30/07/2025

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | JULY 30, 2025

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F ORMER Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has criticised England after Ben Stokes’ offer to end the fourth Test with India early was rejected by Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. With 15 overs remaining in the match, England offered to declare the fourth Test a draw with Stokes proposing a handshake at around 5.25pm. However, both Jadeja and Sundar, who had batted together since the morning session on day five, had scores in the eighties and declined the offer as they looked to notch their centuries. England players were noticeably frustrated and the match subsequently ended in a draw, with both Sundar and Jadeja securing tons. Stokes and England have come under criti cism for their reaction to India’s decision, and now Haddin has offered his opinion, cheekily suggesting that “just because it didn’t go England’s way … all of a sudden they’re not happy. “India were 2-0, England are up and about, they thought they were going to win the Test, and there was an unbelievable partnership,” said Haddin, speaking on the Willow Talk Cricket Podcast .

Stokes under fire England captain’s handshake antics slammed

kid”, claiming that England were “making a mock ery of the game” by bowling part-timers to end the match quickly. “Okay fine, he’s unhappy that the players haven’t walked off, he’ll have to manage his overs carefully with bowlers already exhausted from bowling long spells whole day,” Sanjay said. “But throwing lollipops in the air and showing a little bit of grumpiness out there, that was Ben Stokes behaving poorly. “I can understand him being surprised India wanted to con tinue … but everything won’t go as per your wishes – he should’ve han dled that better. “It was Ben, the hero, the champion that I admire, on that occasion behav ing like a spoiled kid.” England currently lead the series 2-1 after the draw, and though India cannot win it, they could also draw if they were able to win the final Test starting tomorrow at the Oval. – The Independent/Agencies Pietersen leaps to skipper’s defence following criticism KEVIN PIETERSEN has leapt to Ben Stokes’ defence after the England captain was criti cised for his reaction to India refusing an early finish towards the end of the fourth Test. India left Emirates Old Trafford on Sunday with a draw to keep the Rothesay series alive – England lead 2 1 – after the tourists batted out five ses sions as Stokes’ side took just four wick ets in 143 overs. England’s toil might have ended ear lier as Stokes offered to shake hands with 15 overs left but he was rebuffed by Ravindra Jadeja as he and fellow spinner Washington Sundar were approaching their hundreds. The hosts were visibly irritated by the deci sion and a few offered some choice words, while Stokes withdrew his frontline bowlers and turned to Harry Brook’s loopy mid-30mph (48kph) off-spin to hasten a finish. Only when both Jadeja and Washington brought up three figures did the penultimate Test of the series conclude, but Stokes was labelled a “spoilt kid” by former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar on streaming service JioHotstar in India. Pietersen, a former England teammate of Stokes, views things differently, though, as he said on X : “Two days fielding and no result on the cards – you want to get off the field! “You cannot have a pop at Ben Stokes for his frustration. Very easy to have a pop at him when you’re sitting in your lounge watching. “You’re NOT in the battle. Leave the men in the ring to be emotional.” With a blockbuster Ashes series loom ing on the horizon, many Australian media outlets have seized upon the contentious day five incident in Manchester, with a Sydney Morning Herald opinion piece titled: “Spare us the whinging, England. The only thing embarrassing about Old Trafford was your tantrum.” Tensions between England and India had died down in Manchester after the rancour at Lord’s earlier this month although this latest flashpoint adds another layer of drama to this week’s fifth and final Test. Pietersen added: “The Stokes issue should not distract from the batters who batted to save the Test Match! Outstanding effort and one which makes The Oval a very important Test. “Every big series I played in had needle and some sort of controversy at some stage. Enjoy this controversy leading into the 5th Test. It’s what makes a series memorable!” – The Independent Ű BY DAVID CHARLESWORTH

“Gill (Shubman) once again, KL Rahul, (they) were outstanding. And as the game went on, all of a sudden it got to a situation where England said they can’t win, so let’s stop the game. “So everything’s got to stop because England are done playing. I like what India did. They earned the right to stay out there as long as they need to. They earned the right to get 100. “And just because it didn’t go England’s way and they didn’t get the answer that they want, all of a sudden they’re not happy. They started to get verbal.” Haddin mentioned Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett specifically, calling their behaviour “interesting”, before adding: “If things don’t go England’s way and they don’t get the rub of the green, all of a sudden it’s everyone else’s prob lems.

