaide Oval’s ground staff to drop a single pitch into the middle of the venue the day after an AFL game that will staged there on Saturday March 22.Related

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The AFL had initially stated it was open to cooperating to allow cricket to use the venue but that changed when concerns were raised about the condition of the playing surface for the footballers if a pitch was dropped in and then removed again on Saturday March 26, the day after the five-day final had been played, before another AFL game was set to take place on the ground on Sunday March 27.CA chief executive Todd Greenberg issued a statement expressing frustration that the final would not be played at Adelaide Oval.”We are disappointed South Australia has been prevented from hosting the Sheffield Shield final at Adelaide Oval,” Greenberg said.”The Sheffield Shield final is a significant event for Australia’s national sport, and we believe Adelaide Oval would have been the most appropriate venue.”I would like to thank Premier Malinauskas for his advocacy in this matter and his passionate support of cricket and the South Australia Cricket Association which made an extremely compelling case to host the final at Adelaide Oval.”March is a very important month for cricket including the Sheffield Shield and Premier and club cricket finals.”We will continue to work collaboratively at all levels to ensure cricket gains and provides appropriate access to shared venues across the country.”Malinauskas had earlier in the week told 5AA radio in Adelaide that his office had received a “galling” request from an AFL “entity”, likely one of the Adelaide based AFL clubs, for financial insurance cover in case an AFL player was injury due to the surface being unstable if the Shield final was staged at the ground.”We have received a request, it’s not from cricket, I won’t say what entity it is in footy,” Malinaskas said.”What I would say is we are asking for people to act rationally and pragmatically in the interest of fans.”I’ve got to say it’s a little bit galling that people are trying to use an opportunity to look after fans as an opportunity to slug the taxpayer and I won’t be having it.”I’m not naming any names, I’m just saying my government is not going to be giving cash so they get out of the way of something everybody thinks should happen.”The Shield final has not been hosted at a multipurpose venue in Australia since 2012 due to the encroachment of the AFL season into the month of March, which had notionally been a cricket month in Australia as Greenberg alluded to.South Australia is hosting their last home and away game at Karen Rolton Oval this weekend against Queensland while the Adelaide Crows will host their first AFL game of the season at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria are all vying for the other spot in the final as the final Shield round begins on Saturday.

Many expected Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to post the first 300-plus total of the IPL, and that was not without reason. SRH had posted 286 for 6 in their previous game and LSG were missing a couple of first-choice seamers.Forget 300, SRH could not even post 200. They finished their innings on 190 for 9 as Shardul Thakur picked up 4 for 34, his best figures in the IPL. Mind you, it’s still a big total.After Rishabh Pant put SRH in, Shardul dismissed Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan off successive balls in the third over of the innings. Abhishek pulled a short ball down the throat of deep square leg, while Kishan was caught down the leg side.Head tried to put the pressure back on LSG with two sixes and a four off Avesh Khan in the next over. In the last over of the powerplay, he tried to take on Ravi Bishnoi but ended up skying a slog sweep towards long-on where Nicholas Pooran put him down. Later in the over, Bishnoi himself failed to latch on to a tough return catch.Head was on 35 at the time of the first drop but it cost LSG only 12 as Prince Yadav made a mess of Head’s stumps soon after for his first wicket in the IPL. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen took the side past 100 in the 11th over before Klaasen was run out in a bizarre fashion. Nitish hit a full toss from Prince to the bowler’s left. Prince went for the catch but ended up dropping it. The ball, though, ricocheted onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end with Klaasen well outside his crease. Soon after, Bishnoi castled Nitish for 32 off 28, leaving SRH in a spot of bother.Aniket Verma smashed Bishnoi for two back-to-back sixes before repeating the feat against Digvesh Rathi in the following over but he fell for 36 off 13 on the last ball of the 16th over. Two balls later, Abhinav Manohar holed out to deep point off Shardul.Pat Cummins went 6, 6, 6 on the first three balls he faced before getting out on the fourth. But only ten runs came from the last two overs.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Chandrakant Pandit has batted for favourable home conditions in the IPL, while also clarifying that currently, the franchise is not in control of preparing the pitches at their home ground Eden Gardens.Even though KKR have played only two games so far in IPL 2025, they started with an opening loss at home, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), before winning the away fixture against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati.Within the first ten days of the tournament, there have been a few captains and support-staff members who have spoken about the home conditions the franchises get – whether favourable or not – as only five out of the ten games have been won by the home teams so far.Related

