England opener Zak Crawley has responded to claims from Indian captain Shubman Gill that he deliberately came out late to bat during the Lord’s Test. In a thrilling contest, the hosts eventually prevailed by 22 runs on the final day to seal a 2-1 lead in the series.
However, the clash was marred by a series of ill-tempered incidents. On day three, Crawley and Duckett faced a tricky final few minutes as I began their side’s second innings. They appeared to use delaying tactics between overs until they reached the close. Their behaviour infuriated Gill, who exchanged words with both batsmen, with the arguments continuing as they left the field.
“The English batsmen on that day had seven minutes of play left. They were 90 seconds late coming to the crease. Not 10, not 20, but 90 seconds late.”
After scoring 84 to help put England in a winning position in Manchester, Crawley responded to Gill’s outburst. Asked whether the delay was deliberate, the 27-year-old insisted he followed instructions from officials.
“No, no, not at all, it wasn’t intentional,” he replied. “I sit in my spot until the umpires go out. I walked out when I saw them go. I wasn’t aware we were 90 seconds late, but fair enough.”
Crawley and Duckett responded further by letting their batting do the talking so far in the fourth Test. The pair put on 166 for the opening wicket on Thursday, and although both fell short of a century, Joe Root and Ollie Pope have since taken England to 332-2 by lunch of day three in response to India’s first innings total of 358 all out.