England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick said that the on-field confrontations between the hosts and India players in the ongoing 3rd Test at Lord’s has kept alive the competitive edges in a world filled with franchise leagues where international players team up together for their respective units.
“Having that competitive edge definitely helps the situation. It helps the atmosphere in the series. Cricket has got a bit more friendly over the past few years because the players are together in franchise tournaments all over the world. Sometimes it’s good to create something in the game,” he said on Sunday.
“Both teams are passionate about playing the game and it is understandable that at times it gets to a boiling point. There will be things that happen between the two teams but both teams know there’s a line you can’t cross but it’s not really been troubled too much,” he added.
On Saturday, the fiery exchange in the final over had a lot of dramatic visuals, with India’s captain Shubman Gill in the thick of it. Annoyed by Crawley’s time-wasting tactics that ensured India just got in one over as opposed to two that they would have hoped, Gill ran from the slips, hurled verbal abuses at Crawley and Ben Duckett, pointed fingers, and mock-clapped at Crawley. The England openers also stood their ground, and gave it all back.
The tensions would also boil over to the next day as Mohammed Siraj sent back Duckett on Day 4. Siraj proceeded to roar right in Duckett’s face, his eyes bulging out of their sockets and veins popping. There was even a light shoulder contact. Duckett didn’t seem to really look at the bowler at any point while Siraj did the opposite for him. The Indian pacer even got a little talking-to from the umpires after the whole excercise.
