Alastair Cook Suggests Flexible New Ball Rule in Test Cricket

London, Sep 3 (PTI): Former England captain Alastair Cook has proposed that Test cricket teams should have the option to take the new ball at any point within 160 overs, rather than being restricted to the current rule that allows for a new ball only after 80 overs.

Cook, who retired from international cricket in 2018, believes this adjustment would introduce greater flexibility and tactical depth to the longest format of the game. "A new rule I would add would be, how about, in 160 overs, you can take the new ball whenever you want? You have got two new balls for those 160 overs, and you can take that second ball whenever you want. You could take one after 30 overs if you wanted to," he stated during the 'Stick to Cricket' podcast.

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan, who also participated in the podcast, advocated for increased flexibility in player substitutions.

Vaughan argued that cricket is falling behind other sports due to its restriction of replacements to concussion cases alone, referencing the recent India–England series where Rishabh Pant batted with a fracture while Dhruv Jurel could only keep wickets.

"In the first innings of a game, let’s say Rishabh Pant takes a knock to his hand. He can still bat but can’t keep wickets. Under current rules, India can’t bring on another keeper like Dhruv Jurel unless it’s a concussion case," Vaughan commented.

"We have concussion subs. So why don't we have substitutes? All of the other sports have it — why are we allowing the game to be reduced in quality if someone gets a clip," he added.

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