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“Who will not be happy about that? I mean, this is a simple answer,” Pandit replied when asked if all IPL teams should be allowed to have a say in conditions for the seven home matches out of a total of 14 they play before the playoffs.KKR now play Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, before back-to-back home fixtures against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants at Eden. When asked specifically about who decides the nature of pitches in Kolkata, Pandit said: “See, as a coach, as a team management, whatever the surface has been provided to us, we play. The control, of course, that will be under [the] curator. And at this moment, the focus is definitely going to be on the next game tomorrow which we are playing [against MI].”Pandit was pressed again at the press conference about who calls the shots when it comes to deciding pitches in Kolkata. Was the KKR franchise in charge of everything at the ground?”No. In charge of everything at the ground… I don’t know. That doesn’t mean that they [the franchises] have a control of preparing wickets. I mean, ultimately, I don’t know what is the system in different states or different grounds, whether the control is with the franchise. But, at the moment, what I understand is the surface which is given to us, as a team management, as a coach, as a captain, probably we expect something [helpful] to be provided. So, that’s all.”2:12

Fleming: We haven’t been able to read the Chepauk pitches

The talk around the lack of helpful home conditions stirred up after KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane had said after their loss to RCB that they “would love to see the pitch helping our spin bowlers”. KKR bank heavily on their spin duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, who picked only a wicket each while trying to defend 174, as RCB won with 22 balls and seven wickets to spare. In reply to this, the Eden Gardens chief curator Sujan Mukherjee had said that as per the BCCI guidelines, franchises and players do not have “any say” in the preparation of pitches.”As per the BCCI guidelines, it is clearly mentioned that the pitch and ground preparation for all IPL regular season matches is the responsibility of the chief curator of the host association under the guidance from the BCCI-appointed venue curator, and they will be the sole decision-maker regarding the nomination of practice and match pitches, as is the case for first-class matches in India,” Mukherjee told RevSportz. “It is also instructed that the franchises and players shall not have any say in the preparation of the wicket. The BCCI chief curator is available to give any advice that is required, and will also be able to intervene if any issues arise.”Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming was a lot more scathing in a feisty press conference after their biggest home loss in the IPL, against RCB by 50 runs. Fleming said they had “no home advantage at Chepauk” anymore.CSK have been known to stack their squad with spinners at the auction to make the most of the traditionally slow and turning tracks in Chennai. But their second home game of this IPL was more helpful for pace bowlers, proven by the RCB quicks Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar returning combined figures of 10-0-59-6.”Well, as we’ve been telling you for a number of years, there was no home advantage at Chepauk,” Fleming said. “We’ve won away from home a couple of times. And we haven’t been able to read… we’ve been really honest with you. We haven’t been able to read the wickets here in the last couple of years. So it’s not new. We are trying to come to grips each day with what we get, and we don’t know. We’re having to work really hard to try and understand what the nature of each pitch is, and it’s quite different.”Gujarat Titans’ home victory against Mumbai Indians on Saturday was a rare occasion in this IPL so far when someone from the team management said publicly that they had asked for a particular kind of pitch to make things difficult for the visiting team.”Mumbai have been preparing themselves by playing on a red [soil] surface. It was a deliberate effort from our side [to prepare that pitch],” GT assistant coach Parthiv Patel had said during an in-game interview with the commentators during the match. “We wanted to play on black soil. It’s stopping a bit, and it’s slightly stickier to start with.”The GT fast bowlers made the most of the conditions by taking the pace off the bowling especially while bowling to the MI middle and lower orders in a chase of 197, and got them a 36-run win.

