England vs India: Timewasting, tantrums and send-offs during spiky Test series show how much the format matters | Cricket News

Delays are annoying. Just ask anyone who gets the train to work.

But they don’t often lead to the sort of long-standing beef we witnessed in the utterly pulsating England vs India Test series.

England’s second innings starting 90 seconds late on the third evening of the third Test at Lord’s – and Zak Crawley’s subsequent time-wasting tactics – triggered copious aggro.

We saw send-offs, verbal exchanges and physical contact (intended and accidental). More needle than a Covid vaccination centre.

You may feel that some things went too far, and you may be right, but it showed how much passion these sides have for Test cricket.

In a world where white-ball boshing often holds sway, we saw why Test remains best. Why it matters and what it can do to people.

So here is a reminder of the major spice – a needle thread, if you will – that featured in one of the best series in living memory.

Lord’s – Timewasting leads to tetchiness

Irritating delays had been the talk of the Lord’s Test prior to the final seven minutes on day three as both teams requested numerous ball changes as the Dukes went soft and India skipper Shubman Gill received on-field treatment on his back.

Fans probably felt short-changed with overs being lost but got their money’s worth on the Saturday evening with six balls of theatre

Gill had already been irked by England openers Crawley and Ben Duckett’s late arrival to the crease – saying that was “against the spirit of the game” when asked about it a few days later.

But he then became enraged after Crawley backed away from Jasprit Bumrah deliveries and then called for the physio after a gentle knock on the glove, acts of housery that meant the hosts only had to face a solitary over before stumps and not two.

Gill urged Crawley to grow some balls – chucking an expletive in for good measure – with others also pointing fingers and getting in faces. The snarling Mohammed Siraj said his piece. Obviously.

Siraj then gave Duckett a fiery send-off after dismissing him the following morning – one that cost the seamer 15 per cent of his match fee – with those players also bumping shoulders.

On the final day, as England squeaked to a slender victory, Jofra Archer dished out some chirp to Rishabh Pant after sending the left-hander’s off stump cartwheeling.

Ben Stokes also had to play peacemaker after a ball-watching Brydon Carse and Ravindra Jadeja accidentally collided.

Old Trafford – Shake our hands? Not yet…

The fourth Test in Manchester was a largely friendly affair – until the moment a draw was all but inevitable.

England wanted to shake hands and move on but India did not with Jadeja and Washington Sundar on the cusp of centuries.

“If you wanted a hundred, you should have batted like it earlier,” quipped Archer. “You’re gonna get a Test hundred against Harry Brook and Ben Duckett,” added an irritated England skipper Stokes.

Jadeja and Washington did score hundreds – Washington’s was his first in Tests – against Brook, whose filthy off-spin Stokes brought into the attack alongside Joe Root’s decent off-spin in order to save his frontline bowlers.

Unfortunately, we did not get to see any of Duckett’s seldom-seen spin. That would have been a laugh.

Former England batter Mark Ramprakash said England’s actions “did not reflect well on them” while their behaviour was leaped upon by Australian publications with Stokes’ men branded “moral hypocrites who decide tons are anti-cricket”, “pompous” and “whiny”.

Say what you really think, lads!

The Oval – Groundsman-gate and raging Root

The beef in the fifth Test began before the match started – and that initial episode did not even involve the players but India’s prickly head coach Gautam Gambhir and Oval groundsman Lee Fortis.

Fortis was seemingly unhappy at India’s training session taking place too near the main square and when he told Gambhir, the India boss responded: “You don’t tell us what to do, you’re just a groundsman.”

Soon, though, there was further animosity between the players, with Akash Deep putting his arm around Duckett and chirping in his ear after having him caught behind on the reverse scoop.

Atherton called the contact “unacceptable”. England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick said Duckett did well not to stick an elbow in.

Plus, the usually unflappable Root became incensed at something Prasidh Krishna had uttered and snapped back – Krishna later said the plan had been to unsettle Root and it worked, with the England batter lbw to Siraj for 29 in the first innings.

The Deep-Duckett and Root-Krishna clashes both came on the second day and there was still time for even more aggro before the evening was out as Duckett and Sai Sudharan went at each other verbally after the latter’s dismissal.

There were smiles and handshakes in the end, though, after India clinched a six-run victory in south London to secure a series draw.

The nicest man in the world (probably), Chris Woakes, was the not-out England batter after heading to the crease with his left arm in a sling due to a likely shoulder dislocation suffered on day one.

As nice as Woakes is though, even he dropped an F-bomb during the series after some narrow lbw decisions went against him.

When he is using industrial language – and walking out to bat with one arm – you realise just what this format means.

England vs India – full results

Five-match series ends 2-2