Shubman Gill’s animated response to Zak Crawley in the final over of play on day three at Lord's sparked a heated on-field moment, one that later drew sharp criticism from Jonathan Trott.
Tempers flared at the end of the day at Lord's, in a match delicately balanced after India finished their first innings level with England’s total of 387. With roughly six minutes left on the clock when both sides took the field after the innings change-over, India hoped to bowl two overs at the England openers.
However, Zak Crawley took his time to take his guard before Jasprit Bumrah bowled the first ball, and walked down the pitch after the second, pulling away twice before the third was sent down before taking his time returning to his stance.
India skipper Gill was clearly not pleased with Crawley's pace, stepping up from slip to speak to him, which prompted Ben Duckett to step in. Before the fifth ball of the over, Crawley again moved down the pitch to tap his bat, drawing further reactions from the India slip cordon.
The fifth ball, a sharp nip-backer, struck Crawley around his fingers, and he immediately called for the physio. The close-in India fielders swarmed around as the physio jogged out, clapping sarcastically before Gill sprinted towards the striker. He pointed his finger towards Crawley and told him to “grow some f***ing balls”. Duckett quickly intervened, positioning himself between them, but the verbal exchange continued. At the end of the over, the umpires did call stumps, deeming no more time was available to bowl a second over.
Trott: Gill was confrontational like a previous captain
Former England batter and current Afghanistan head coach, Jonathan Trott, however, was not pleased with Gill’s behaviour, saying on TV commentary he did not like his “acting”.
Speaking on JioHotstar after the day ended, he said: “We don’t know what went on when England were fielding, whether they were dishing it out. But I don’t like the acting from Shubman Gill. As a captain, you set the tone.”
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He continued to say that Gill’s behaviour was similar to that of a previous captain. “Pointing fingers and getting very confrontational, very much like a previous captain before getting in the face of the opposition. I am all for being competitive and being tough on the field, but sometimes you have to rise above it. It sets up nicely for tomorrow’s play.”
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