India captain Shubman Gill accused England of ignoring the “spirit of cricket” after the hosts’ time-wasting tactics in the third Test at Lord’s sparked an angry flare-up between the teams.
The tourists ought to have been able to bowl two overs late on the third day’s play of the third Test after being dismissed for 387 – exactly level with England’s first-innings total.
Crawley, however, ensured there were only six deliveries from Jasprit Bumrah before stumps by twice withdrawing from his stance and then calling for the physio after the fifth ball appeared to make only minimal contact with his glove.
Passions flared as it became evident India would not be able to bowl another over before the close, with host broadcaster Sky Sports issuing an on-air apology after a stump microphone picked up Gill swearing angrily at Crawley.
England went on to win a thrilling, if increasingly ill-tempered, match by 22 runs to go 2-1 up in the five-match series.
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Gill, in his first campaign as India captain, addressed the issue on the eve of the fourth Test at Old Trafford.
“A lot of people have been talking about it so let me just clear the air once and for all,” the 25-year-old said on Tuesday.
“The English batsmen on that day had seven minutes of play left, they were 90 seconds late to come to the crease, not 10, not 20, 90 seconds late.
“Yes, most of the teams use this (delaying tactic). Even if we were in this position we would have liked to play fewer overs but there’s a manner to do it.
“If you get hit on your body, the physios are allowed to come on and that is something that is fair. But to be able to come 90 seconds late to the crease is not something that comes in the spirit of the game.”
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Gill admitted he was not proud of swearing at Crawley but said it took place in the context of rising tensions.
“We had no intention of doing that whatsoever but you’re playing a game, you’re playing to win and there are a lot of emotions,” said the India skipper.
“When you see there are things happening that should not happen, sometimes emotions come out of nowhere.”
England batsman Harry Brook said the flare-up had paved the way for the hosts “to not be the nice guys”.
Paceman Jofra Archer gave an aggressive send-off to Rishabh Pant after dismissing the India dangerman on the final day.
England captain Ben Stokes, speaking before Gill on Tuesday, insisted his side had no deliberate plan to rile India, but nor would they shirk from confrontation.
“It’s not something we’re going to go out and purposefully look to start (an argument) because that will take our focus off what we need to do out in the middle,” said Stokes.
“But by no means, we are not going to take a backward step and let any opposition try and be confrontational towards us and not try to give a bit back.”
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Stokes also criticised over-rate rules after England were docked two World Test Championship points following last week’s win, during which there was widespread criticism of time-wasting from both sides, leading to several delays in play and slow over-rates.
England were ruled to be the main offenders and the points deduction means they slipped from second to third in the WTC standings for the 2025-2027 cycle.
They were docked a costly 22 points in the previous cycle.
An exasperated Stokes renewed his call for the International Cricket Council to change its rules.
“Over rate isn’t something I worry about but that’s not saying I purposely slow things down,” he told reporters.
“I do understand the frustration around it but I honestly think there needs to be a real hard look at how it’s structured.
“You can’t have the same rules in Asia, where spin is bowling 70 percent of the overs, (as) in New Zealand, Australia, England, where it’s going to be 70, 80 percent of seam bowled.”
The fourth Test between England and India gets underway at Old Trafford on Wednesday at 8pm AEST.