India star fires fierce accusation at England players to "clear the air once and for all"
Shubman Gill has accused England openers of breaching the spirit of cricket by dragging their feet.
The Indian captain claimed Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were 90 seconds late to the crease at the start of their second innings at Lord's - which lit the blue touchpaper for a feisty conclusion to England's tense 22-run win.
When Crawley backed away, and then called for treatment after being struck on the bottom hand by a lifting delivery from Jasprit Bumrah, finger-wagging Gill saw led a posse of Indian players remonstrating with him for blatant timewasting to run down the clock.
Ahead of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, Gill explained: 'A lot of people have been asking me about it, so let me clear the air once and for all. The English batsmen on that day had seven minutes' play left, but they were 90 seconds late coming to the crease - not 10, not 20, but 90 seconds late.
'Yes, most teams use this (ploy), but there's a manner to do it. If you get hit on the body, the physios are allowed to come on and 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.
'Leading up to that event, a lot of things happened that we thought should not have happened. It's not something I'm very proud of but there was a build-up - it didn't just come out of nowhere.
'We had no intention of doing that whatsoever but you're playing to win and there are a lot of emotions. Sometimes when you see things happening that should not happen, emotions come out of nowhere.'
England were unimpressed by India's hostility towards Crawley and Duckett - and white-ball captain Harry Brook admitted they resolved to 'get stuck in' and reciprocate the aggression. India tuned up for their date at Old Trafford by paying a visit to Manchester United's Carrington training ground.
It is not known whether United boss Ruben Amorim recommended batting or bowling first if Gill wins the toss for the first time in the series.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
27 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett put England in charge after Ben Stokes' five-for
England's openers reprised their Headingley heroics, which helped them draw first blood in last month's series opener, putting on 166 in 32 overs after India were all out for 358 at Emirates Old Trafford. Neither was able to get to three figures as Duckett fell six runs short and Crawley was out for 84, with England going to stumps after day two of the fourth Rothesay Test on 225 for two. That they only sit 133 behind and in a favourable position to move into an unassailable 3-1 series lead owes much to Stokes, who claimed five for 72 to restrict an India side who were able to call upon Rishabh Pant as he defied an injury to his right foot. A brilliant day for England! 🏴 We trail by just 1️⃣3️⃣3️⃣ runs with 8️⃣ wickets in hand. Roll on tomorrow 💪 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 24, 2025 Less than 24 hours after retiring hurt on 37 and being taken off the field on a golf buggy, Pant resumed his innings although substitute fielder Dhruv Jurel is taking on wicketkeeper duties for the rest of the Test. Amid reports of a broken metatarsal – India have not publicly confirmed the severity of his injury – Pant limped every time he moved forward before being bowled for 54 by Jofra Archer, who claimed three for 73. Archer struck in his first over with the second new ball after squaring up Ravindra Jadeja and drawing the edge but Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar took India from an overnight 264 for four past 300. Stokes ended the union when Thakur was excellently caught at gully by a leaping Duckett for 41, leading to Pant's slow march to the crease, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd for soldiering on. He wore a blow to the gloves from his third ball and runners being outlawed in Tests meant he had to hobble through for singles. His movement was severely restricted but the danger remained as Archer's slower ball after lunch was launched over deep midwicket en route to Pant reaching a courageous fifty. Stokes claimed five wickets to restrict India (Martin Rickett/PA) But then, he was running out of partners as Stokes bounced out Sundar for 27 and nicked off debutant Anshul Kamboj three balls later for his first Test five-for since a career-best six for 22 against the West Indies nearly eight years ago. With Jasprit Bumrah for company, Pant refused a run after smashing Archer only to be cleaned up next ball in a carbon copy of his second-innings dismissal at Lord's, with his off-stump sent flying. After Archer finished proceedings as India lost their final four wickets for 21, Duckett had his heart in his mouth when he gloved his first ball down the leg-side, just out of reach of the diving Jurel. Duckett then flung his bat over his shoulder close to his stumps but he ended Kamboj's eventful first over in an India jersey with back-to-back clips for four and did not look back. A close call for Ben Duckett 😅 Have you ever seen this before? 