Curious case of the heavy roller: How it can affect Day 5 of the Oval Test

India Today

2 days ago

The Oval Test is perfectly poised for a dramatic end on Day 5 on Monday, August 4. Everyone expected the match to be done and dusted on Sunday as India needed nine wickets and England, who were 50 for 1, needed another 324 runs to seal the win and the series. Things started off well for the visitors as they dismissed Ben Duckett right after he got his fifty before Ollie Pope was trapped in front of the stumps by Mohammed Siraj. advertisementIndian fans were almost in raptures when Siraj caught Harry Brook near the boundary line but the Indian pacer accidentally stepped on the line. Brook made India pay with a brilliant 111 and Root followed it up with his 39th Test hundred. England looked all set for the win, but there was a twist in the tale. Prasidh Krishna got the wickets of Jacob Bethell and Root to get India back into the contest. Just when things got interesting, the weather played spoilsport and both teams returned to the pavilion ready to fight it out on Monday. All four results are possible in the match with England needing 35 runs and India looking for four wickets, with the injured Chris Woakes ready to bat. But here is where England has an advantage, with the use of the heavy roller, something that Harsha Bhogle pointed out in his tweet right after the play stopped on Day 4.
"I am glad there are people other than me asking why the covers couldn't have come off in time to allow us to witness an extraordinary climax. Now we come back tomorrow but the heavy roller can be used and that can be a game-changer," tweeted Bhogle.
The heavy roller was used just before the start of Day 4 by the hosts and their skipper, Pope and the results were evident. The English batters were scoring freely and the Indian bowlers were made to toil and work hard for breakthroughs. What does the heavy roller do?So, according to the ICC, the pitch may be rolled at the request of the captain of the batting side, for a period of not more than 7 minutes, before the start of each innings, other than the first innings of the match, and before the start of each subsequent day's play.Oval Test, Day 5 Weather reportThe rolling permitted before play on any day shall be started not more than 30 minutes before the time scheduled or rescheduled for play to begin. The captain of the batting side may, however, delay the start of such rolling until not less than 10 minutes before the time scheduled or rescheduled for play to begin.advertisementNow the important thing is that the choice of the roller (heavy or light) is given to the captain of the batting side. In this case, it will be England's Pope. If he is going to opt for the heavy roller, then it will smoothen out any unevenness on the pitch, essentially making it flat and suitable for batting. While this may be only for a brief period, it plays into the hands of the hosts at the Oval given that they need 35 runs to win. Joe Root, during the press conference, said that the rolling has had an effect on the game so far and is hoping things will work out in their favour if the heavy one is used. "In terms of the roller, we'll see. I haven't got a crystal ball unfortunately, but it has made an impact so far throughout this game. Whether that changes on day five, we'll see, but hopefully it works well in our favor in flattening things out," said Root. advertisementIndia's bowling coach Morne Morkel was unfazed by the prospect of the heavy roller being used, and feels that his well-rested bowlers can get in a good warm-up and go out to chase and get the wickets needed. "Tomorrow we can just focus on doing a good warm-up and get the boys ready to hopefully get the ball in the right area and yeah, create a little bit of excitement again," said Morkel. With the match on a knife-edge, things could all come down to the process of rolling just before the start of play. - EndsTune InMust Watch