Former England national cricketer Michael Vaughan made a strong statement after Sri Lanka national cricket team batsman Angelo Mathews touted ball-changing as the reason behind the team’s defeat in the first Test. He said that it is a good tactic and more teams should try it.

The England national cricket team emerged victorious from the first match against the Sri Lanka national cricket team. But after that, veteran Angelo Mathews accused the hosts of cheating, saying that the replacement ball was what worked for the Ollie Pope-led team.

During the third day of the Old Trafford Test, the umpires allowed the England team one replacement ball. This came after the 41st over of Sri Lanka’s second innings, when they were batting well at 146 for 4, with a lead of 24, with Angelo Mathews not out on 59 and Kamindu Mendis on 33.

The change in the ball tilted the momentum as the replacement ball had produced many moments and worried the hitters. This also provided England with the wicket of Angelo Matthews and then they failed to score a big goal and then lost the match.

Michael Vaughan, speaking about the turnover tactic, claimed that it is a great move. He spoke about how England have been using their method for a while and revealed that it started in 2019. Speaking on the Club Prairie Fire podcast, he explained:

“Again, a big mention for England, that brilliant tactical move of changing the ball. After 42 overs, it starts to get a bit soft. Angelo Matthew has bowled very well and is in complete control, The ball is not going well, well, it doesn’t even move a millimeter.

“And you change the ball, don’t you? It’s out of shape and suddenly England get a new one and it starts spinning. They’ve done it before, I can’t remember when, but it’s starting to become a smart move in the UK.

“I think it was Michael Burns who was the fourth, I think he’s the fourth official who brings out the boxes. He brought out a box and it was deemed correct to change the ball that they were changing.

“Then another box came out and they pulled out this ball, it was a beauty. It was just piled up everywhere, I mean, can you believe it? I don’t know, do you ever change a ball anywhere else in the world? Generally, in other parts of the world, when you change a ball, you get one that’s the same age or looks the same,” Michael Vaughan said.

It’s a good thing, I’m surprised more teams don’t try it – Michael Vaughan on the ball replacement tactic

Speaking about this, Michael Vaughan said that changing the ball is a good tactic as there is little chance that the replacement ball will be worse. He stressed that more teams should try to use this. He explained:

“Well, as I recall, even when I was, it’s very rare that you change the ball and get a worse ball. It’s very rare that you get a ball that’s much worse than the ball you’re changing for,” Michael Vaughan questioned.

“What they have done is go back in time and, obviously, these balls had already been used before in similar times.

“I think what England have done is look back at the footage over the last five years and look at teams that have blocked the ball for 42 overs, so the ball is 42 overs old but they haven’t hit it.

“It’s a good thing, I’m surprised more teams don’t try it,” concluded Michael Vaughan.