👀 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 24, 2025 Even Bumrah struggled for containment after being dispatched twice to the boundary in an over, with all of India's seamers coming in for punishment for drifting into Duckett's pads far too often. Crawley took 14 balls to get off nought at a ground where he made 189 in the 2023 Ashes and was initially happy to swim in Duckett's slipstream but he gradually started to assert himself with several fantastic cover drives. While Duckett was first and quickest to fifty, Crawley overtook his partner and hammered Jadeja for a meaty straight six after the slow left-armer was brought on to offer a semblance of control. But Jadeja got the breakthrough having been required to bowl an extra ball after overstepping moments earlier when Crawley hung out his bat and nicked low to KL Rahul, who clung on inches above the turf. Pant was bowled by Archer after batting with a foot injury (Martin Rickett/PA) Nevertheless, Crawley had been at the centre of the timewasting row that erupted last week at Lord's and was once again under pressure after four successive scores under 25 so this knock was some riposte. Having looked short of ideas, India celebrated with a huddle after ending the Crawley-Duckett onslaught – their second best of the last few weeks having made 188 together in Leeds. Duckett made a match-winning 149 on that occasion but he could not ton up here after a wild slash to a Kamboj long hop took the edge through to Jurel to end a fine 100-ball innings. There were no further alarms as Ollie Pope ended the day unbeaten on 20 and Joe Root on 11 not out.
Leader Live
27 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett put England in charge after Ben Stokes' five-for
England's openers reprised their Headingley heroics, which helped them draw first blood in last month's series opener, putting on 166 in 32 overs after India were all out for 358 at Emirates Old Trafford. Neither was able to get to three figures as Duckett fell six runs short and Crawley was out for 84, with England going to stumps after day two of the fourth Rothesay Test on 225 for two. That they only sit 133 behind and in a favourable position to move into an unassailable 3-1 series lead owes much to Stokes, who claimed five for 72 to restrict an India side who were able to call upon Rishabh Pant as he defied an injury to his right foot. A brilliant day for England! 🏴 We trail by just 1️⃣3️⃣3️⃣ runs with 8️⃣ wickets in hand. Roll on tomorrow 💪 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 24, 2025 Less than 24 hours after retiring hurt on 37 and being taken off the field on a golf buggy, Pant resumed his innings although substitute fielder Dhruv Jurel is taking on wicketkeeper duties for the rest of the Test. Amid reports of a broken metatarsal – India have not publicly confirmed the severity of his injury – Pant limped every time he moved forward before being bowled for 54 by Jofra Archer, who claimed three for 73. Archer struck in his first over with the second new ball after squaring up Ravindra Jadeja and drawing the edge but Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar took India from an overnight 264 for four past 300. Stokes ended the union when Thakur was excellently caught at gully by a leaping Duckett for 41, leading to Pant's slow march to the crease, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd for soldiering on. He wore a blow to the gloves from his third ball and runners being outlawed in Tests meant he had to hobble through for singles. His movement was severely restricted but the danger remained as Archer's slower ball after lunch was launched over deep midwicket en route to Pant reaching a courageous fifty. But then, he was running out of partners as Stokes bounced out Sundar for 27 and nicked off debutant Anshul Kamboj three balls later for his first Test five-for since a career-best six for 22 against the West Indies nearly eight years ago. With Jasprit Bumrah for company, Pant refused a run after smashing Archer only to be cleaned up next ball in a carbon copy of his second-innings dismissal at Lord's, with his off-stump sent flying. After Archer finished proceedings as India lost their final four wickets for 21, Duckett had his heart in his mouth when he gloved his first ball down the leg-side, just out of reach of the diving Jurel. Duckett then flung his bat over his shoulder close to his stumps but he ended Kamboj's eventful first over in an India jersey with back-to-back clips for four and did not look back. A close call for Ben Duckett 😅 Have you ever seen this before? 