LONDON (Web Desk) - Former England captains Alastair Cook and Michael Vaughan have floated proposals to modernise Test cricket, suggesting greater flexibility with the new ball and expanded substitution rules to help level the contest between bat and ball.
Speaking on a YouTube podcast on Tuesday, Cook proposed that captains should be allowed to take a new ball at any stage within a fixed number of overs, rather than waiting until the current threshold of 80.
“My rule change would be this: within 160 overs, you can use the new ball whenever you want,” Cook said. “You’ve effectively got two new balls to manage in that period, and you could even take the second one after 30 overs if you felt it gave your side the best chance. It adds a tactical element and gives bowlers a greater opportunity to take 20 wickets.”
Vaughan backed the idea and put forward another reform: permitting like-for-like substitutes for serious injuries beyond the existing concussion protocol.
“Take the example of Rishabh Pant hurting his hand in the first innings. He could still bat but wouldn’t be able to keep wicket. Under the current rules, India can’t replace him with someone like Dhruv Jurel unless it’s concussion-related,” Vaughan explained.
He also recalled Nathan Lyon’s calf injury during the Lord’s Ashes Test, saying Australia were effectively reduced to 10 men for the rest of the match. “That doesn’t make the spectacle better. Other sports allow substitutions to preserve competition and fairness — cricket should follow suit,” Vaughan said.
He stressed that strict safeguards would be essential to prevent manipulation, such as requiring an independent medical assessment and proof of a significant injury. “It has to be something serious, a fracture, or a scan-confirmed injury. We’ve already accepted concussion subs, so why stop there?”
Both former skippers argued that such reforms would refresh the longest format, striking a better balance between bat and ball while maintaining the integrity of Test cricket.