Zak Crawley hits back at Shubman Gill's time-wasting accusations, clarifies Lord's Test incident

Indian captain Shubman Gill's claims that England purposefully wasted time in the tense closing moments of Day 3 of the Lord's Test have been categorically denied by England opener Zak Crawley. Crawley explained his behaviour by saying he had no intention of postponing the game and that he adheres to a regular schedule.

The controversy erupted when Gill, in a pre-match press conference ahead of the fourth Test, claimed the England openers were "90 seconds late to come to the crease" with only seven minutes of play remaining. Gill argued that while teams often employ tactics to face fewer overs in such situations, being significantly late was "not something that I would think comes in the spirit of the game." The delay led to a heated on-field exchange at Lord's, with a visibly frustrated Gill confronting Crawley.

Watch: India skipper Shubman Gill cleared the air on the incident between him and England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, claiming their tactics to ensure only one over was bowled at the end of Day 3, was not in the spirit of the game

He says, "Let me clear the air. We had… pic.twitter.com/5KItF5W3R9

— IANS (@ians_india) July 22, 2025

Responding to the allegations, Crawley explained his standard practice before heading out to bat. "No, no. Not at all," he said when asked if the delay was intentional. "I sit in my spot [in the dressing room] until the umpires go out. I saw the umpires go, and I walked out."

While acknowledging Gill's point about the timing, Crawley added, "I wasn't aware that we were 90 seconds late, but fair enough."

Despite the friction, the English batsman maintained that he enjoyed the competitive nature of the confrontation. "I've always enjoyed that part of cricket, to be honest, especially when you're batting," Crawley remarked. "There's two of you against eleven and they're desperate to get you out, and they're chirping you. 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."

The incident has added another layer of intrigue to the already competitive ENG vs IND series, with the "spirit of the game" debate once again taking center stage.

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