There was no sign of jellybeans at Trent Bridge but former England captain Michael Vaughan’s suspicion that V.V.S. Laxman was using “vaseline” on his bat stirred up a controversy during the second Test here between India and England.
On Saturday Laxman, when on 27, seemed to have nicked pacer James Anderson behind, with the ball making a huge noise as it went to Matt Prior. The English players were convinced Laxman had edged it but umpire Asad Rauf wasn’t. Andrew Strauss subsequently went for a review.
The Hot Spot technology was brought into play but it showed no edge while broadcasters Sky Sports Snicko, which is not used as part of the UDRS, showed a clear nick. The English players were furious, with Kevin Pietersen even confronting Laxman, but the worst damage was done by Vaughan on Twitter. “Has vaseline on the outside edge saved the day for Laxman?” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, in a bizarre incident in the last over of the second session on Sunday, England batsman Ian Bell was run out at the stroke of tea. However, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni showed a spirited gesture and withdrew his run-out appeal.