
Virat Kohli dragged into Lord's 'nonsense', Atherton seeks forgiveness after 'degrading' Test: 'There's no place for...'
The incident occurred in the opening session on Sunday in London when Siraj aggressively celebrated Duckett's dismissal, and in his follow-through, made contact with Duckett when the batter was on his way back to the Lord's Long Room. Siraj was fined 15 per cent of his match fees and handed one demerit point.
Addressing the situation in his column for The Times, Atherton called for balance — urging that while fiery passion is part of Test cricket's charm, physical confrontations like Kohli's shoulder barge or the Brydon Carse- Ravindra Jadeja clash should have no place on the field.
"Forgive me for degrading the report of a great match with this nonsense, but wouldn't spectators rather see players caring too much, rather than too little, about playing Tests. No one, of course, wants to see physical altercations on the field of play, or sustained nasty verbal abuse. There should be no place, for example, for the shoulder barge that Virat Kohli initiated in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne last Christmas, when he diverted from his path to deliberately walk into Sam Konstas. In a match where there was plenty of spice and niggle, tempers flared as Carse and Jadeja collided mid-pitch, although the impact was entirely accidental, after Jadeja had deflected the ball towards third man, with both players ball-watching rather than minding each other's path," he wrote.
The Kohli incident had taken place on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test in December last year, when the former India captain had deliberately walked up to Australia batter Sam Konstas and bumped his shoulder, which was followed by a heated exchange between the two.
Despite his act, Kohli escaped major sanctions after the ICC announced that he had accepted a fine worth 20 per cent of his match fee.
Atherton also drew parallels between the Lord's Test match and England historic ICC World Cup win six years back at the very same venue.
"Six years ago to the day, Lord's had witnessed the most remarkable finish to any cricket match, when the World Cup final was decided on a boundary countback after a Super Over. Now the game delivered an extraordinary finish again, with two of the protagonists from that day, Stokes and Jofra Archer, taking centre stage," Atherton remarked.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
31 minutes ago
- Time of India
FIDE Women's World Cup 2025: When is Koneru Humpy vs Divya Deshmukh in the final? What is the prize money?
Konreu Humpy and Divya Deshmukh India is guaranteed a historic win at the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 as Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh have reached the final after winning their semifinal matches. Divya Deshmukh defeated China's Tan Zhongyi to book her place in the final. Koneru Humpy advanced by beating Chinese GM Lei Tingjie in the tiebreaks on Thursday. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The final will begin on Saturday, July 26 with Game 1, followed by Game 2 on Sunday, July 27. If needed, tiebreaks will be played on Monday, July 28. The winner of the event will receive $50,000, (₹41.6 lakhs) while the runner-up will take home $35,000 (₹29.1 lakhs). Match Format: Each player will have 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game. A 30-second increment per move will be added from move one. If the match is tied after two classical games, tiebreaks will follow: Two rapid games of 10 minutes + 10-second increment. If still tied, two 5-minute + 3-second increment games. If required, two blitz games of 3 minutes + 2-second increment. If needed, 3+2 blitz games will continue until there is a winner. Spectators can expect high drama, with the format ensuring a definite champion emerges, no matter how evenly matched the players are. This marks the first time two Indian women have reached the final of the Women's World Cup, ensuring a major milestone for Indian chess. The strong performance by both players, especially against tough Chinese opponents, highlights India's rising presence in international chess. For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
40 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Pant's grit with broken foot will be remembered for 50 Years: Manjrekar
Indian vice-captain Rishabh Pant coming out to bat with a fractured foot is a testimony to his commitment for his team and an act of bravery that will be remembered for years to come, just like Anil Kumble dismissing Brian Lara with a broken jaw back in 2002. Pant retired hurt on the opening day of the fourth Test against England after trying to reverse sweep Chris Woakes. He was well set on 37 then. Scans revealed that he had fractured his right foot. On the second day, he was back at the crease and playing through excruciating pain, scored a half-century and also had a hand in two partnerships which cumulatively yielded 35 runs. "When you do things like this gestures like Anil Kumble bowling with his jaw strapped, those are moments in history you remember 50 years from now. It shows how keen he is to turn up for India," Manjrekar told Jio HotStar. "There's something about Test cricket, especially when it's being played in England. Look at the amount of attention you get as a cricketer here. This is where he wants to give his best. If you wonder why he hasn't made the same impact in white-ball cricket, maybe this is why. Because Pant wants to leave a mark on Test cricket more than any other format." Manjrekar feels that it was entirely Pant's decision to go out there and bat. "When we saw Rishabh Pant with Gautam Gambhir having a chat, he was in his whites we thought maybe he might come out to bat at the end of the innings. Who would've thought he'd walk in after the fall of the very next wicket?" Manjrekar said that even if Pant was physically down, he was never out of the game. "He is injured, but don't rule out this guy. If he's told one day that he can't move his feet, he's got such wonderful hand-eye coordination that he'll still be able to dominate. "So England would be worried that Rishabh Pant is back, even though he looked clearly in pain. This is clearly Rishabh Pant's decision; he decided, 'I'm going to go out there," Manjrekar added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


Hindustan Times
40 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
All-India Affair: Koneru Humpy to meet Divya Deshmukh in FIDE Women's World Cup final
Grandmaster Koneru Humpy held her nerves to score a come-from-behind victory over China'sTIngjie Lei in the tiebreaker to set up an all-Indian summit clash against Divya Deshmukh at the FIDE Women's World Cup here on Thursday. India's Koneru Humpy reacts during semifinal chess match against China's Tingjie Lei at FIDE Women's World Cup 2025(FIDE) Humpy will clash with Divya Deshmukh in the final starting after a day's rest starting on Saturday. With Humpy winning, both she and Divya have now qualified for the Women's candidates' tournament next year. Having drawn the first two games in the normal time control Humpy had to settle up with another 1-1 draw in the tiebreaker that comprised two games with 15 minutes for both players with an increment. After two draws here, Humpy had to really work hard in the next set of tiebreak games that had 10 minutes for both players with another increment. Lei got in the lad early in the set of these two games and Humpy erred in the middle game to lose a pawn and get in to a difficult endgame. What followed was pretty logical as Lei got in command and even thought the position was closer to a draw Humpy did not find the best defensive resources to equalize. Humpy lost another pawn on the queen side and despite the presence of opposite coloured Bishops in the endgame, white's influence on both flanks tilted things decisively in her favour. It was a win on demand wherein Humpy dominated the next game. The Queen pawn opening was good enough wherein Humpy was in command right from the word go. Humpy won with her superior technique and also her absolute determination to turn the tide in her favour from any given position. In the third set of tie-break games Humpy drew white in the first game and crushed Lei in all departments of the game. Winning this game meant that just a draw was needed for her to get in to the final and in the return game Humpy was at her technical best as she won again out of an Italian opening. If there is one title that has eluded Humpy it's the World Cup and world championship. Apart that Humpy has won everything under the sun.