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India.com
19 hours ago
- Sport
- India.com
Gills Grow Some Balls, Stokes- Jadeja Handshake Gate To Gambhirs Spat : 5 Spicy Moments That Redefined India Vs England Test Series
photoDetails english Updated:Jul 30, 2025, 06:00 PM IST The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy: More Than Just Cricket 1 / 8 The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 has transcended mere cricket, morphing into a fiery saga defined by intense confrontations, tactical mind games, and raw emotional outbursts. As the series hurtles towards its thrilling climax at The Oval, these five "spicy moments" stand out, encapsulating the grit, passion, and undeniable fireworks that have captivated fans and redefined the narrative of Test cricket. Gill's 'Grow Some Balls': The Angry Skipper 2 / 8 The angry Punjabi inside Shubman Gill came out without shackles at Lord's on Saturday (July 12). The Indian captain, in no uncertain terms, asked England opener Ben Duckett to 'grow some f****** balls'. This heated on-field confrontation, sparked by perceived time-wasting tactics from Duckett and Zak Crawley on Day 3 of the third Test, showcased Gill's fiery and unyielding leadership. The Stokes-Jadeja Handshake Gate 3 / 8 A dramatic moment unfolded during Day 5 of the fourth Test. England captain Ben Stokes, sensing an inevitable draw, offered a handshake to signal an early end to play. However, Indian batters Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, both on the cusp of deserved centuries, famously declined the offer. This audacious refusal sparked a heated debate and visible frustration from the English side, creating a memorable, tense chapter that perfectly encapsulated the fierce competitive spirit of both teams. Siraj's Fiery Exchanges with Ben Duckett 4 / 8 India's fast bowler Mohammed Siraj has been a constant source of on-field tension, particularly in his fiery exchanges with England opener Ben Duckett. During the Lord's Test, after dismissing Duckett, Siraj engaged in an animated celebration right in the opener's face, culminating in a noticeable shoulder brush as Duckett walked off. This aggressive intent was again on display in the Manchester Test, where Siraj lost his cool and got into another heated verbal exchange with Duckett, showcasing his raw passion and adding a volatile edge to their encounters. Gambhir's Spat: The Off-Field Firestorm at The Oval 5 / 8 Just a few days after his team battled to a hard-earned draw at Old Trafford, India head coach Gautam Gambhir found himself in a confrontation of a different kind. During India's first training session at The Oval ahead of the final Test, Gambhir was seen yelling at Oval pitch curator Lee Fortis. Gambhir's outburst, reportedly over ground staff instructing the Indian team to stand away from the wicket, added significant off-field spice, with Fortis reportedly threatening a complaint to the match referee. Harry Brook's 'Filthy' Over 6 / 8 In the dramatic dying moments of the fourth Test, after India's bold refusal of a draw, England captain Ben Stokes handed the ball to part-timer Harry Brook. What followed was an over of deliberate full tosses and slow, almost mocking, deliveries. This "filthy" over, as described by some commentators, was widely interpreted as a frustrated protest against India batting on for individual centuries, sparking further controversy and debate. The Final Frontier: Oval Awaits 7 / 8 With these five explosive moments setting the tone, the series now heads to its ultimate showdown at The Oval. The stakes couldn't be higher, with England leading 2-1 and India desperate to level the series. Every ball, every decision, and every interaction promises to be magnified, carrying the weight of the series. Brace Yourselves: The Drama Continues 8 / 8 The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy has proven to be an unforgettable saga of grit, passion, and undeniable fireworks. The previous Tests have merely been a prelude to what promises to be an epic finale. Fans are on the edge of their seats, ready for the next chapter of this captivating rivalry.
