Cricket and superstition have had a long-standing association. From putting on the left pad first to a tying one shoelace first, cricket lovers have seen it all. England all-rounder Joe Root on Friday came up with a tried and tested trick in an effort to provide the Three Lions with a breakthrough during India’s innings in the IND vs ENG 1st Test. Root, unable to get a breakthrough for England, flipped the bails. It is not the first time any England bowler has done this, but unfortunately for Root, the flipping of bails did not result in an immediate wicket.
England had made a blunder in the first day of the 1st Test. They exhausted all three reviews within the first 14 overs of India’s innings. The loss of reviews resulted in England not being able to challenge any of umpire’s decision. Root had caught Ravindra Jadeja in front of the wicket. However, the appeal failed to convince the umpire and signalled he not out. Root, unable to get any wickets since removing Yashasvi Jaiswal, flipped the bails in an effort to turn England’s fortune around.
However, Root can’t be blamed. Former England bowler Stuart Broad had tried this trick a number of times during his career and it has worked. Broad had flipped the bails during Ashes 2023 and went on to get the wicket of Todd Murphy in the very next ball. Even Indian batter Virat Kohli had tried this trick during the IND vs SA series.
However, the flipping of bails did not provide Root with similar luck as Indian batters Ravindra Jadeja and KS Bharat going strong for India. But that’s the thing about superstition, it doesn’t always work.
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