The 3 S’s at Lords sets stage for firebrand series as both captains speak about free rein to their players.
The 3 S’s took center stage at Lords- Sledging, swearing, send-offs.
The over was what altered the series’ tone. The relationship between the players from India and England had seemed completely cordial for six minutes short of thirteen days. However, two days of stirring, sledging, swearing, send-offs, and boiling tensions were brought on by the sight of Shubman Gill and Zak Crawley pointing fingers at one another during a pointless argument.
Following a thrilling Test match at Lord’s, all of that culminated in a display of respect for one another: Eleventh Crawley was the first England player to shake hands with Mohammed Siraj, who was fined 15% of his match fee for his shoulder-bumping dismissal of Ben Duckett on Sunday. Siraj collapsed to his haunches after fighting futilely for more than an hour to give Ravindra Jadeja company.
However, given that both captains have stated that the altercation between the teams will just “add to the spectacle,” anticipate hostilities to resurface in Manchester. Gill might think that there is “admiration” between the two teams, but there aren’t many true friendships between them because of England’s waning interest in the IPL and India’s new image.
At first, India was energised by Crawley’s ridiculous stalling tactics, which led Gill to propose that he “grow some f*g balls”. When Crawley called on the physio, the fielders from India circled him.
After the Saturday-night crisis, Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy also celebrated their wickets with increased vigour, but Siraj’s dismissal to Duckett caused him to run afoul of match referee Richie Richardson. Before going out to bowl in the fourth innings, England, who were not impressed, talked about their preparations to get in India’s faces.
“We all came together as a group yesterday, and said, ‘we’re a bit too nice’,” Jofra Archer said after the match. “When we go to other places, some teams aren’t as nice to us as we are to them. I guess we just tried to shift it.” Archer set the tone on Monday, turning around and telling Rishabh Pant to “charge that” after responding to being launched down the ground by dislodging his off stump.
Washington Sundar was called to the crease by Pant’s departure, and it was his arrival that brought England’s aggression to the fore. Washington was uncharacteristically enthusiastic during India’s Sunday-night media round. “We will definitely win the game tomorrow,” he told the BBC. He said, “It’s going to be amazing when we win the game and go 2-1 up in the series.”
Word obviously made its way to the England camp, and if Washington meant the tone to be tongue-in-cheek, it did not land. Brendon McCullum signalled from the balcony to increase the noise as soon as Washington entered. Archer, who was accompanied by Stokes, threw a few foul words at him after he had dismissed Washington without scoring with an athletic catch off his own bowling.
That brought in Reddy, who was met with even greater hostility from England’s close catchers. Reddy promptly received a volley back from Crawley at leg slip after giving him a harsh dismissal on Sunday, the second time in the game. The loudest, though, was Harry Brook, a former teammate of Reddy’s from Sunrisers Hyderabad.
England tried to entice Reddy into playing an offensive shot by pointing out that he was “not at the IPL now” in Brook’s sledging. He remarked, “So many runs, lads,” Duckett. “Can’t just be blocking this end.” As the day went on, another Brook quote—”Jaddu’s got to score them all”—almost came back to haunt him.
“In big series like this, there was always going to be a time and a moment where the two teams were going to clash,” Stokes said. “But I’m all for it. I don’t think it really stepped over the line. There’s 22 people out there playing for their country. It’s the highest honour that you can [reach] in our sport. So you can understand that sometimes the emotions and tension can get quite high.
“But I don’t think there’s anyone in the Indian dressing room or anyone in the English dressing room that’s going to bed and going to cry themselves asleep… There was always going to be a moment in a series like this when it was going to implode. It wasn’t really boiling up to it; it just sort of happened. But look, it adds to the spectacle of England vs India, doesn’t it?”
Despite his quiet demeanour, Gill has demonstrated his fiery side in Test cricket as well as the IPL. He is working with a coach in Gautam Gambhir who isn’t afraid to get into a fight, whether as a player or not, and who agreed with Stokes that the needle will advance the larger story.
“It makes for an even more exciting Test series,” Gill said. “When you’re in the heat of the moment, obviously there are so many emotions involved… At the end of the day, both teams are very competitive, and you’re playing to win. You’re giving everything physically and mentally, so there are going to moments where there’s going to be a little bit of heat.”
Expect the 3 S’s to make more frequent appearances in the next 2 Tests.