Latest news with #spiritofcricket

The Australian
20 hours ago
- Sport
- The Australian
England vs India: Cricket laws broken in Old Trafford Test controversy
To many cricket lovers, the spirit of cricket is a hazy, romantic, hard-to-define concept but to the game's law makers it is much more tangible that that. There are 42 laws in every cricket match and the law book also contains a special preamble on the spirit of cricket which includes more laws to which players are held fully accountable. It is placed in the front of the book because it is considered the most important entry. And England, self-appointed standard setters for the game's moral compass, pushed those laws beyond breaking point on a day when they taunted and mocked Indian batsmen Ravi Jadeja. and Washington Sundar after they refused an invitation from English captain Ben Stokes to declare the game drawn before they had their centuries. Here are three examples. THE LAW: It is against the spirit of the game to direct abusive language towards an opponent or umpire. THE INCIDENT: 'F------ hell Washy get on with it,'' said Harry Brook to Sundar when he was 95 chasing his century. OUR VERDICT: Normally players caught swearing over the stump mike get fined. Brook appears to have escaped. That's surprising. Not the worst sledge we've heard but the angry tone in which it was delivered went down badly with the Indian team, especially as Sundar had every right to go on and get his century. Guilty. THE LAW: The captains are responsible for ensuring play is conducted within the spirit of the game. THE INCIDENT: Stokes was the key architect in making a mockery of the final hour of the Test. He had every right to ask the Indian batsmen if they wanted to finish up but they had every right to reject him. From that point he turned into Captain Salty and his decision to gift them centuries via some 'joke'' bowling from Harry Brook was a demeaning act as far away from the spirit of the game as you could imagine. OUR VERDICT: Stokes effectively tossed this law out the window had one of his worst days as captain by setting a dreadful example. Guilty. THE LAW: It is against the spirit of the game to seek to distract an opponent either verbally or by harassment with persistent clapping or unnecessary noise under the guise of enthusiasm and motivation of one's own side. THE INCIDENT: Where do we start? The English were as rowdy as a flock of gallahs all day with the stump mike running hot with random observations and needling taunts. On and on it went then, when Sundar and Jadeja approached their tons, the volume level soared again. OUR VERDICT: Guilty but India can't whinge too loudly because they babbled on all day when they were in the field as well. Robert Craddock Senior sports journalist Robert 'Crash' Craddock is regarded as one of Queensland's best authorities on sport. 'Crash' is a senior sport journalist and columnist for The Courier-Mail and CODE Sports, and can be seen on Fox Cricket. Cricket State cricket authorities have discussed moving Sydney's iconic New Year's Test as a new report calls for a radical shake-up to the summer schedule to allow more stars to feature in the BBL. Cricket The new tough-talking, pot-stirring English cricket team is suffering from a baffling identity crisis on the eve of the Ashes tour, going into meltdown after two Indian batters had the audacity to tell them 'no'.

The Australian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Australian
Cricket row: India captain slams England's Lord's Test time-wasting
India captain Shubman Gill accused England of ignoring the 'spirit of cricket' after the hosts' time-wasting tactics in the third Test at Lord's sparked an angry flare-up between the teams. The tourists ought to have been able to bowl two overs late on the third day's play of the third Test after being dismissed for 387 -- exactly level with England's first-innings total. Crawley, however, ensured there were only six deliveries from Jasprit Bumrah before stumps by twice withdrawing from his stance and then calling for the physio after the fifth ball appeared to make only minimal contact with his glove. Shubman Gill speaks to the media during a press conference at Old Trafford before the fourth Test. Picture:Passions flared as it became evident India would not be able to bowl another over before the close, with host broadcaster Sky Sports issuing an on-air apology after a stump microphone picked up Gill swearing angrily at Crawley. England went on to win a thrilling, if increasingly ill-tempered, match by 22 runs to go 2-1 up in the five-match series. Gill, in his first campaign as India captain, addressed the issue on the eve of the fourth Test at Old Trafford. 'A lot of people have been talking about it so let me just clear the air once and for all,' the 25-year-old said on Tuesday. 'The English batsmen on that day had seven minutes of play left, they were 90 seconds late to come to the crease, not 10, not 20, 90 seconds late. 'Yes, most of the teams use this (delaying tactic). Even if we were in this position we would have liked to play fewer overs but there's a manner to do it. Shubman Gill confronts England's Zac Crawley during the third Test. Picture:'If you get hit on your body, the physios are allowed to come on and that is something that is fair. But to be able to come 90 seconds late to the crease is not something that comes in the spirit of the game.' Gill admitted he was not proud of swearing at Crawley but said it took place in the context of rising tensions. 'We had no intention of doing that whatsoever but you're playing a game, you're playing to win and there are a lot of emotions,' said the India skipper. 'When you see there are things happening that should not happen, sometimes emotions come out of nowhere.' England batsman Harry Brook said the flare-up had paved the way for the hosts 'to not be the nice guys'. Paceman Jofra Archer gave an aggressive send-off to Rishabh Pant after dismissing the India danger man on the final day. England captain Ben Stokes, speaking before Gill on Tuesday, insisted his side had no deliberate plan to rile India, but nor would they shirk from confrontation. 'It's not something we're going to go out and purposefully look to start (an argument) because that will take our focus off what we need to do out in the middle,' said Stokes. 'But by no means, we are not going to take a backward step and let any opposition try and be confrontational towards us and not try to give a bit back.'

