McCullum's ‘too nice' jibe fired up England after India's verbal attack on Crawley: Was the perfect chance to end it

Hindustan Times

22-07-2025

England batter Harry Brook, on Tuesday, opened up on how head coach Brendon McCullum's "too nice" swipe at the players fired up the team on the eve of the final day of the Lord's Test. Brook said that they saw Day 5 as the "perfect opportunity" to change their "too nice" attitude after India had verbally attacked opener Zak Crawley on the third evening. England head coach Brendon McCullum shakes hands with India's Shubman Gill after the match (Action Images via Reuters)
India captain Shubman Gill had accused Crawley of deliberately wasting time, while the rest of the Indian players sarcastically clapped before Ben Duckett intervened. It wasn't the only flashpoint between the two sides in the third Test. On the next morning, fast bowler Mohammed Siraj had aggressively celebrated Duckett's wicket and even made contact with him in his follow-through, for which the ICC punished him. Later, Brydon Carse had a heated exchange with Ravindra Jadeja on the final day.
England showed aggression on Day 5, successfully defending 192 and folding India for 170 to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Brook revealed that McCullum's words were brought up during a team conversation on the fourth evening, with the game then perfectly poised.
"He actually said a few days before that we are too nice sometimes," Brook said. "I brought it up the night before the last day: 'Baz said the other day we're too nice, I think tomorrow is a perfect opportunity to really get stuck into them'. It came at the perfect time. The opportunity that arose for us to not be the nice guys was because of what they did the night before.
"We watched two of our guys out there on their own, going back at the Indians after they were going at them. We just thought 'we're not standing for that'. We had a conversation and said 'it's time to not be those nice guys that we have been before'."
The loss in London left India in a must-win territory as they now head to Manchester for the fourth Test. More so, their preparations for the game hit a major roadblock as three players were left injured, leaving the selectors to call up Anshul Kamboj as a cover. Fast bowler Arshdeep Singh was ruled out of the fourth game, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was out for the rest of the series, while pacer Akash Deep is doubtful for the Manchester game.
Adding to India's woes, they have never won a Test match at Old Trafford. Their nine attempts at the venue, ended in four defeats and five draws.