Resolute batting by Lancashire’s Luke Wells and Tom Hartley frustrated Gloucestershire’s bowlers and helped ensure that the Rothesay County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford ended in a draw.The visitors declared on their overnight score of 589 for eight, giving them a lead of 139, and when they reduced the home side to 160 for six half an hour before tea, they looked well placed to beat Lancashire for the first time since 2015.But Wells and Hartley shared an seventh-wicket partnership of 69 in 28 overs either side of tea and the game ended at 5.53pm when Lancashire were 255 for eight and had a lead of 116 with only eight overs left in the match.Hartley was caught by James Bracey off Ajeet Singh Dale for 37 but that wicket fell just before players shook hands with Tom Bailey on nine not out and Saqib Mahmood unbeaten on nought. For Gloucestershire, Tom Price ended the day with three for 52 and Graeme van Buuren took three for 36.Gloucestershire take 13 points from the game to Lancashire’s 12 but that hardly reflects the difference in the quality of the cricket played by the sides, particularly on the last two days of the game.Having declared this morning with a lead of 139, Gloucestershire were rewarded for their enterprise when they dismissed both Lancashire openers inside the first dozen overs of their side’s second innings.George Bell departed for 28 when his waft outside the off stump to a ball from Tom Price only edged a catch to Cameron Bancroft, the only slip. Two balls later, Keaton Jennings joined his opening partner in the pavilion when he was beaten by Singh Dale’s nip off the pitch and Bancroft took his second catch when fielding at a conventional second slip.That left Lancashire on 50 for two, still 89 runs in arrears, and things got worse for the home side 15 minutes before luncheon when a flighted ball from Graeme van Buuren tempted Marcus Harris out of his crease and Bracey completed the stumping.Lancashire were 89 for three when Harris departed for 24 but Josh Bohannon and Matty Hurst cleared Lancashire deficit and had built a mere four-run lead before both were dismissed by Tom Price and the game was tossed into the hazard once more.Hurst was the first to go when having made 33 in 72 minutes, he inside-edged a ball onto his leg stump; four overs later Bohannon pushed a little tentatively at a delivery that seemed to bounce more than he was expecting and was caught at slip by Bancroft for 30.Lancashire’s lead was only 13 when Bohannon was dismissed and it had been increased to only 21 when George Balderson was caught behind by Bracey off van Buuren for two.But Wells and Hartley took their side to tea on 178 for six and the eighth-wicket pair then inched Lancashire to safety on the resumption, extending their partnership to 69 before Wells was caught behind off van Buuren for 36.The result means that all three Championship games at Old Trafford this season have been drawn with the visiting team only batting once on each occasion.

