England won the toss and chose to field first in the opening Test between England and India at Headingley, Leeds. For Ben Stokes and his England side, the first day at Headingley turned into a nightmare. Stokes’ decision to bowl on a pitch that offered little assistance backfired badly, as Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal capitalized brilliantly, making England pay heavily for taking the risk.
Jaiswal, in particular, was in exceptional form, comfortably reaching his fifth Test century while dismantling the English bowling attack through the first two sessions. To add to England’s troubles, they were penalized just before the tea break, granting India five extra runs.
Even Stokes appeared genuinely puzzled by how things unfolded, and Joe Root was left stunned.
Here’s what happened as England gave away 5 penalty runs on day 1 of first ENG vs IND test
Ben Stokes bowled the sixth ball of the 51st over when the incident occurred. Yashasvi Jaiswal edged the delivery, but the ball fell just short of Harry Brook, the second slip fielder, who accidentally deflected it onto the helmets placed behind wicket-keeper Jamie Smith.
To Joe Root’s surprise, India was awarded five penalty runs immediately after the ball struck the helmet. With Jaiswal and Gill already dominating the game, Brook’s error only made things worse for England.
While the umpires discussed whether the batsmen had completed a run, there was some confusion on the field. In the end, India received only the five penalty runs for the helmet violation after it was confirmed that no runs had been taken.
Here is what the rule book says about the ball hitting helmets behind the wicket-keeper:
In cricket, if the ball strikes the wicket-keeper’s helmet while it is lying on the ground behind the stumps—whether accidentally or intentionally—the batting team is awarded penalty runs. According to the MCC Laws of Cricket, if the ball in play hits any fielding equipment deliberately placed on the ground, the batting side receives an additional five-run penalty.
Specifically, MCC Law 28.3.2 states, “If the ball strikes the protective helmet while in play, it shall immediately become dead, and the umpire shall award five penalty runs to the batting side.”
This rule is designed to prevent teams from positioning their equipment in ways that could unfairly affect the game by altering the ball’s path or obstructing scoring opportunities. It serves to uphold the fairness and integrity of the match by discouraging such tactics.