New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Little and large batting combinations can be devastating in cricket – here's why
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett are a sporting odd couple. They may open the batting together for England but that is where the similarities end. One is big, one small. One is right-handed, one left. Even in style, they are a contrast, with Crawley preferring big drives down the ground, while Duckett sweeps and cuts on either side of the wicket. Advertisement But from England's perspective, their marriage of convenience is working as they become one of the best opening partnerships in the country's Test history. Crawley (the 'large' in this little and large pairing) may have his doubters, but it is the package he forms with Duckett that has helped encourage England captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum to put so much faith in him. Their stand of 166 for the first wicket in the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford last week was their fifth of more than a hundred runs, and took them into the top 15 of Test cricket's most prolific partnerships. They also probably offer the format's biggest extremes in terms of appearance and approach. Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss remain England's greatest opening pair with 12 century partnerships and 4,711 runs but Crawley and Duckett — also good friends off the field — already have a better average: 45.55 for their 2,369 runs together compared to 40.96 for Cook and Strauss. It is that contrast between them which both sets them apart as players and is a significant factor in their success. Crawley stands at 6ft 5in (196cm), towering above the 5ft 7in (170cm) Duckett, making them a unique challenge for opposing bowlers, who have a very different batter to contend with whenever they rotate the strike. James Taylor and Will Jefferson know all about that. They formed perhaps the only batting partnership in English cricket history of greater extremes in stature than Crawley and Duckett when they played for Leicestershire between 2010 and 2012. Jefferson, at 6ft 10in, is one of the tallest batters to have played professional cricket while Taylor, who made seven Test appearances for England, was one of the shortest at 5ft 4in. They were cricket's ultimate little and large. 'I really enjoyed batting with James,' Jefferson tells The Athletic. 'I was an opener and whenever he walked out to join me, even if there wasn't that big a crowd at a county game, there were these oohs and aahs over what's this going to look like. There are a couple of great pictures of us standing together in the middle. Advertisement 'In terms of my height, I wanted to get on the front foot and wanted to drive back down the ground, while James was a very punchy player with cuts and pulls and sweeps, because of his stature. It is harder to contain players of those two extremes at the same time. It works even better when you've got a left-hand and right-hand combination, like England.' Taylor, now a coach at Leicestershire having previously been an England selector, relished those difficulties presented to bowlers whenever he joined Jefferson in the middle. And he can see the benefits of England sticking with Duckett and Crawley as their openers. 'Naturally, bowlers have to adjust their lengths because of the height difference, but you've also got two massively contrasting styles with both Duckett and Crawley, as it was with me and Jefferson,' Taylor tells The Athletic. 'Zak plays very much with a straight bat and Ducky is cross-bat, so there's not only a huge adjustment in length but bowlers have to adjust again with their lines. You have to bowl incredibly tight to Ducky, and you haven't got much margin for error because you've got a guy who doesn't leave the ball and plays a lot of cross-bat, even when he's driving. 'Then Crawley stands on top of the ball and hits your best ball, your best length, for four. It was the same with me and Jefferson. It's a reset of the field, it's a reset in lengths and mindset. The other thing is it's a left-hand/right-hand partnership too, which can be extremely frustrating for the bowlers because they have to change everything. 'It makes sense, because the balls that are full can be a little bit shorter to us and smaller players like me have grown up playing more cross-bat shots than the taller guys. We have grown up not getting so many short balls, so we might be better at certain shots.' Jefferson, who now runs a leadership and management training company, may not have made it any higher than representing England A — the second team — during a county career that also included spells at Essex and Nottinghamshire, but his height was so unusual in the game that it could be disconcerting even for international-level bowlers. Advertisement 'I once faced Stuart MacGill, the Australian leg-spinner (who took over 200 Test wickets in his career), and he just could not find his lengths to me,' says Jefferson. 'He bowled me a very high number of bad balls to hit. They were either far too short or far too full, and that was a clear indicator of the problem he faced. When (Essex team-mate) Aftab Habib came out to bat with me, he would have a big smile on his face. He knew he would get more balls to score off because I was at the other end. 'One memory I have is batting with (former Zimbabwe international) Andy Flower at Essex. He wasn't tall, and he was also left-handed, and his game was so different to mine in terms of the amount of reverse sweeps he played. 'It was incredibly off-putting for a spin bowler, and in that case you had short and tall and left and right, just like with Duckett and Crawley now. We had some great partnerships together, and it is that diversity that creates the difficulty in allowing a bowler to settle into a rhythm. 'Duckett and Crawley often score at more than five an over and are also averaging 45 as a pair. They're rattling along and it helps that there's that point of difference in terms of their shapes and sizes.' Taylor was involved in another partnership of extremes on his Test debut, when he joined the 6ft 4in Kevin Pietersen at the crease against South Africa at Headingley in 2012. It was a match that later became infamous because of the emergence of texts Pietersen sent to South African players advising them on how to bowl at England captain Strauss, but it was also one where he put on 147 first-innings runs with England's diminutive debutant. Pietersen was clearly not that impressed with his new colleague, as he was later to write in his autobiography that Taylor should have been a jockey rather than a cricketer. But it was a stand that was crucial in England drawing that Test, and one that Taylor relished. 'There's no question the two very different styles of batting, because of our height differences and styles, helped us that day,' says the 35-year-old Taylor, who was forced to retire in 2016 after being diagnosed with a serious heart condition. 'KP (Pietersen) did the bulk of the scoring while I settled in and played the situation and tried to get him on strike so he could attack them. He had such a wide array of shots, he could dominate them (the South Africa bowlers) while I sat in and played for him. Advertisement 'KP could be unorthodox in his shot selection, but Zak hits the ball incredibly hard for an orthodox batsman who's really tall. He hits the best balls for four at the top of the bounce — that's probably his USP — and that's something Will also did very well. Of all the players I played with, Jefferson probably hit the ball hardest from orthodox shots, and that's a bit like Zak — tall batsmen who hit the best balls for four.' Crawley may still only be averaging 31.40 individually from his 58 Tests, far too low for an established opening batter, but he made 84 in that stand at Old Trafford, along with 65 in a second-innings opening partnership of 188 with Duckett that went a long way towards England successfully chasing 371 to win the first Test of this series against India last month. So there is no question England will still keep faith with him for their Ashes tour this winter, where they believe the extra pace and bounce in the Australian pitches will suit those drives on the bounce Taylor talks about. Along with a partner in Duckett who averages 42.69 from his 37 games and, as he showed with 94 at Old Trafford, is in the form of his life. 'Nobody wants to bowl at them,' says Taylor. 'Zak can hit your best ball for four, and then you have Ducky leaving just two per cent of his deliveries, which is about six per cent less than anyone else. It becomes so hard to contain. 'Ducky is probably the best multi-format player in the world right now, and he's great fun to watch. He's different and slightly unorthodox but he knows his game incredibly well, and that complements a pretty orthodox batsman at the other end in Zak. I love watching both of them, and I hope they continue together for a long time yet.' Click here to read more cricket stories on The Athletic, and follow Global Sports on The Athletic app via the Discover tab.