Emma Jones starred with the bat, as Surrey made light of the absence of their big guns on England duty to march into the semi-finals of the T20 Women’s County Cup with an emphatic 72-run victory over Durham at Guildford.Jones, 22, made a blistering 88 not out from 49 balls, with 13 fours and two sixes, as Surrey recovered from the early loss of their openers to post an imposing 194 for 4. She was joined by Phoebe Franklin, who made 58 from 41 balls in an 88-run stand for the third wicket that spanned 11 overs.Durham’s attack was led by the returning Lauren Filer, who missed the start of the season with a knee injury. Though she eventually dismissed Franklin at the start of the 15th over, an attack that also featured Mady Villiers and Katie Levick could not halt Surrey’s momentum.Even in the absence of Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey on England duty, Surrey’s bench strength proved more than adequate. In reply, Durham were restricted to 122 all out in 19.1 overs, with Ryana MacDonald-Gay the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 22 in four overs.It was an even more emphatic display for Lancashire at Kibworth, where they routed Leicestershire by 109 runs.Batting first, Lancashire posted 180 for 4, with Seren Smale’s half-century anchoring the innings alongside explosive knocks of 41 from 29 balls from Emma Lamb at the top of the order, and 45 from 27 from captain Ellie Threlkeld.Sophie Ecclestone, continuing her return from injury, pitched in with a brisk 15 from seven balls then ripped through Leicestershire’s reply with 3 for 14 in 3.5 overs. Tara Norris, however, went even better with 3 for 7 in four, as Leicestershire were bowled out for 71 with a ball to spare.In Saturday’s encounter at Headingley, Yorkshire’s run came to an emphatic end at the hands of their Tier 1 opponents, Warwickshire who romped to a 10-wicket victory after hunting down 139 with 29 balls to spare. Abigail Freeborn made 78 not out from 47 balls and Davina Perrin 58 not out from 44, after Millie Taylor starred with the ball with 3 for 17.The Blaze meanwhile ended the run of another Tier 2 team, Kent, whom they routed by 109 runs at Canterbury. Sarah Bryce’s 94 not out from 61 balls helped rescue them from an early wobble at 10 for 2. And that in itself was plenty as Kent were rolled aside for 71, with Cassidy McCarthy returning the remarkable figures of 3-0-3-3.Both semi-finals and the final of the T20 County Cup will be played at the Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton on Monday.

Nicholas Pooran, who retired from all formats of international cricket on Tuesday, has been named captain of MI New York for the upcoming season of Major League Cricket (MLC). He replaces Kieron Pollard in the position.He has been with MI New York since being drafted ahead of the inaugural season in 2023, and had a huge role in the team winning the title, scoring 137* in 55 balls in the final, against Seattle Orcas, and finished as the highest run-getter of the season (388), 124 runs ahead of the second-placed Quinton de Kock of Orcas.Pooran has a long association with the MI franchise. He was bought by MI ahead of the 2017 IPL, but didn’t get a game, and was released ahead of the next season, following which he has played for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Sunrisers Hyderabad and now Lucknow Super Giants. While that wasn’t happy for the player, he has been with their team in the ILT20 in the UAE, MI Emirates.Related

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Pooran is not the only new captain at the six-team MLC. Glenn Maxwell, who retired from ODI cricket recently to focus on T20s in the lead-up to the World Cup next year, has been named the captain of Washington Freedom. Maxwell has replaced Steven Smith as captain at Freedom.Corey Anderson, who played most of his top-flight cricket for New Zealand before shifting allegiance to USA, will continue to lead San Francisco Unicorns – making him the only “local” captain of a team at MLC, while Heinrich Klaasen has also been confirmed to continue as the captain at Orcas.The other two teams in the fray are Los Angeles Knight Riders and Texas Super Kings. Jason Holder replaces Sunil Narine as LAKR captain – though Narine will deputise while Holder is on international duty – and Faf du Plessis will stay on as TSK captain.Freedom are the defending MLC champions, having beaten Unicorns in the final last season. The new season will kick off on June 13 with a match pitting Freedom and Unicorns in Oakland. The final is scheduled for July 12.

A common theme during the England-India Test series has been the frequently replaced balls because the original ones are losing shape. Ever wondered where the replacement balls come from, how they are sorted and selected? Here is all you need to know.Where do the replacement balls come from?Two or three days before the Test, the host association provides used balls from first-class matches played in its venue. If it is Old Trafford, for example, Lancashire provides these balls to the fourth umpire, New South Wales for SCG, Mumbai Cricket Association for Wankhede, and so on.The fourth umpire then inspects the balls putting them through the gauge. If it goes through one and not through the other, it is considered eligible to go into the “ball library”, which is the box you see coming out when a ball is changed during a Test match. Any ball that goes through both the rings is ineligible to start playing with in the first place. So if it goes through both, it is too small to be in use. If it goes through neither, it is too big. If it goes through one and not the other, it is the right size. The number of these potential replacements depends on venues. Tests in India, England and Australia generally tend to have about 20 replacement balls, but in some countries the number can be as low as 12.Related

