 "England captain Ben Stokes offered early draw to Jadeja and Sundar. AFP")
The intense drama that unfolded in the final phase of Day 5 in Manchester has become the subject of immediate attention. Subsequently, several reactions from some of the prominent names of the sport have emerged. Joining the bracket is former England opener Geoffrey Boycott.
Till now, the sentiment has been polarised as the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott have come in support of Ben Stokes, and backed his intent in trying to end things early.
Boycott slams England for going bitter
However, Boycott is not on the same page as Pietersen and Trott. Rather, he slammed Stokes and England over the demeanor the team showcased after India refused the handshake.
“What goes around comes around. England were gobby enough when it suited them so you can’t blame India for wanting to stay on and allow two batsmen who had worked their socks off to reach their hundreds,” Boycott noted in his Telegraph column.
“If you give it, like England do, then you have to be able to take it. I could hear them through the stump mics chipping away at India so why should they be nice to them and agree to go off when England have had enough?”
Boycott kept himself in the shoes of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar- who were batting in their 80s when Stokes made his offering- and stated that he would have done the same thing if he were batting on 89.
“These India players are tough cookies. They do not take a backward step. There is no way I would have let anyone drag me off on 89 after I had worked hard all day to save the game for my team. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar deserved their hundreds. They left the ball well, played with the full face of the bat and defended their wickets at all costs. Well done,” Boycott wrote.
Impact Shorts
View AllNot just Stokes who asked Jadeja ‘you want a hundred against Brook and Duckett?’, his other team-mates too had piled on. Harry Brook would sledge – “F*&#ing hell Washi, get on with it”. Pacer Jofra Archer too chipped in with: “If you wanted a hundred you should have batted like it earlier,” he would say. Opener Zak Crawley said: “If you shake our hands, it’s done.” And Ben Duckett couldn’t keep quiet. “How long do you need, an hour?”.
Boycott also paid heed to the aspect of sledging and stated that the practice has evolved over the years and has completely changed from the time when he was an active cricketer.
“I’m not sure what it is with modern players. You hear a lot of them mouthing off. It never really happened when I was playing. It will carry on at the Oval and India will go there thinking they got a win at Old Trafford.”