The message from the two captains is clear: neither expected things to kick off as they did, nor do they intend to rein anyone in ahead of the final two Tests
Matt Roller14-Jul-2025
On a collision course: Ravindra Jadeja and Brydon Carse•Getty Images
It was the over that changed the mood of the series. For six minutes short of 13 days, relations between England’s and India’s players had appeared wholly amicable. But the sight of Shubman Gill and Zak Crawley pointing fingers at one another over a time-wasting spat prompted two days of stirring, sledging, swearing, send-offs, and simmering tensions.All of that culminated in a show of mutual respect after an epic Test match at Lord’s: No. 11 Mohammed Siraj, who was fined 15% of his match fee for his shoulder-bumping send-off of Ben Duckett on Sunday, sunk to his haunches after battling in vain for over an hour to give Ravindra Jadeja company, and Crawley was the first England player over to shake his hand.But expect hostilities to resume in Manchester, with both captains suggesting that the between the teams would only “add to the spectacle”. Gill may believe there is a mutual “admiration”, but the combination of a new-look India team and England’s cooling interest in the IPL means there are few genuine friendships between the two teams.Related
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Crawley’s outrageous delaying tactics initially sparked India into life, prompting Gill to suggest that he “grow some f*****g balls”. India’s fielders circled Crawley when he called the physio on.”When you’re watching your two opening batters go out there for an over, and you’re seeing 11 guys all come at [them], that’s going to bring out another side,” Ben Stokes said after England beat India by 22 runs.Siraj’s send-off to Duckett got him in trouble with Richie Richardson, the match referee, but Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy also celebrated their wickets with extra gusto after the Saturday-night flashpoint. England were unimpressed, and discussed their plans to get in India’s faces before they went out to bowl in the fourth innings.”We all came together as a group yesterday, and said, ‘we’re a bit too nice’,” Jofra Archer said after the match. “When we go to other places, some teams aren’t as nice to us as we are to them. I guess we just tried to shift it.” Archer set the tone on Monday, turning around and telling Rishabh Pant to “charge that” after responding to being launched down the ground by dislodging his off stump.Pant’s dismissal brought Washington Sundar to the crease, and it was his arrival that highlighted England’s aggression. Washington did the Sunday-night media round for India, and was unusually bullish. “We will definitely win the game tomorrow,” he told the BBC, adding, “It’s going to be amazing when we win the game and go 2-1 up in the series.”Nitish Kumar Reddy gives Zak Crawley a send-off•Getty ImagesIf Washington intended the tone to be tongue-in-cheek, it did not land, and word clearly reached the England camp. As soon as Washington walked in, Brendon McCullum signalled down from the balcony to ramp up the volume; after taking an athletic catch off his own bowling to dismiss Washington without scoring, Archer, flanked by Stokes, sent a few choice words in his direction.That brought in Reddy, whose reception from England’s close catchers was even more hostile. Reddy had given Crawley a pointed send-off when he dismissed him on Sunday – and for the second time in the match – and immediately got a volley back from him at leg slip. But it was Harry Brook, Reddy’s former Sunrisers Hyderabad team-mate, who was the loudest.Brook’s sledging centred on the fact that Reddy was “not at the IPL now”, and England attempted to lure him into playing an attacking shot. “So many runs, lads,” Duckett said. “Can’t just be blocking this end.” Another Brook line – “Jaddu’s got to score them all” – nearly came back to bite as the day wore on.Stokes found himself physically separating Brydon Carse and Jadeja – as though breaking up a fight on a night out – after a mid-pitch collision that both men blamed the other for. And even if the chatter died down in the afternoon as England’s fielders spread to the boundary, the hostility and aggression between the sides remained evident.Shubman Gill and Zak Crawley were involved in a heated exchange•Getty Images”In big series like this, there was always going to be a time and a moment where the two teams were going to clash,” Stokes said. “But I’m all for it. I don’t think it really stepped over the line. There’s 22 people out there playing for their country. It’s the highest honour that you can [reach] in our sport. So you can understand that sometimes the emotions and tension can get quite high.”But I don’t think there’s anyone in the Indian dressing room or anyone in the English dressing room that’s going to bed and going to cry themselves asleep… There was always going to be a moment in a series like this when it was going to implode. It wasn’t really boiling up to it; it just sort of happened. But look, it adds to the spectacle of England vs India, doesn’t it?”Gill may be softly spoken, but he has shown both in the IPL and now in Test cricket that he has a fiery side to him. In Gautam Gambhir, he is working alongside a coach who is never shy of getting involved in a confrontation – whether as a player or otherwise – and echoed Stokes’ comments that the needle will benefit the wider narrative.”It makes for an even more exciting Test series,” Gill said. “When you’re in the heat of the moment, obviously there are so many emotions involved… At the end of the day, both teams are very competitive, and you’re playing to win. You’re giving everything physically and mentally, so there are going to moments where there’s going to be a little bit of heat.”The underlying message was clear: neither captain expected things to kick off as they did, nor do they intend to rein anyone in ahead of the final two Tests. It already promises to be an explosive week in Manchester.
