England v India: Michael Vaughan 'staggered' by Headingley toss decision

Former captain Michael Vaughan said he was "staggered" by England's decision to field first after India piled on 359-3 on day one of the first Test at Headingley.

Despite hot temperatures and a pitch offering no obvious assistance to the bowlers, England captain Ben Stokes chose to bowl on winning the toss.

Stokes' choice gave the opportunity for opposite number Shubman Gill to stroke an unbeaten 127, while opener Yashasvi Jaiswal cracked 101. In Stokes' defence, Gill also admitted he would have bowled first.

But Vaughan, who played all of his domestic cricket for Yorkshire, told Test Match Special: "I am an old school traditionalist. Here at Leeds, when the sun is shining, with dry weather, you bat."

England have made a habit of fielding first since Stokes became captain in 2022.

In nine previous home Tests in which England have won the toss in that period, they have batted first only once. From those nine matches, they have won six and probably would have had a seventh had it not been for rain in Manchester during the fourth Ashes Test of 2023.

Recent history also favours fielding first at Headingley. The previous six Tests on this ground were won by the team that fielded first.

There can be justification for fielding first in good batting conditions. In order to win a Test a team needs to bowl the opposition out twice, and therefore gives themselves the maximum amount of time to do that by fielding first.

Some pitches also get better for batting as a Test progresses, making a run chase in the fourth innings the best time to score runs.

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