Shubman Gill ends Zak Crawley sledging debate once and for all: ‘Not 10, not 20. England were 90 seconds late'
On Day 3 of the Lord's Test, which England eventually won by 22 runs, the hosts had to face a tricky six minutes before the close of play. India could have bowled two overs in this time span. However, Zak Crawley kept backing away after every delivery bowled by Jasprit Bumrah, ensuring India didn't get a second over in.
Shubman Gill even charged towards the stumps and hurled "grow some f****** b***s' towards Zak Crawley. This was not the end of the matter, as a few balls later, Gill had another heated exchange with the right-handed batter after he called for a physio after getting hit on the hand.
The entire Indian side charged towards Crawley and Duckett, as no side took a backseat, making their intentions known. After the end of the Lord's Test, the England camp launched a 'spirit of cricket' debate, saying they also had a go at India on the final day after India's 11 guys went hard against 2 of their openers.
Also Read: Anshul Kamboj 'close to making' debut as Shubman Gill confirms Akash Deep's status for Manchester Test
Gill, however, set the record straight, saying England batters arrived at the crease 90 seconds late on the third day, and then they wasted more time, which was not in the 'spirit of the game.'
'A lot of people have been talking about this, so let me just clear the air for once and for all. The English batters on that day had seven minutes of play left. They were 90 seconds late to come to the crease,' Gill told reporters on the eve of the Manchester Test.
"Not 10, not 20, 90 seconds late. Yes, most of the teams use this tactic. Even if we were in a position, we would have also liked to play fewer overs. But there's a manner to do it. And we felt, yes, if you get hit on your body, the physios are allowed to come on. And that is something that is fair," he added.
'Not something I'm proud of'
Gill also stated that he is not really proud of what happened on the pitch during the third day of the Lord's Test. He said that a lot of things happened on the field that shouldn't have, and this led to him losing his cool.
'But to be able to come 90 seconds late on the crease is not something that I would think comes in the spirit of the game. And just leading up to that event, a lot of things that we thought should not have happened, had happened. And it's not, I wouldn't say it was something that I'm very proud of,' said Gill.
'But there was a lead-up and build-up to that. It didn't just come out of nowhere. And we had no intention of doing that whatsoever. But it's just, you're playing a game you're playing to win. And there are a lot of emotions involved. And when you see there are things happening that should not happen, sometimes the emotions come out of nowhere,' he added.
England currently lead the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy and India face a must-win situation in Manchester.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Who is Lottie Woad? Former Florida State star wins women's Scottish Open in professional debut
English golfer Lottie Woad, 21, made her professional debut in the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open with an incredible three-shot win. After completing at 21 under par at Dundonald Links, Woad won her first LPGA Tour championship in her professional debut. She is a rising star in women's golf owing to her dominant performance, which was capped by a final-round score of 68. England's Lottie Woad plays off the 1st tee during the Women's Scottish Open at the Dundonald Links, Irvine, Scotland, Sunday July 27, 2025. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)(AP) Woad closed with a 4-under 68 for a three-shot triumph, without faltering when Hyo Joo Kim charged on a windy day at Dundonald Links. In her professional debut, Woad became the second player in three years to secure a victory on the LPGA Tour, succeeding Rose Zhang at the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National. With her final score of 21-under 267, Woad took home $300,000. "I think it's quite hard to do that but very special to win in my first event. Everyone was chasing me today and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots,' she said. After making four birdies in seven holes to start, Kim and Woad shared the lead after the South Korean made birdies on the eleventh and twelfth holes. Woad remained composed, dropping just one stroke in the final round and making birdies on the 13th and 14th holes to take back control. She made birdie and celebrated quietly after finishing with a three-quarter wedge over a meandering burn to two feet. Her triumph will undoubtedly draw attention from all women's golfers. Also Read: England vs Spain: UEFA Women's Euro 2025 prize money - How much prize money will winners take home Who is Lottie Woad? Three weeks ago, Woad clinched the Women's Irish Open on the Ladies European Tour, which put her at the top of the women's amateur rankings. She was one shot away from a playoff in the LPGA major Evian Championship in France. The 21-year-old made the decision to become pro and skip her final year at Florida State after earning sufficient points for an LPGA card. Now that she has an LPGA title—the Women's Scottish Open is co-sanctioned with the LET—she is traveling south to Royal Porthcawl, Wales, for the Women's British Open. Woad first gained notoriety last year when she dominated the Augusta National Women's Amateur by making birdies on three of the final four holes. She claimed that the pressure was greater than what she experienced during her professional debut. 'I think Augusta, that was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win,' she said.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
ANALYSIS-Soccer-English grit beats Spanish skill to secure Euro glory
