Several ex-cricketers, including Michael Atherton, Dinesh Karthik, Michael Vaughan, Sir Alastair Cook, and Nasser Hussain, shared their reactions to the heated altercation between India captain Shubman Gill and England openers Ben Duckett and especially Zak Crawley right at the end of day three of the ongoing third Test at Lord’s.
Gill raced in from the slips, threw verbal volleys at England starters Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, pointed fingers, and gave Crawley a mock clap after becoming frustrated with his time-wasting tactics, which meant India only managed one over instead of the two they would have hoped for. Additionally, the England openers resisted and gave it their all.
Former England captain Mike Atherton said he ‘loved watching’ it.
“There was chit-chat, but I didn’t mind that. It was a red-blooded contest, and you have to give players a bit of leeway. I loved watching it and thought it was a fantastic end to a nip-and-tuck day. Brilliant drama, great theatre,” Atherton said on Sky Sports.
Nasser Hussain, another analyst and captain, reacted somewhat similarly.
“Box-office stuff at Lord’s. A hot day got a little bit heated towards the end,” Hussain said.
India’s Dinesh Karthik said that this was exactly what one wanted to see: “Exactly what you want to see. The aggression, the passion, both teams wanting to win real bad and going hard at each other.”
Alastair Cook, another former England captain, claimed that these kinds of incidents are typically seen during a five-match series.
“Everyone has been so friendly, but this always happens in a series of five matches. There are little moments after playing against each other so many times. Duckett was like a dachshund: all those big dogs, and he was the one squaring up to [Mohammed] Siraj,” Cook said on BBC Radio.
Michael Vaughan, another former captain, too, took a similar line of thinking.
”It’s as good a piece of time-wasting as I’ve ever seen. India can’t complain because yesterday Gill was down with the hamstring strain—Rahul was off the field and wouldn’t have been able to open the batting. Neither team can complain, but what great drama and what a great day. We’re in for a fourth and fifth day that will be fantastic,” Vaughan also said on BBC Radio.
