'Verbal attack' on Jadeja, Sundar in Manchester drama sparks Ashes alert: Australia will have a look at Duckett, Crawley

Hindustan Times

29-07-2025

Former Australia cricketer Brad Haddin, on Monday, fired an Ashes warning to England in the wake of the drama that unfolded in the final hour of the fourth Test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series. Haddin targeted Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett for their verbal attack on Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, saying the Aussies 'will have a look at them' in the impending Ashes series later this year. Brad Haddin had his say on the handshake drama in Manchester Test
Speaking to LiSTNR Sport on YouTube, Haddin lashed out at England for forcing India to stop the game and call it a draw when captain Ben Stokes offered the handshake with about 30 minutes left on the clock. The Aussie said that the two Indian batters were right to decline the offer and chase their respective hundreds despite the draw being inevitable in Manchester.
'It's interesting at the end of that Test match because India were two for none. So England are up and about. They thought they were going to win the Test. And that was an unbelievable partnership. Gill once again, KL Rahul was outstanding. And as the game went on, and India showed tremendous fight, unbelievable, the application they showed to bat,' Haddin said.
"Then, all of a sudden, it got to a situation where England said they can't win, so let's stop the game. So everything's got to stop because England are done playing. I like what India did, mate, they earned the right to stay out there as long as they need to. They had the right to get a hundred. And just because it didn't go England's way and they didn't get the answer that they wanted, all of a sudden, they're not happy.
They started to get verbal. Duckett and Crawley both reacted in a way I think Australia can really have a look at. But if things don't go England's way and they don't get the rub of the green, all of a sudden, it's everyone else's problem. So well done to India for staying out there. Well done for getting a draw. When England were dropping all those catches, they gave enough chances to win the Test match. That's what they should be looking at, not that India decided they wanted to stay on a little bit longer because they'd earned the right."
Realising that England had lost their chance to force a result in the game, Stokes walked to the umpire calling for a draw, who then asked Jadeja if he was okay with the decision, but there was no response from the India all-rounder, who was then batting in his 90s.
As Jadeja finished his drinks, having made it clear that both the batters were interested in getting to their respective centuries, Crawley walked up to him asking, "Is it your decision?" Jadeja replied with a laugh, "No, No, No!"
The England batter then added, "We will bowl bouncers at you if you want," and Jadeja laughed again and said, "But you have been doing that all day!" As Crawley exited the scene, Duckett entered and took a dig at Jadeja, asking, "How long do you need, an hour?" to which he was replied - "See, I can't say I don't want to play". The England player then pointed towards Sundar, who was in his 80s, saying, "But then it works that you get to a hundred, he gets to 90. And we have to wait for him." But this time, Jadeja gave no reply.
Haddin, however, backed Stokes' decision to hand over the bowling duties to part-time Harry Brook for the next few overs, saying that with the short turnaround for the Oval Test, it only made sense that he protected his frontline bowlers.
'I'm okay with that. I'm okay. If England decided that there was not going to be a result, they'd have back-to-back Test matches. No point bowling their front-line bowlers. You want to make sure that they're as fresh as they can be to be available for selection. And that's happened for cricket forever and a day. As I said, the only interesting thing was the reaction when England thought they were done; everyone else had to jump. And India, as we know, they'd earned the right. It's okay to go and bowl Brook, get through the overs. I loved it. I loved the way India just turned their back on him and said, No.'