‘Bowlers are always moaning,’ Alastair Cook on regular ball-change requests during Tests

The ongoing chatter surrounding the use of Dukes balls during India’s away tour of England has sparked quite a debate, with former captains, analysts, commentators and who’s who of world cricket commenting on it. While it made headlines during the just concluded Lord’s Test with the Indian camp regularly requesting a ball-change throughout the game, former England captain-turned-broadcaster Alastair Cook took a hilarious yet sly dig at the bowlers, saying, ‘they are always moaning.’ Considering both teams played out a challenging Test at the Mecca of Cricket, with England winning the close contest late on day five, Cook took a playful jab at bowlers for blaming the ball when things don’t go their way.

"I just love how bowlers are always moaning," Cook said with a smile on BBC Sport. "It's like they bowl a bad ball, and it's never their fault. They've scraped the footmark. If they bowl a bad ball, they look at the ball and blame the shape."

Meanwhile, Cook’s take on this ball-change saga has come amid increasing scrutiny of the Dukes ball, used in the UK and the ongoing Test series between India and England. During the Lord’s Test, the Indian camp was visibly unhappy with the on-field umpires’ call to deny them a ball-change request, prompting debate over its behaviour.

Cook, however, acknowledged that the ball’s condition can affect playing conditions, especially for batters.

"I think a batsman would much rather hit some slightly harder ball," he added. “Nothing worse than playing a lovely cover drive like I used to, and it going nowhere.”

Hussain’s different take on this

While Cook shared his thoughts in a lighter tone, former England captain Nasser Hussain slammed Team India’s decision to repeatedly request a ball change during their bowling several times in the three contested matches thus far.

"I cannot work out why you'd want to change a ball that was doing this much," Hussain said during the broadcast. "It didn't make much sense."

Meanwhile, the action moves to Manchester for the fourth Test starting next Wednesday (Jul 23).

While England won the series opener in Leeds, chasing 372 on the fifth day, they failed to repeat their heroics in the following Test at Edgbaston, with India winning that and making a comeback in the series. The hosts, however, won the next match at the Lord’s, defending an under-par yet challenging total (192), winning the close tie by 22 runs.

England leads India 2-1 in this five-match Anderson-Tendulkar series.