England chose to bowl first on what appeared to be conditions better suited for batting, a decision that drew flak moments into the first day of the first Test at Headingley. Michael Vaughan said he was ‘staggered’ while Alastair Cook, too, was unconvinced. However, Tim Southee, the former New Zealand seamer who is England’s bowling consultant, said their decision was influenced by the green tinge to the pitch on Thursday. However, the grass was trimmed overnight. “With the colour of the wicket yesterday and a little bit of moisture left in it, there was going to be a little bit in it this morning. That was the thinking behind the decision,” he said. Weather warning for Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant: Clouds headed to Leeds, India’s bowlers will be happy He added: “I think there was a little bit of assistance there (in the first hour), but for the rest of the day it was a pretty good surface, which is encouraging for our guys when we get an opportunity to bat. I guess when you win the toss and bowl you expect to make early inroads, but they negotiated that first hour or so pretty well.” Centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill helped India gain an upper hand after Day 1, which the tourists ended at 359 for 3. Southee praised the Indian batsmen for their application. “Credit to the Indian batsmen – Jaiswal and Gill played a couple of great hands there. They’ve not played a lot of cricket but they’re certainly talented,” he said. Another factor that could have influenced England’s decision was the fact that the last six Tests played at Headingley ended in victory for the side that bowled first. But Vaughan, a former Yorkshire batter, accused ‘England of making their decision based on the history books rather than the conditions on the day’, according to the Guardian. “I am an old-school traditionalist here at Leeds that when the sun is shining, with dry weather, you bat,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “I was staggered when he said he was going to bowl. Traditions are out the window. You have to pick your decisions on that moment, and not things that you did here years ago.“