👀 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 24, 2025 Even Bumrah struggled for containment after being dispatched twice to the boundary in an over, with all of India's seamers coming in for punishment for drifting into Duckett's pads far too often. Crawley took 14 balls to get off nought at a ground where he made 189 in the 2023 Ashes and was initially happy to swim in Duckett's slipstream but he gradually started to assert himself with several fantastic cover drives. While Duckett was first and quickest to fifty, Crawley overtook his partner and hammered Jadeja for a meaty straight six after the slow left-armer was brought on to offer a semblance of control. But Jadeja got the breakthrough having been required to bowl an extra ball after overstepping moments earlier when Crawley hung out his bat and nicked low to KL Rahul, who clung on inches above the turf. Nevertheless, Crawley had been at the centre of the timewasting row that erupted last week at Lord's and was once again under pressure after four successive scores under 25 so this knock was some riposte. Having looked short of ideas, India celebrated with a huddle after ending the Crawley-Duckett onslaught – their second best of the last few weeks having made 188 together in Leeds. Duckett made a match-winning 149 on that occasion but he could not ton up here after a wild slash to a Kamboj long hop took the edge through to Jurel to end a fine 100-ball innings. There were no further alarms as Ollie Pope ended the day unbeaten on 20 and Joe Root on 11 not out.
Scottish Sun
28 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Man Utd rule out breaking bank for new No9 with Rasmus Hojlund backed to flourish in new system with Cunha and Mbeumo
United have already missed out on a host of striker targets this summer LUND OF HOPE... AND GLORY? Man Utd rule out breaking bank for new No9 with Rasmus Hojlund backed to flourish in new system with Cunha and Mbeumo MANCHESTER United have ruled out breaking the bank to bring in a new No9. United fans were hoping Alexander Isak's decision to tell Newcastle he wants out of St James' Park might encourage the Old Trafford hierarchy to muscle in on the deal. 5 Ruben Amorim is ready to stick by Rasmus Hojlund as his No9 next season Credit: Reuters 5 Man Utd don't currently have the funds to try sign Alexander Isak, who has made it clear he wants to leave Newcastle Credit: Getty But with United's spending on Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo having already topped £130m this summer, the club is not in a position to go large unless there are significant exits. United already missed out on Liam Delap and Viktor Gyokeres - who opted for Chelsea and Arsenal respectively. And they have now been linked with possible moves for Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko and Aston Villa frontman Ollie Watkins. Sunsport revealed how Chelsea's Senegalese star Nicolas Jackson was also eyeing Old Trafford as a potential destination, with the Blues wanting £80m for his services. But United's current position is that there is no wriggle room for another big money signing at this stage, meaning they will not even try to gatecrash Liverpool's £120m move for Swedish star Isak. And the decision not to push the boat out opens the door for under-pressure Rasmus Hojlund to stake his claim during the three-match Premier League Summer Series tournament against West Ham, Bournemouth and Everton. Hojlund, who has struggled to justify his £72m price-tag, scoring just 14 Prem goals in 62 games since arriving from Atalanta, has been linked with Juventus, Napoli, Milan, Inter and Roma this summer. United chief Ruben Amorim, though, looks set to give the Dane, 22, a final chance to show he can be the Old Trafford spearhead. 5 CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Amorim believes the arrivals of Cunha and Mbeumo will give United a new attacking dynamism, allowing Hojlund to flourish in front of goal. But the call by the club to put a new striker signing on hold will frustrate some supporters who have looked on enviously as Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City have all spent big ahead of the new campaign. 5 Man Utd hunting Jackson as Chelsea's demands revealed | Transfers Exposed 5 TRANSFER NEWS LIVE - KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST FROM A BUSY SUMMER WINDOW
