Vaughan Advocates for Mandatory 90 Overs Per Day in Test Matches

LONDON: Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, has suggested ensuring teams bowl a complete set of 90 overs each day of a Test match.

During the ongoing third Test match between England and India, Vaughan told British media that simply fining teams for slow over-rates doesn’t work effectively, especially since most cricketers have substantial wealth.

“I don’t believe penalties are effective. These cricketers are financially comfortable. I don’t think financial penalties will have much effect. This has been a long-standing issue in Test cricket,” he stated.

He mentioned his confusion that teams often fail to meet the over quota in the initial days but manage to bowl all 90 overs on the fifth day.

“I understand the weather is hot, and there have been injuries. However, on the fifth day, teams manage to bowl 90 overs. I am unsure why the game proceeds at a slower rate on the first four days,” Vaughan added.

The former captain highlighted the importance of maintaining the same pace throughout all five days, not only on the last day.

“The game should simply enforce 90 overs on Day one, and the same on Day two. You’ll observe that on day five, when the players and umpires are aware that 90 overs must be bowled, everyone moves faster, and there are fewer breaks for drinks.”

He further explained that if teams consistently bowled the full number of overs each day, Test matches would be more interesting.

“There would be fewer delays because everyone knows that 90 overs must be bowled. I’d make it very simple: teams must bowl 90 overs, which would certainly improve the pace of the matches,” he concluded.

Notably, in the current Lord’s Test, India bowled only 83 overs on the first day and 75 on the second, resulting in a total shortfall of around 23 overs in the initial two days.