London, July 12 -- Former cricketer Ian Ward gave his take on the "ridiculous" ball change which caused an unprecedented delay in the first session of Day 3 during the third Test between England and India at Lord's on Saturday.

The Dukes' balls continued to be at the centre of attention yet again. The process to identify the replacement began moments after the drinks break ended in the first session. Ward fumed at the umpire's decision not to change the ball during the drinks break, but after it, which led to a seven-plus minute break.

"They have decided to change the ball again, it's quite frankly ridiculous because if they've decided to change the ball, why was that not decided at the start of the drinks break?" Ward said on Sky Sport...