Vaughan, who famously captained England to victory in the 2005 Ashes, believes Stokes should have given more credence to conditions on Friday morning when he made his decision.
“You always have to pick your decisions on that moment, and not things that you did here years ago or at other times. It can’t affect what the decision is today,” he said.
“You look at the England side and their strength is in the batting. And there is inexperience in the bowling at the moment. Ben clearly had a gut feeling, and sometimes it has worked.”
England fast bowling consultant Tim Southee explained the decision was partly affected by the green colour of the pitch on Thursday.
“With the colour of the wicket yesterday, and a little bit of moisture left in it if there was a little bit of help in it, it was probably going to be this morning,” said the New Zealander. “That was the thinking behind the decision.
“You look at the surface and make the decision on what you think will give you the best chance. Not all the time do you get it right.”
There are infamous examples of England captains choosing to field first, only for the decision to backfire.
Nasser Hussain did so in the first Ashes Test against Australia in Brisbane in 2002 and England never recovered. David Gower inserted the Australians on this ground in 1989, only for the tourists to rack up 601-7 declared.
In contrast, Stokes himself asked New Zealand to bat first at Trent Bridge in 2022. The Black Caps piled on 553, but England completed a fourth-innings run chase courtesy of Jonny Bairstow, the first example of ‘Bazball’.
Therefore, the wisdom of Stokes’ decision in this Test will be revealed over the following four days and will be heavily influenced by how England play India pace-bowling maestro Jasprit Bumrah.
“It was a good pitch, so it’s not easy to restrict runs,” said Vaughan. “Ben Stokes is still positive and he will come back tomorrow saying let’s get seven wickets.
“We won’t know that for sure until we see Jasprit Bumrah bowl on it. He can bowl you out with anything. Until I see that, I will hold my judgement on how flat this pitch is.”
