'If Sourav Ganguly is listening to this...': Sunil Gavaskar fumes after England retort to 92-year-old tactic vs India

Sunil Gavaskar lambasted England for using an unsportsmanlike ploy, which was first used in the 1932-33 Ashes series against Don Bradman's Australia.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar lambasted England on Saturday for using a 92-year-old ploy against an injured Rishabh Pant during the third Test match at Lord's and appealed to Sourav Ganguly, chairman of the ICC Men's Cricket Committee, to look into the rule.

Sunil Gavaskar lambasted England's Lord's ploy against India

England used the short-ball ploy on Day 3 of the third Test match in London to curb India's scoring. Sixty per cent of their deliveries bowled by the English seamers in the first session on Saturday were all short of length. In fact, captain Ben Stokes deployed six fielders to the leg side against Pant, who on Friday had injured his left hand and had to leave the ground for medical assistance.

After the India vice-captain was hit a couple of times by Stokes's shorter deliveries on his injured left hand, which required the team physio to have a look at, Gavaskar fumed on air, lambasting England's unsportsmanlike ploy, which was first used in the 1932-33 Ashes series against Don Bradman's Australia.

"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. When the West Indies were bowling short, they brought in a rule for only two bouncers per over. That was to restrict the strength of the West Indies," he said.

"Now we are seeing bouncers being bowled. Look at the field that has been arranged. This is not cricket. 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," he added.

In the 1932-33 Ashes tour of Australia, England had strategised a plan to counter Bradman. At a time when batters didn't use helmets or other protective upper-body gears, England came up with the bodyline delivery, in which the ball was bowled at a pace to target the batter's body with the expectation that he would defend it to protect himself and in the process produce an edge or cause a deflection to the fielders stationed on the leg side.

The strategy garnered much criticism, resulting in MCC passing a resolution stating that "any form of bowling which is obviously a direct attack by the bowler upon the batsman would be an offence against the spirit of the game." Later, a separate clause was added to the law relating to unfair play, according to which fielding teams could only stuff two players behind square on the leg, making the bodyline unworkable.

Talking about the match, KL Rahul made 100 and Ravindra Jadeja a third successive fifty as India exactly equalled England's first-innings total of 387. India were in complete control when Rahul and Pant (74) shared a fourth-wicket stand of 141. But both departed on either side of Lunch as the rest of the line-up crumbled in no time.

England batted just one over in their second innings on Day 3, scoring two for no loss.