News18
6 days ago
- Sport
- News18
'Bumrah Bowled From The Wrong End, Kamboj Shouldn't Have Taken The New Ball'
Last Updated: The former Australia captain felt India's Jasprit Bumrah bowled from the "wrong end" during Day 2 of the Manchester Test versus England. Ricky Ponting tore into the Indian bowling attack and didn't even spare the great Jasprit Bumrah after a flop-show from the tourists on Day 2 of the Manchester Test against England. The Australian legend felt Bumrah's tactics were off on a day where the Bazball brigade was in its element and exercised dominance on an Indian side that regularly lost its lines, erring on both sides of the wicket. On a surface that changed its colours after the sun sneaked through the dark clouds that hovered over Old Trafford for most of India's batting effort, England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley raced to an opening stand of 166 in response to the visitors' 358 all out. While Crawley hammered a resurgent 84 off 113 balls, Duckett nearly pulled off a century, being dismissed on 94 off just 100 deliveries. England coasted to 225/2 by stumps. Even pace ace Bumrah lacked his usual venom with the new ball. Bumrah recovered and delivered an encouraging second spell late in the day, but still ended with no wickets for 37. Ponting felt Bumrah had bowled from the 'wrong end" for most of his spell. Sky Sports. Young Anshul Kamboj (1/48) showed nerves of a Test debut, before Mohammed Siraj (0/58) and Shardul Thakur (0/35) emerged expensive and ordinary, forcing skipper Shubman Gill to use left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (1/37) for an extended spell just to regain some control. Jadeja got rid of Crawley to bring India back in the contest. Soon Kamboj got Duckett edging a wide one to wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel. 'They got scored off on both sides of the wicket, didn't they? You know, we broadly talked then about how they bowled to (Ollie) Pope. I think they were tactically off as well. I don't think Kamboj should have taken the new ball. Yeah, I didn't like that from the start. And he was, I mean, and Duckett's five of his first six boundaries were behind square leg side. So they got it tactically wrong there," Ponting said. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
News18
6 days ago
- Sport
- News18
Michael Vaughan Highlights What India Need At Manchester: 'That Virat Mentality...'
