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VVS Laxman, vaseline and Vaughan stir up a pot

NOTTINGHAM: If England are at the receiving end, can Vaseline be far behind? Late on Saturday afternoon, when India were just about effecting a strong but eye-pleasing fightback, it inevitably made its appearance. VVS Laxman, on 27, jabbed at a swinging delivery and missed it; the bowler, James Anderson, and the slip cordon promptly went up, claiming an edge. Umpire Asad Rauf had a long look at it and shook his head. Not out. England were not convinced though: they sought a review. Third umpire Billy Bowden watched a few replays, enlisting the Hot Spot technology too, but just couldnt detect the edge. Laxman survived again. It should have been the end of it. But commentators on Sky Sports, mostly former England players, were also certain that he was out; indeed, the snicko that the broadcaster was using, flashed the tremor indicating that the ball had hit the bat. They were obviously not going to let it go; they argued that the Hot Spot was not good enough, that it didnt catch the fainter nicks. Michael Vaughan, however, took it to another level by tweeting: Has Vaseline on the outside edge saved the day for Laxman? It brought into the open rumours about the use of this substance by batsmen to negate the Hot Spot. It apparently softens the blow, especially if its only a faint touch, making it difficult for the Hot Spot to catch it. It anyway can only detect contact between two solid substances, like bat and ball, bat and pad etc.

                                                                                                               
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