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If the fourth umpire sees an issue with most of the balls or doesn’t see enough eligible balls, they bring it up with the rest of the officiating team – on-field umpires, third umpire and match referee – and then they collectively ask the association to provide for more. The same process is followed for new balls. Every new ball is put through the rings before the Test.The endeavour is to have the largest possible range available from semi-new to old, but they are not batched according to age. A ball that has been used for 60 overs on a lush outfield could well be a replacement for one used in a Test on a drier outfield for just 30 overs.The umpire puts the ball through the ring•Getty Images

So are we covered for all contingencies?No, it is not possible to bring an exact like-for-like replacement. The best they can hope to do is get a replacement ball that is nearest to the original ball in wear and tear. It could be older or it could be newer.This is why the umpires are reluctant to change the ball unless it has gone completely out of shape. To maintain the integrity of the competition, the rule of the thumb is to change it only when there is no other way to continue with the existing ball. The teams of course want a ball that suits them; any change is liable to leave one of them unsatisfied.Also remember that the laws doesn’t provide for a ball change for softness. The ball is changed if there is clear damage, wetness or loss of shape. Even with the shape, nowhere do the laws mention the ball has to be round. The only shape criterion for a ball change is that if it goes through neither or both of the rings on the gauge. If it goes through one and not through the other, and if its seam is in place and the ball is dry, you have no option but to continue with it no matter how soft it feels.Are local first-class matches the only source for replacement balls?No, the match officials have to act on their feet sometimes. If they feel they are running out of replacement balls rapidly, they can ask the teams to provide used balls from their nets. They are run through the same tests before they are sent into the ball library.Another source is match balls from earlier in the series. If an innings in an earlier Test in the series has lasted 45 overs, that ball can sent into the library provided it passes the quality checks and no bowler wants to keep it as a souvenir for a five-for.Umpire Paul Reiffel looks for a replacement from the ball library•Getty Images

There have also been cases where the match balls have gone out of shape rapidly and the match referee has had to send for more from the neighbouring county or state association.Hang on, so a good swinging ball that inflicted damage earlier on in the series can come back into play later?Yes, but nobody knows which ball is which. There is no marking done on the ball, and once the balls go into the library it is near impossible to tell them apart.Can umpires change the ball without the involvement of the bowling team?Yes they can, but they do it only when they suspect ball tampering or if they ball is damaged to the extent that just tidying up with a pair of scissors is not enough.The thing with ball tampering is that since it is an accusation of cheating, it needs visual evidence. The umpires avoid making such explicit charges, but do quietly change the ball if they see something is off.Umpire-led changes of the ball are, however, rare. The ball goes to them for a check at every dismissal, during drinks break, if it has hit an LED board or been in the crowd, and during longer intervals. They don’t check it between overs or during overs.5:34

How the Dukes ball is made and why it’s going out of shape

So, the ball change on the second morning at Lord’s – when the ball was clearly out of shape but was also doing a lot for India – would not have eventuated had India not asked for it. As it turned out, the replacement ball did nothing for them and went out of shape in eight overs.Is balls losing shape an issue with a specific brand?Test cricket uses three brands of balls: SG in India, Dukes in England and the West Indies, and Kookaburra elsewhere. Balls losing shape is not limited to any particular brand.There was a time in the late 2010s when SG used to lose shape often, and the Indian players used to bring it to notice despite being sponsored by SG. Kookaburra has often being criticised for the least prominent seam of all three, but its manufacturing process has reinforced the seam in recent years. Dukes just happens to be in the eye of the storm now with frequent complaints from both sides. Even in the concurrent series in the West Indies, especially in the first Test, the players didn’t quite like the ball.However, a lot of it is also gamesmanship. You usually see complaints only when the wickets are not falling. On the last day of Lord’s, when it was in England’s interest to bowl with a softer ball to deny Ravindra Jadeja striking opportunities, the shape of the ball was never brought into question. Often, bowling sides just take a punt when nothing is happening for them in the hope that the library doesn’t have a ball that will be any worse than the one than they have in hand.Dukes has an advantage over the others when it comes to being replaced. The ball has a stamp, the equivalent of a batch number, to identify the year of manufacture. So it is not possible to be playing in 2025 with a Dukes ball that was, say, last used in 2023 or was part of another production batch. SG and Kookaburra don’t have such identification markers.

