Michael Vaughan ‘gobsmacked’ by Stokes’ call to bowl first after winning the toss on a sunny Headingley morning.
Michael Vaughan ‘gobsmacked’ by England’s bowl-first decision as India dominate at Headingley.
India amassed 359 for 3 on the first day at Headingley, leaving England to lament their “staggering” choice to bowl first. Former England captain Michael Vaughan expressed his surprise at Ben Stokes’ decision to field on a dry, hard wicket under clear skies, despite the fact that the side bowling first had won the last six Leeds Test matches.
Stokes declared that his team will “look to use the early conditions” after winning the toss, and Tim Southee, England’s bowling consultant, concluded by saying that they had observed enough of the pitch—”a little bit of moisture”—to believe that the new ball would move around. Instead, India gained control thanks to hundreds from Shubman Gill and Jaiswal.
In recent years, England has successfully completed fourth-inning run-chases at Headingley against Australia (2019 and 2023) and New Zealand (2022). In 2017, they were defeated by the West Indies. However, given that Leeds is currently experiencing very warm weather this summer, Vaughan argued that Stokes had not given enough consideration to the circumstances.
“I’m a bit of an old-school traditionalist here at Leeds that, when the sun shines, it’s quite an easy decision, particularly with the build-up to the Test match and it being so dry and so nice,” Vaughan said on the BBC’s Test Match Special. “I was staggered… when I heard he was going to bowl first. I thought, traditions have gone out the window.
“I know England have won chasing here quite a number of times over the recent times, but you always have to pick your decisions on that moment: just because you’ve won a year ago, two years ago or three years ago, it can’t really affect what the decision is today. And they’ve allowed India with a youngish batting line-up and a new captain to just go and play.”