News.com.au
22-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Shubman Gill accuses England of ignoring the spirit of cricket at Lord's with time wasting tactics
India captain Shubman Gill accused England of ignoring the 'spirit of cricket' after the hosts' time-wasting tactics in the third Test at Lord's sparked an angry flare-up between the teams. The tourists ought to have been able to bowl two overs late on the third day's play of the third Test after being dismissed for 387 -- exactly level with England's first-innings total. Crawley, however, ensured there were only six deliveries from Jasprit Bumrah before stumps by twice withdrawing from his stance and then calling for the physio after the fifth ball appeared to make only minimal contact with his glove. Passions flared as it became evident India would not be able to bowl another over before the close, with host broadcaster Sky Sports issuing an on-air apology after a stump microphone picked up Gill swearing angrily at Crawley. England went on to win a thrilling, if increasingly ill-tempered, match by 22 runs to go 2-1 up in the five-match series. Gill, in his first campaign as India captain, addressed the issue on the eve of the fourth Test at Old Trafford. 'A lot of people have been talking about it so let me just clear the air once and for all,' the 25-year-old said on Tuesday. 'The English batsmen on that day had seven minutes of play left, they were 90 seconds late to come to the crease, not 10, not 20, 90 seconds late. 'Yes, most of the teams use this (delaying tactic). Even if we were in this position we would have liked to play fewer overs but there's a manner to do it. 'If you get hit on your body, the physios are allowed to come on and that is something that is fair. But to be able to come 90 seconds late to the crease is not something that comes in the spirit of the game.' Gill admitted he was not proud of swearing at Crawley but said it took place in the context of rising tensions. 'We had no intention of doing that whatsoever but you're playing a game, you're playing to win and there are a lot of emotions,' said the India skipper. 'When you see there are things happening that should not happen, sometimes emotions come out of nowhere.' England batsman Harry Brook said the flare-up had paved the way for the hosts 'to not be the nice guys'. Paceman Jofra Archer gave an aggressive send-off to Rishabh Pant after dismissing the India danger man on the final day. England captain Ben Stokes, speaking before Gill on Tuesday, insisted his side had no deliberate plan to rile India, but nor would they shirk from confrontation. 'It's not something we're going to go out and purposefully look to start (an argument) because that will take our focus off what we need to do out in the middle,' said Stokes. 'But by no means, we are not going to take a backward step and let any opposition try and be confrontational towards us and not try to give a bit back.'


BBC News
22-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
England time-wasting not spirit of cricket
India captain Shubman Gill accused England of acting contrary to the "spirit of cricket" with time-wasting tactics that sparked a number of confrontations in the dramatic third Test at Lord' openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett ensured they faced only one over at the end of the third day and were surrounded by the tourists, including captain players frequently clashed over the remaining two days of England's 22-run win. India pace bowler Mohammed Siraj was punished for his celebration of Duckett's wicket on the fourth morning, while England seamer Brydon Carse and visiting all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja had to be separated on the final before Wednesday's fourth Test at Old Trafford, where England can seal a series win, home captain Ben Stokes said events on the third evening at Lord's "sparked everyone off a little bit" in relation to the way his side were inspired over the rest of the Gill claimed Crawley and Duckett were 90 seconds late in arriving to the crease for the start of England's second innings at Lord's, causing Indian emotions to "come out of nowhere"."A lot of people have been talking about it, so let me clear the air once and for all," said Gill."If we were in that position, we would also like to play less overs, but there's a manner to do it."To be able to come 90 seconds late to the crease is not something that I would think comes in the spirit of the game."England dismissed India late on Saturday of the Lord's Test, leaving the scores level on 387 after the first the close drawing near, the home side looked to limit the amount of overs they faced that evening. Crawley, facing Jasprit Bumrah, pulled out of his stance on a number of occasions, then also called for the physio after he was struck on the players were confronted by the visitors, while Sky Sports had to apologise for Gill swearing. The words between the two teams continued as they left the field at the end of play. "The English batsmen on that day, they had seven minutes of play left," said Gill. "They were 90 seconds late to come to the crease. Not 10, not 20, they were 90 seconds late."Leading up to that event, a lot of things we thought should not have happened, happened. I wouldn't say it's something I'm very proud of, but there was a lead-up and build-up to that event. It didn't just come out of nowhere."We had no intention of doing that whatsoever. You're playing a game, playing to win and there are a lot of emotions involved. When you see things happening that should not happen, sometimes the emotions come out of nowhere."Stokes spoke before Gill, so did not have the opportunity to respond directly to the allegation his team acted against the spirit of the Monday, batter Harry Brook revealed coach Brendon McCullum told England they were "too nice" before the Lord's Test, an assessment Stokes agreed with."Maybe too nice is a good way to put it, so it's great when we can go out and do what we did there, and we were able to back it up with our actions," Stokes told BBC the regular flashpoints over the final two days of the Lord's Test, Stokes was adamant neither team engaged in any behaviour that was unacceptable."Conversations and back-and-forth you see out in the middle sometimes get massively over-analysed and criticised," said Stokes."No-one would have gone crying themselves to sleep over what we said to each other. We're very quick these days to stamp down on that kind of stuff. It just shows passion, desire. Both teams are out there wanting to win."It's never going to go over the line and if it does go over the line, then it's the responsibility of the captain out there to pull it back. At not one stage did we go over the line and at not one stage did India go over the line."England will win the series with a game to spare if they win the fourth Test in Manchester. India have not won on any of their nine visits to this ground, while England have lost only twice here this the aggression served England well at Lord's, Stokes said his team will not go seeking confrontation at Old Trafford."We are certainly not going to go out there and just start it off for nothing, because I don't want it to take our attention away from what the goal of this week is," said Stokes."It was nice we've said we're not going to let any team feel like they can intimidate us in any way."It's not about shying away from confrontation, it's just making sure that is not the main goal. It's doing it in the right way, keeping your emotions in check with it all. Every team in the world, if there's a little bit of niggle, I'm sure all their team-mates will jump in and help them out. That's what we did last week."