‘Fines won’t help, players are wealthy’ – Vaughan criticises slow over-rates in Tests

Teams should be required to bowl the entire 90-over allotment on all five days of a Test match, according to former England captain Michael Vaughan. India bowled just 83 overs on Day 1 and 75 on Day 2 of the current Test, leaving a total deficit of around 23 overs over the first two days.

Vaughan maintained that it is ineffective to only penalise teams for slow over-rates, particularly since the majority of players are well-off and largely immune to fines.

He said he was perplexed by how teams often miss the quota in the first few days of a Test match yet somehow bowl all 90 overs on the fifth and last day.

Fines don’t seem to work to me. These guys (cricketers), in my opinion, are really wealthy. They won’t be impacted by the money, in my opinion. It has long been an issue for cricket in Test matches. It’s hot, I know. We’ve had some injuries, I know. However, we must bowl the 90 overs on the sixth day. Vaughan told BBC Sport, “I don’t know why we can see the game played at a snail’s pace on days one, two, three, and four.”

The former cricket player who is now a broadcaster stressed that teams should not only show haste on the last day but also during the entire five days. Test matches will become far more interesting and exciting once teams start regularly bowling the entire allotted number of overs every day, he continued.

The game simply proceeds by stating that there are 90 overs on Day 1. Can you guess what we’ll do? When the players and umpires realise that 90 overs must be bowled on Day 5, they will be rushing around, there won’t be as many drinks breaks, and there won’t be as many delays because they know that 90 overs must be bowled. We’re going to bowl 90 overs on Day 2 in the same way. I would therefore make it extremely easy. The 90 overs must be bowled by you. The former cricket player said, “I would promise that would improve the pace (of the matches).”

With the scores tied after both teams’ first innings, England will try to set a respectable goal for the visitors on the fourth day of play, which is sure to be a very interesting one. An outcome is certain with a few days remaining, but a tie might also occur, keeping the series at 1-1 before the Manchester Test.