Michael Vaughan has said that India need 'Virat Kohli mentality' to restrict England in Manchester Test. Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan has said that India would need to bring the 'Virat Kohli mentality' in them to ensure that they can restrict the hosts to a below-par score in their first innings of the Manchester Test and pull off a comeback in a do-or-die encounter. Ben Duckett enabled England to deliver a potential knock-out punch to India with a sizzling 94 as the hosts punished a wayward pace attack to end on 225/2 at stumps on day two of the fourth Test in Manchester. England made full use of favourable batting conditions and now look all set for a big first innings total. Openers Duckett (94 off 100) and Zak Crawley (84 off 113) added 166 off 192 deliveries to put India on the backfoot after the visitors did well to post 358 in the afternoon session. 'The series will be decided on Day 3. If England have a great day on Day 3, that's the series done and dusted. India and Shubman have to arrive with that Virat mentality, 'We have to win Day 3," Vaughan said while speaking on Cricbuzz. 'They have to win tomorrow. If they win tomorrow, this game is alive and India can win this Test. If they lose Day 3, this series is gone for them," Vaughan added. Coming out to bat despite a broken foot, India's Test vice-captain Rishabh Pant 's courageous 54 off 75 deliveries fuelled India past 350 on a track with plenty of seam movement. However, the Indian pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and debutant Anshul Kamboj wasn't accurate enough to trouble the England openers, who returned to their aggressive ways after shifting gears at Lord's. Far too many freebies were offered on the leg side and England openers, especially Duckett, were happy to oblige. England scored at close to five runs per over while India struck at little over three. It was turning out to be a forgettable debut for Kamboj, a last-minute addition to India's injury-hit team, before he had the dangerous Duckett caught behind with a length delivery that bounced a bit more than usual. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Times of Oman
6 days ago
- Sport
- Times of Oman
Duckett-Crawley partnership helps England score 225/2 against India in Manchester Test
Manchester : A mammoth 166-run partnership between openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley helped England to score 225 runs for the loss of two wickets at the end of the play on the second day against India in the ongoing fourth Test of the five-match series at Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday. The Three Lions were 225/2 with Ollie Pope and Joe Root unbeaten on the crease. Enhans still trails India's total of 358 by 133 runs. The Ben Stokes-led side began the third and final session of the second day from 77/0 with Duckett (43*) and Crawley (33*) unbeaten on the crease. On the first ball of the 19th over, bowled by right-arm seamer Shardul Thakur, Duckett brought his fifty as he hit a boundary. This boundary also brought up the hundred of the side. In the 21st over, Crawley completed his half-century as he slammed a boundary on the bowling of Shardul. In the 29th over, the England cricket team touched the 150-run mark as Duckett hit a boundary on the bowling of Mohammed Siraj. England lost their first wicket in the 32nd over at the score of 166 as left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Zak Crawley (84 runs off 113 balls). After Crawley's dismissal, right-hand batter Zak Crawley came out to bat in the middle. At the score of 197, England lost their second wicket. Debutant Anshul Kamboj grabbed his maiden Test wicket as he sent Duckett (94 runs from 100 balls) back to the pavilion, The team completed the 200-run mark in the 39th over as PPope slammed a boundary on the bowling of Kamboj. At the end of Day 2, England finished at 225/2 in their 46 overs. Before the end of play, both Pope and Root built an unbeaten 28(47) partnership. For the Shubman Gill-led side, one wicket each was grabbed by Kamboj (1/48 in 10 overs) and Jadeja (1/37 in 8 overs) in their respective spells. Earlier in the second session, the Shubman Gill-led side from 321/6 with Rishabh Pant (39*) and Washington Sundar (20*) unbeaten on the crease. In the 110th over, Team India lost two wickets as Sundar (27) and debutant Anshul Kamboj (0) were sent back to the pavilion by England skipper Ben Stokes when the side's score was 337. Pant completed his half-century on the first ball of the 112th over as he slammed a boundary on the bowling of Stokes. At the score of 349, India lost the wicket of Pant (54 runs off 75 balls) as he was cleaned up by right-arm seamer Jofra Archer. In the same over, the Shubman Gill-led side touched the 350-run mark. After Pant's dismissal, right-hand batter Mohammed Siraj (5*) came out to bat in the middle. On the first ball of the 115th over, India were bowled out at the score of 358 as right-hand batter Jasprit Bumrah (4) was dismissed by Archer. For the hosts, the pick of the bowlers was Stokes, who bagged a fifer in his spell of 24 overs, where he conceded 72 runs in his spell. Three wickets were snapped by Archer (3/73 in 26.1 overs), and one wicket each was grabbed by right-arm seamer Chris Woakes (1/66 in 23 overs) & left-arm spinner Liam Dawson (1/45 in 15 overs) in their respective spells. In reply to India's 358, openers Duckett and Crawley came out to bat on the crease. Both players started off the innings carefully, but later attacked the Indian bowlers, especially right-arm pacer Siraj (0/26 in 4 overs) and Kamboj (0/29 in 5 overs). Bumrah was also a little bit expensive as he gave away 22 runs in his first five overs. In the first session, the visitors managed to add just 57 runs in 22 overs, losing two important wickets along the way. Jofra Archer, who looked sharp from the start, gave England the perfect start by dismissing Ravindra Jadeja for 20. Shardul Thakur, known for his fighting spirit, showed great patience at the other end. He absorbed the pressure, punished the loose balls, and built a useful stand before England skipper Ben Stokes got the breakthrough by dismissing him for a well-made 41. The biggest moment of the session came when Rishabh Pant walked out to bat, limping and clearly in discomfort, yet determined. As he made his way to the middle, the crowd erupted with a huge roar. It was a sight that lifted Indian fans' spirits instantly. Brief Score: India 358 all out (Sai Sudarshan 61, Yashasvi Jaiswal 58; Ben Stokes 5/72) vs England 225/2 (Ben Duckett 94, Zak Crawley 84; Ravindra Jadeja 1/37).
