Former England skipper 'staggered' by Ben Stokes' decision to bowl first against India at Headingley

England skipper Ben Stokes won the Toss on Friday and chose to bowl first against India at Headingley in Leeds. However, this decision garnered huge criticism from English fans and a few veteran players. One such former cricketer is Michael Vaughan, who said that he was 'staggered' by Stokes' decision to field first after India posted 359/3 on Day 1 at Headingley wicket. The former England skipper also said the strength of the Ben Stokes-led team is its batting department and not its bowling. 

Vaughan criticises Stokes for opting to bowl first

Calling the English bowling side 'inexperienced', Vaughan on a BBC show said, ''I am an old school traditionalist. Here at Leeds, when the sun is shining, with dry weather, you bat. You look at the England side and their strength is in the batting. And there is inexperience in the bowling at the moment. Ben clearly had a gut feeling, and sometimes it has worked.''

For those unversed, ever since Stokes became the captain of England in 2022 with Brendon McCullum as coach, they have preferred to field first most times. Showing with indifference with this approach, Vaughan added, ''You always have to pick your decisions on that moment, and not things that you did here years ago or at other times. It can't affect what the decision is today. It was a good pitch, so it's not easy to restrict runs. Ben Stokes is still positive, and he will come back tomorrow saying 'let's get seven wickets.''

''We won't know that for sure until we see Jasprit Bumrah bowl on it. He can bowl you out with anything. Until I see that, I will hold my judgement on how flat this pitch is,'' he concluded.

Meanwhile, India are 359/3 after Day 1 Stumps with Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant at the crease.