Sir Alastair Cook believes that the five-run penalty incurred by India for running on the wicket was part of a “tactical ploy” to create more helpful conditions for their spinners when bowling.
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India fell foul of the umpires one too many times on the second morning of the third Test at Rajkot. After Ravindra Jadeja was warned for running on the danger area late on the first day, R Ashwin also encroached on the middle of the pitch while batting, with umpire Joel Wilson signalling that five penalty runs were to be awarded to England.
Ashwin violated Law 41.14 (Batter damaging the pitch), which states that “a batter will be deemed to be causing avoidable damage if either umpire considers that his/her presence on the pitch is without reasonable cause” and England began their innings with the score already reading 5-0.
After highlighting how England fielders Ollie Pope and Joe Root had ensured the umpires were aware of India’s transgressions, Cook, speaking on the TNT Sports coverage, revealed that, in his opinion, this was done on purpose by Jadeja and Ashwin, rather than accidentally.
“Is it deliberate? Yes it is,” he said. “It’s a tactical ploy that you can disturb the middle of the wicket because Ashwin wants as much help when he can bowl [as possible]. Normally it happens in the third innings. You’re 150 runs, 200 runs ahead, you think, ‘lads, just make sure you get up and down the wicket’.”
Cook revealed that it was a tactic he would use in his playing days, which concluded at the end of the 2023 season. Since retiring from international cricket in 2018, Cook turned out regularly for Essex in the County Championship, helping the Chelmsford-based side to the 2019 title. Key to their success has been South Africa spinner Simon Harmer, who has 428 first-class wickets for Essex at 21.50 apiece.
“We had Simon Harmer at Essex,” Cook said. “The reason why we won a lot of cricket was down to Simon Harmer, he bowled a lot of off-spin to right-handers, and if you’re batting in that third innings, there’s no rule saying where you can back up and run. So obviously our batsmen – and I’m now probably stitching up Essex for next year – you’d make sure that the footmarks which are naturally there, if you’re just walking up and down there a little bit more, you’re disturbing the surface. That was gamesmanship there.”
A ‘batter causing deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch’ is an offence in the ICC’s code of conduct, as well as in the playing conditions. In evaluating the infringement, the match referee is required to consider the context of the situation, “whether the action was deliberate, reckless, negligent, and/or avoidable” and “the degree of advantage offered by the ‘unfair play’.”
Only a level one or two penalty is possible, with punishments ranging between one and four demerit points and a match fee fine of any percentage, though any punishment is likely to be towards the lower end of the scale. If a player incurs four demerit points across a rolling two-year period, they will face a ban, but Ashwin has no active demerit points.
