‘I wasn’t aware that…’: England batsman denies time-wasting tactics, breaks silence on Shubman Gill’s verbal abuse

In the third Test match at Lord’s, Zak Crawley and Shubman Gill had a heated argument. Crawley was confronted and verbally abused by Gill. The stump mic caught him saying, “grow some f****** b***s”. Since then, Gill has spoken out, accusing Crawley of time-wasting.

On Day 2 of the fourth Test, Crawley addressed the incident, calling it an honest misunderstanding.

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“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.

He also revealed that he loved the altercation with Gill. “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,” he said.

“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.

Zak Crawley also praised Rishabh Pant, who batted despite an injury on Day 2. “Not many people in the world would be able to come out and bat like he did on one foot,” he said.

England finished Day 2 of the fourth Test at 225/2 with Ollie Pope (20) and Joe Root (11) remaining steady at the crease. The day began with England dismantling India’s lower order, taking six wickets for just 96 runs. Ben Stokes led from the front, picking up his first five-wicket haul since 2017. Despite both falling short of personal milestones, the opening pair Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett put on a dominant 166-run stand.