“So well done to India for staying out there, well done for getting a draw. When England were dropping all those catches, they gave enough chances to win the Test match. “That’s what they should be looking at, not that India decided to stay on a little bit longer.” Former England captain Nasser Hussain admitted he “didn’t have a problem” with Sundar and Jadeja playing on for their hundreds. “England seemed to have a problem with it, they were a little bit tired, tired bowlers, tired legs,” Nasser said on Sky Sports . “They wanted to get off. The two lads have worked hard to get into the eighties, they wanted Test match hundreds.” Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar accused Stokes of behaving “like a spoiled

‘Draw that feels like a win’

BEN DWARSHUIS removed both openers and took the crucial wicket of top-scorer Shimron Hetmyer as Australia beat the West Indies yester day in Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis, to sweep the T20 series 5-0. Chasing a modest 171 to win the fifth T20 international, Australia recov ered from 25-3 and 60-4 to score 173 7 with three overs to spare. Cameron Green anchored the mid dle-order recovery with 32, big-hitting Tim David raced to 30 off 12 balls with four sixes and a four, and Mitchell Owen scored 37. When Green departed, Australia were 141-6, still needing 30, and the West Indies sniffed a consolation win. But Aaron Hardie kept his compo sure to see Australia home by three wickets with an unbeaten 28. “I didn’t expect 5-0 at the start of the series. But we played some great cricket,” said Australia captain Mitchell Marsh. West Indies captain Shai Hope pin pointed the reason for his team’s fail ure to win a match. “We never put together a proper batting display. We either started well or finished poorly or the other way round,” said Hope. “Against a quality team you can’t get away with that.” The West Indies were in trouble early, having been asked to bat when Marsh won the toss. INDIA yesterday lauded their crick eters for pulling off a “draw that feels like a win” in the fourth Test against England to keep the series alive. India, 2-1 down in the five-match series and a daunting 311 runs behind on first innings, batted out Sunday’s final day to take it to a decider at the Oval, starting tomor row. Captain Shubman Gill struck his fourth century of the series before unbeaten hundreds from Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar denied England victory. KL Rahul also scored 90. It was a remarkable fightback after India had lost their first two second-innings wickets without a run on the board on Saturday. “When it comes to India England, Old Trafford is known for keeping the series alive,” India great

2023/24.

Dwarshuis removed Brandon King for 11 and Hope for nine to reduce the hosts to 22-2 in the fourth over. That became 64-4 until Hetmyer led a fightback, hitting three fours and three sixes on his way to a half-cen tury. It looked like the left-hander might take the West Indies to a challenging total, but Dwarshuis returned to induce a miscue to Sean Abbott at long-off from a slower bouncer. H e t m y e r Sachin Tendulkar posted on X . It was a “fantastic comeback” said Tendulkar who added that Rahul, Shubman, Jadeja and Sundar had shown “great character and fighting spirit”. The Times of India headlined with The draw that feels like a win, while espncricinfo.com said it had been a “great escape”. Shubman had come into his first series as captain with question marks over his overseas batting record. But he has laid all doubts to rest with a record-breaking run, joining Don Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar as the only Test captains to score four centuries in a series. His 722 runs are the most scored by an Indian batsman in a series against England, surpassing team mate Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 712 in

“Nobody ever doubted Shubman Gill’s talent,” said head coach Gautam Gambhir . “Those who did, they just know to talk cricket but lack understanding of the game. Some people take time to blos som in international cricket. And no one in the dressing room is sur prised by what he has done.” Uncapped wicketkeeper

Narayan Jagadeesan was yesterday called into the India squad as cover, after Rishabh Pant was ruled out with a frac tured foot. Dhruv Jurel is expected to take the gloves in the fifth Test. – AFP

Destructive Dwarshuis gives Australia clean sweep

departed for 52 from 31 balls to leave West Indies 155-7 in the 17th over. “It was a little bit of a slower wicket so we tried to hit the wicket hard and use the slower balls as well,” said Dwarshuis, who was named player of the match.

India’s captain Shubman Gill celebrates after scoring a century (100 runs) on day five against England at Old Trafford. – AFPPIC

Australia also won the three Tests which preceded the T20 series to sweep all eight matches on the tour. – AFP