Lord’s Blunder: When India got 35-over-old ball because stock ran out!

You’ll be surprised to know that during the Lord’s Test, India was given a 35-over-old ball to bowl with, simply because there were no proper replacements left in stock. Yes, it's not a joke. At the so-called “Home of Cricket,” Team India was handed a relic instead of a regulation ball.

You might remember the ball was changed twice during just the morning session on Day 3. That’s because the second replacement ball went out of shape after just 10 overs.

Now, according to protocol, any replacement must match the wear and tear of the original. But what happened here is something that wouldn’t fly even in gully cricket. Reportedly, the umpires told Team India that there simply was no ball in stock that was just 10 overs old.

"At Lord's, after about 10 overs, the Dukes ball lost its shape, something that has been happening so often in the series. 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," the report quoted a BCCI official as saying.

So, in a crucial phase of the match, India was forced to play with a ball that was 30 to 35 overs old. And we all know how quickly these Dukes balls go soft. Clearly, this wasn’t a level playing field.

Team India also claims that England received preferential treatment during the initial ball selection at the start of the Lord’s Test. Obviously, the team management is not happy with the ball-change protocol across the series and has now taken the issue to the ICC.

But what’s done is done. Because no matter what the ICC says, you’re not getting that Lord’s Test back. So, here’s a word of advice to all teams: When you’re playing at Lord’s, make sure you carry your own balls.