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England batter Zak Crawley was involved in a heated verbal exchange with Shubman Gill on the third day of the Lord's Test. The India captain accused Crawley of time-wasting after he pulled out four times before facing a delivery from Jasprit Bumrah. Temperatures boiled over even more when the opener called in the physio after the next delivery hit him on the glove. The Indian team was seen taunting the batter with sarcastic claps and soon after, Gill was involved in a heated argument with Ben Duckett as well.
Ahead of the fourth Test of the series, Gill broke his silence on the matter and pointed how the England batters were 90 seconds late in taking the crease and again accused of them of wasting time. However, Crawley has now given his take on the situation and has denied all the time-wasting accusions laid upon him and Duckett by Gill.
Crawley denies using time-wasting tactics at Lord's
“No, it wasn’t intentional. I sit in my spot until the umpires go out. I walked out when I saw them go. I wasn’t aware we were 90 seconds late, but fair enough,” Crawley said at the post-day press conference.
Crawley further remarked that he loved the argument that he had with Gill at Lord's. He pointed out how no player crossed the line and how everyone was in good spirits during the whole on-field drama.
“I've always enjoyed that part of cricket, to be honest, especially when you're batting. There's two of you against eleven and they're desperate to get you out, and they're chirping you," Crawley stated.
“Most of the time, I'd probably let it slide, and then other times, I feel like it's a good chance to put it back on them. I loved that little eight-minute passage. No-one stepped over the line. I thought everyone was in good spirits. It was just competitive cricket, and I really enjoyed it,” he added.
Meanwhile, Crawley played a valiant knock of 84 against India in the Manchester Test and also formed a fantastic partnership of 166 runs alongside Duckett (94). The duo got the hosts off to a sensational start in reply to the visitors' first-inning total of 358. Though both of them missed out on their centuries, thanks to them, England managed to post a total of 225/2 before the day's play came to an end. They currently trail India by 133 runs and look set to take the lead on the third day of the Test.
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