Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan revealed that Ben Stokes’ decision to bowl first in Leeds left him staggered. The hosts’ plan to put India to bat first back-fired as the visitors ended up dominating day 1. England only managed to get three wickets while centuries from Yashasvi jaiswal and Shubman Gill propelled India to 359 runs at the end of play.
Vaughan baffled by Stokes’ decision
As per The Independent, Vaughan said that Stokes had thrown the traditions out of the window when he decided to bowl first in Leeds after winning the toss. He pointed out that England’s strength at this point of time was batting and that their bowling line-up was quite inexperienced.
“I’m an old school traditionalist here at Leeds: when the sun is shining, with dry weather, you bat. I was staggered when he said he was going to bowl. Traditions are out the window. You look at the England side, and their strength is in the batting. There is inexperience in the bowling at the moment, but Ben clearly had a gut feeling, and sometimes that has worked,” Vaughan said.
All five bowlers used by England were hammered by the Indian batters on Day 1 at Headingley. Stokes was the leading wicket-taker for the hosts. He first got rid of Sai Sudharsan for a duck right before lunch. His next victim was Yashasvi Jaiswal but it wasn’t before both England and him were punished severely by the batter. Carse was the only other bowler to get a wicket (KL Rahul before lunch).
Vaughan refused to label the pitch in Leeds as flat and said that he would reserve the judgement until Jasprit Bumrah bowls.
“We won’t know for sure until we see Jasprit Bumrah bowl on it. He can bowl you out with anything. Until I see that, I will hold my judgment on how flat this pitch is,” Vaughan added.
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