'This Is Not Cricket': Sunil Gavaskar Slams Ben Stokes' Controversial Field Placing On The Third Day Of The IND vs ENG Lord's Test

IND vs ENG: Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett's conduct during the final over of Day 3's play indicates the fact that England, the hosts of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series, are facing the heat. India have grinded England courtesy of their dominant batting display in all the three Test matches of the series. Before the start of the series, English fans termed the India series as an Ashes warm-up, but it is Ben Stokes and his side that are facing the heat before the big Australian summer.

Sunil Gavaskar Slams Ben Stokes' Unfair Field Placing

Despite the heat and the high-octane passages of play, former India player and captain, Sunil Gavaskar noticed something that many chose to ignore. Ben Stokes used the short ball ploy to restrain India from scoring quickly and freely, especially when an injured Rishabh Pant was batting.

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Stokes stationed six fielders on the leg side against Pant, and sixty per cent of their balls were short-pitch deliveries. This infamous ploy that was first used in the 1932-33 Ashes series against Don Bradman's Australia left Sunil Gavaskar fuming.

'Fifty-six per cent of the balls bowled today have been short. They have four fielders on the boundary waiting for the bouncer. That is not cricket, according to me. There should not be more than six fielders on the leg side. If Sourav Ganguly, who is the chairman of the ICC Men's Cricket Committee, is watching this, please make sure that next time not more than six fielders can be kept on the leg side,' said Gavaskar on air.

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Bazball Falls Flat on the Face Against Young Team India

Current and former English players created a lot of hype around 'Bazball' as if it was the only way that Test cricket was meant to be played. Things had escalated to such a level that the players of England had started to call themselves entertainers, but right now, they are the ones who are bereft of entertainment in the ongoing IND vs ENG Test series. The Lord's Test match has been a controversial affair so far, and Ben Stokes needs to rethink his strategies and how he plans to turn things around.