Justin Langer tips Ben Stokes would have done same thing as India after Test draw stoush

West Australian

2 days ago

The English dummy spit over India refusing to accept an early finish to the fourth Test so two of their batters could make centuries will provide the Australian team's leading sledgers with powerful ammunition when the Ashes start in Perth this summer.
England captain Ben Stokes, who cried foul about the 'spirit of the game' during the Johnny Bairstow dismissal blow-up during the 2023 Ashes, has found himself on the wrong side of history with his childish antics after Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sunday declined to shake hands and end the Test 15 overs early overnight.
The pair, both clearly within their rights to keep playing to get to triple figures, both reached their milestones.
Former Australian coach Justin Langer, who had plenty of run-ins with the Poms during his playing and coaching career, said he was sure Stokes would have done the same thing if two of his batters were within reach of a hundred.
Even former England captains Nasser Hussain and Alastair Cook went in to bat for the Indian side post-match as Stokes and his gang of whingers were widely panned.
England, who last week were talking tough about how they were no longer going to play nice, only proved how petty they can be when things don't go their way during the farcical scenes at Old Trafford.
Stokes had Joe Root and Harry Brook provide weak bowling to speed things along after his moves to end the match were rebuffed. Jadeja reached his ton first and Sundar followed to signal the end of proceedings, with India on 4-424 and a lead of 113.
The pair — and captain Shubman Gill, who also made a century to recover from a wobbly start — helped India save the match and keep the series alive. England have a 2-1 lead ahead of the final Test, which begins at The Oval on Thursday.
Stokes attempted to deprecate Jadeja's achievement by asking him: 'You want to get a Test hundred against (batter) Harry Brook?' who then bowled laughable looping deliveries off a shortened run-up.
Columnist for The Nightly, legendary Australian opener Langer relished cricket's 'hard edge' ahead of England's return to Australia this summer.
'In such a huge Test series where the stakes are so high, it's great to see that Test cricket still has that hard edge,' Langer said.
'India were wanting to keep two of their players in to score a Test century, get their names on the honour board and keep England in the dirt for another half hour, knowing there's another match in a few days time.
'If the roles were reversed, I imagine if it were Ben Stokes whose young teammates had the chance to score a Test 100, he would have done the exact same thing.
'Test cricket is such an extraordinary game and I love anything that adds intrigue, interest and controversy to it.'
Last week Mitchell Johnson wrote for The Nightly that England's declaration to be meaner was simply bluster.
'Right now, England sound like they're trying to sound intimidating rather than
being
intimidating,' he wrote.
'Let's not pretend Australia are choirboys. I had plenty to say when I played — and copped plenty back. But that came with purpose. Sledging only works when you're dominating. And to be honest, right now England aren't.
'Here's what England need to remember: the Ashes aren't won at press conferences.'
India captain Gautam Gambhir asked post-match, 'would they have walked off?'
'If someone from England was batting on 90, or 85 and had the opportunity to get his first Test hundred, would they do it?
'They (Jadeja and Sundar) weathered the storm. It's up to them. If they want to play that way, nothing more to say.
'I think both those guys deserved a 100 and fortunately they got it.'
The incident adds further intrigue to this summer's Ashes series between the two fierce rivals, which comes as part of a resurgence of Test cricket in Australia.
Fans are already clamouring to get their hands on tickets after the wild success of last year's blockbuster series between Australia and India.
Hussain lamented the bad look at the end of the Test.
'Stokes didn't have to bowl Brook and it looked a bit silly at the end there but we make far too much of these things,' he said. 'They played well, they deserved the draw, they deserved to be there at the end.'
Cook said the centuries would stand the test of time, compared to the farcical final moments.
'Five years down the line you look at the scorecard you see two brilliant hundreds to save the game, plus obviously Gill's as well,' he said.
'It will be forgotten about, Harry Brook's 37mph (60km/h) ball.'