England time-wasting just isn't cricket - Gill

INDIA captain Shubman Gill has accused England of acting against the “spirit of the game” as tensions between the teams rumble on following last week's heated third Test at Lord’s.

- By DAVID CHARLESWORTH

The flashpoint that led to ill-feeling for the remainder of the match occurred on the third evening, when England’s openers had to bat out the final seven minutes but India only got through one over.

Zak Crawley repeatedly pulled out of his stance to Jasprit Bumrah, then called for the physio after being rapped on the finger, leading an irate Gill to shout an obscenity towards the batter.

But while Gill begrudgingly accepted the time-wasting tactics when the players were on the pitch, what he was especially galled about was Crawley and Ben Duckett being late to the crease in the first place.

“A lot of people have been talking about it, so let me just clear the air once and for all,” he said. “The English batsmen on that day had seven minutes of play left, they were 90 seconds late to come to the crease. Not ten, not 20 - 90 seconds late.