"I was pulling my hair out watching Ben Stokes’ captaincy of Tom Hartley in the first innings" - Michael Vaughan

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan recently said that he was baffled by Ben Stokes' decision to continue bowling Tom Hartley for long spells in the first innings of the opening Test against India despite leaking runs. However, the 48-year-old feels Stokes' decision now makes complete sense.

Hartley put in a forgettable performance in the first innings of the Hyderabad Test against India, conceding two sixes in his opening over. Stokes continued bowling him despite inconsistent lines and lengths, and the youngster finished with figures of 25-0-131-2.

However, Hartley repaid the faith in the second innings, taking seven scalps in 26.2 overs while conceding just 62 runs.

In his column for The Telegraph, Vaughan wrote that Hartley's selection was out of the box, but proved to be a masterstroke. He said:

"I was pulling my hair out watching Ben Stokes’s captaincy of Tom Hartley in the first innings. I couldn’t believe it. But this is a captain completely committed to his players. It was a complete out-of-the-box selection. And it’s been utterly vindicated."

The rookie bowler came back strongly in the second innings, nipping out India's top three. He also broke the half-century stand between KS Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin and dismissed Mohammed Siraj for his ninth wicket of the match.

"They are mavericks" - Michael Vaughan on Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes

Michael Vaughan. (Image Credits: Getty)

The 48-year-old praised England's current coaching setup for sticking to what they feel is right, which in turn leads to positive results. He elaborated:

"The McCullum-Stokes regime get things right on a consistent basis because they back the players, they think outside the box. They are mavericks. After a day or two I thought they had overcomplicated life but they are getting it right. England are willing and brave enough to do what they think is right – that’s why they went to Abu Dhabi rather than to India earlier – and back their players to go and play."

Vaughan claimed that the conservative approach of the old English teams was hardly going to bring results. He added:

"There’s no repercussions if they get out being aggressive; that is what they’re told to do. An old England side would have tried to get that deficit of 190 runs down in 60 or 70 overs. That’s more risky in my view."

India and England will lock horns in the second Test in Visakhapatnam, beginning on February 2.