Yorkshire 282 for 4 (Wharton 78, Luxton 71, Bean 57, Lyth 47) vs Surrey Yorkshire’s top order ensured a settled start to their Rothesay County Championship clash with leaders Surrey at Scarborough after their build-up was anything but.Hovering just three points above the drop zone in Division One after nine matches, Yorkshire ended an engaging opening day on a healthy 282 for four from 86 overs.Fin Bean, Will Luxton and James Wharton all posted half-centuries against a Surrey attack who struggled to create consistent pressure having lost the toss.Bean (57) shared an opening stand of 107 with Adam Lyth either side of lunch before Luxton and Wharton usurped them by sharing 149 for the third wicket either side of tea. Luxton posted a career best 71 off 118 balls and Wharton went on to top score with a season’s best 78 off 166.Yorkshire’s management arrived at the ground not knowing whether their captain and new overseas signing Jonny Bairstow and Imam-ul-Haq would be able to play due to the former’s impending arrival of another child and the latter’s visa issues.Bairstow made it, Imam didn’t. Yorkshire are also missing talismanic 37-wicket all-rounder George Hill having not sufficiently recovered from a foot injury.Not that the disruption showed on the field, as Bairstow elected to bat and then watched Bean, Lyth, Wharton and Luxton excel on a pitch offering spongy bounce and not as much pace as is usual at this North Marine Road venue.Yorkshire’s progress was largely serene.Bean was dropped at third slip by Dom Sibley off former Yorkshire fast bowler Matthew Fisher during the early stages, and there were a couple of confident lbw shouts.But Surrey’s bowlers struggled to find the right lines and lengths.When they did, they gained success. Dan Worrall – three for 49 from 16 overs – removed Lyth and then Bean in the space of three balls in the 33rd over, leaving the hosts at 108 for two.That came during the early stages of the afternoon.Lunch had came 15 minutes early because of rain.Worrall struck when he had Lyth caught at first slip with a ball not quite there to drive before getting Bean caught at wide mid-on following an aborted pull at well directed short ball.Just when you thought Surrey would assert their authority, Wharton and Luxton had other ideas.Luxton, aged 22, enjoyed an impressive recent Vitality Blast in a struggling side highlighted by a superb 90 not out in a Roses win at Emirates Old Trafford.He wouldn’t have played in this game had Imam been available. But Yorkshire pulled him out of the Professional County Clubs Select XI squad to face Pakistan A in three one-day matches to feature here, and he has taken his chance with only a second first-class fifty in his 10 career appearance.Imam, incidentally, was at the ground and warmed up with his team-mates before play.Yorkshire say they are working with his agent and the relevant authorities to resolve his visa issues in time for next week’s clash with Sussex on this ground.Luxton is a dynamic player who often looks a million dollars, as he did here on the drive and working off his legs.His next challenge is consistency.Wharton lofted the off-spin of Will Jacks down the ground for six before tea, and Luxton whipped Jamie Overton’s pace off his legs for the same result afterwards.Jacks broke the Wharton and Luxton alliance when he bowled the latter, who was aggressively sweeping – 257 for three after 77 overs.That was a significant boost for Surrey just before the new ball was due.Worrall then had Wharton caught behind for his third wicket of the day – 276 for four in the 83rd over.But Bairstow had reached 19 by the time bad light prevented any further play at 5.20pm.