Key Points

England opener Zak Crawley revealed he thoroughly enjoyed the heated exchange with Indian captain Shubman Gill during the Lord's Test. The confrontation occurred after England's openers were accused of time-wasting tactics late on Day 3. Crawley described it as good-natured competitive banter that fired up both teams. While denying any intentional delay, he admitted such moments make Test cricket special for him.

Key Points: Zak Crawley Relishes Lord's Confrontation With Shubman Gill

  • Crawley admits loving the verbal duel with Gill and Indian team
  • Denies intentionally delaying entry with Duckett
  • Incident sparked fiery bowling from Bumrah and Siraj
  • England capitalized on momentum to bowl India out cheaply
2 min read

I've always enjoyed that part of cricket: Zak Crawley on confrontation with Shubman Gill at Lord's

England's Zak Crawley opens up on heated clash with Shubman Gill during Lord's Test, calling it "competitive cricket" he thoroughly enjoyed.

"I've always enjoyed that part of cricket, especially when you're batting... It was just competitive cricket, and I really enjoyed it. - Zak Crawley"

Manchester, July 25

England opener Zak Crawley opened up on the heated confrontation with India Test captain Shubman Gill during the Lord's Test, where he revealed that he really enjoyed the last eight minutes on the third day of the previous match.

During the day third of the Lord's Test, which India lost by 22 runs, an extremely heated argument took place between skipper Gill and England openers, with the Indian skipper alleging that they had wasted time while arriving and after arriving at the crease, to face as less balls as possible, with day's play coming to close. During this whole confrontation, the whole team had surrounded the batters, trying to get under the skin of the batters in every way possible.

The episode fired up both teams, with pacer Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah showing aggression in their bowling and body language. This aggression reached its peak when, on the fifth day, a fired-up England reduced India to 82/7 in pursuit of 193 runs, with skipper Ben Stokes bowling a marathon spell of almost 10 overs and, ever the returning Jofra Archer, producing some absolute scorchers.

Speaking at the post-day press conference, Crawley told the media, "I've always enjoyed that part of cricket, to be honest, especially when you're batting. There's two of you against eleven, and they're desperate to get you out, and they're chirping you. Most of the time, I'd probably let it slide, and then other times, I feel like it's a good chance to put it back on them. I loved that little eight-minute passage. No one stepped over the line. I thought everyone was in good spirits. It was just competitive cricket, and I really enjoyed it."

The England openers Crawley and Ben Duckett came out to bat 90 seconds late on the field during Day 3 of the Lord's Test.

Clarifying that they didn't did it intensionally, the right-hand batter said, "No, no. Not at all. I sit in my spot [in the dressing room] until the umpires go out. I saw the umpires go, and I walked out. I wasn't aware that we were 90 seconds late, but fair enough."

- ANI

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Reader Comments

A
Ananya R
Honestly, the time wasting was quite obvious. Good on Shubman for calling it out! England players always play these little games when they're under pressure. Our boys showed great fighting spirit though 💪
V
Vikram M
As much as I enjoy the aggression, let's not forget we lost the match. Maybe we should focus more on our batting collapses rather than these on-field dramas. Just saying 🤷‍♂️
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Sarah B
Coming from England, I must say both teams played hard but fair. This is proper Test cricket! The intensity at Lord's was amazing to watch. Looking forward to more such contests between these two great teams.
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Karthik V
Crawley saying "no one stepped over the line" - but coming out late was clearly against the spirit of the game! Umpires should have penalized them properly. This is why we need neutral umpires in all matches.
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Priya S
Loved seeing Siraj and Bumrah fired up! That's the passion we want from our players. England got rattled and it showed in their reactions. More aggression please Team India! 🇮🇳 #BleedBlue

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