By Philip O'Connor HT Image BASEL, Switzerland, July 27 (Reuters) - England were on the ropes often at the Women's Euros, and they always found a knockout blow, before beating Spain in a final penalty shootout to show that skill may be a way to dominate games, but it takes the heart of a lioness to win them. Chloe Kelly was the hero, firing in the spot-kick to ensure the defending champions retained their crown, but every English player had to dig deep to thwart a Spanish side who were best everywhere except on the final scoreboard. Down 2-0 at the break, England's tournament almost ended in the quarter-finals as Sweden looked set to cruise through, but Kelly and Michelle Agyemang dragged the champions back into the game with late goals before they won the penalty shootout despite having four kicks saved. They made heavy weather of Italy in the semis and again Kelly came to the rescue, scoring a 119th-minute winner to send them into the final despite another flawed performance. In contrast, Spain cruised, purring like the engine of one of the many sports cars that can be seen zipping along city streets in the more affluent parts of Switzerland. They beat the host nation, and eased past Germany in the semis to make the final. They met England in the 2023 World Cup final when a first-half goal set Spain on course for victory and their first major title. The story was almost a carbon copy on Sunday as they took the lead through Mariona Caldentey in the 25th minute. Led by playmaker Aitan Bonmati, the Spaniards sensed a weakness on England's left flank and probed it relentlessly until Ona Batlle came up with the cross for Caldentey to score. KELLY INTRODUCTION The introduction of Kelly before the break for the injured Lauren James strengthened that wing, and when Kelly set Russo up for the equaliser the tide did not exactly turn, but the belief of the English players certainly grew. Battered by a number of crunching tackles, fullbacks Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood continued to throw themselves into every challenge, while captain Leah Williamson made a lung-bursting run to create a late chance that hinted at reserves of energy not even she knew she had. Having been to the brink so many times, England believed. When the game finished 1-1 and the penalty shootout awaited, the English players seemed relaxed and confident, with their Spanish counterparts looking slightly more on edge. The Spaniards had the game in the palms of their hands for 120 minutes, but it began slipping away as Hannah Hamton started to save their spot-kicks, first from Caldentey and then from Bonmati, before Paralluelo fired her effort wide. Kelly made no mistake, lashing the ball into the net as the English fans in the stadium erupted in joy. "This is England, I think this is our moment, we've dug in for the 120 minutes, we've done what we needed to do to keep Spain out. It was just one kick and that was it and so we did that this time," Hampton said. For all their dominance, this is a final that Spain will feel got away from them. Despite all their success in recent years, they lacked the cutting edge they needed to get the job done, and when it really mattered, England had it in spades. (Reporting by Philip O'Connor, editing by ed Osmond)
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Motor racing-Hamilton and Verstappen question race delay as others back FIA
By Alan Baldwin HT Image SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (Reuters) -Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen questioned race control's handling of the rain-delayed Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday as rival drivers commended Formula One's governing body for putting safety first. The race at Spa-Francorchamps was delayed for an hour and 20 minutes as officials waited for rain to stop and conditions to dry out. The safety car then led the field for four laps before a rolling start. "I think we could have started way sooner, that's not ideal," Red Bull's four times world champion Verstappen told reporters, adding that in the end there had been very little racing in the wet. Hamilton, who went from the pit lane to seventh, said he did not think the rolling start was necessary. "I don't really know why they did that one, because it had dried up quite a lot and the spray wasn't that bad," added the Briton. The high-speed Spa circuit is the longest lap on the calendar and weather conditions can be treacherous. It also has a tragic past. French Formula Two driver Anthoine Hubert died in a crash at the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix at the exit of Raidillon, at the top of the famed Eau Rouge, while Dutch teenager Dilano van't Hoff died in a junior series crash in 2023. The list is much longer when the sport's distant past is considered. "I think the past few years, particularly here, we've given the FIA feedback that we would much rather be on the safe side than risk anything," said McLaren's race winner and championship leader Oscar Piastri. "I think that's what we did today. If you were to be picky, maybe we could have done one less formation lap. But in the grand scheme of things, if that's one lap too early, is it worth it? No." Ferrari's third-placed finisher Charles Leclerc, whose family friend Jules Bianchi suffered fatal injuries in a crash at the rain-hit 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, agreed. "On a track like this with what happened historically, I think you cannot forget about it. For that reason, I'd rather be safe than too early," he said. "Maybe it was a little bit on the late side, but I wouldn't have changed anything." Williams' Carlos Sainz, who started near the back and would have suffered in the spray, supported race control. "In a normal track, yes, I think we could have started maybe 5-10 minutes earlier. In Spa-Francorchamps and the history of this track, it's better safe than sorry," said the Spaniard. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)
