Kevin Pietersen has come to the defence of Ben Stokes after the England captain became the subject of savage criticism in India and Australia for the behaviour seen from him and some of his teammates in the closing stages of the drawn fourth Test at Old Trafford.
England reacted angrily to India’s refusal to accept the draw when it was first offered on Sunday, with Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja instead staying on the field until they completed their centuries – which prompted England to stand down their frontline bowlers and let the batter Harry Brook bowl until they both registered three figures, amid significant on-field chuntering.
Pietersen criticised those sniping at the England captain from the comfort of their homes. He wrote on X: “Two days fielding and no result on the cards – you WANT to get off the field! You cannot have a pop at 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.”
Pietersen’s comments came after much criticism of Stokes from various quarters. The former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar said Stokes had behaved “like a spoiled kid”. Ravichandran Ashwin, who played 106 Tests for India before he retired last December, called Stokes’s behaviour “scandalous” and “criminal”.
Ashwin said on his YouTube channel: “You’re questioning the Indian batters about chasing a milestone? They saved the match by batting through two days. They played your bowlers all day, batted you out and suddenly when they’re nearing hundreds, you want to walk off? If I were India captain, I’d have played the entire 15 overs and made them bowl.”
The Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle said: “I was disappointed by what I saw. It just didn’t look good, what Harry Brook did at the end. I’m sure when he looks back at what he did he’ll realise there was just a hint of petulance. He’s far too good a player to get a reputation as someone who’s petulant.”
Quick Guide
England v India: squads for the fifth and final Test
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England Ben Stokes (capt), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes
India Shubman Gill (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Arshdeep Singh, Narayan Jagadeesan
England lead the series 2-1
First Test, Headingley England won by five wickets
Second Test, Edgbaston India won by 336 runs
Third Test, Lord’s England won by 22 runs
Fourth Test, Emirates Old Trafford Match drawn
Fifth Test, The Kia Oval Takes place 31 July-4 Aug
Comment pieces in major Australian media outlets carried headlines such as: “Spare us the whingeing, England, the only thing embarrassing about Old Trafford was your tantrum”, and: “Moral hypocrites England decide tons are anti-cricket”. The West Australian newspaper called the incident an “English dummy spit”.
Daniel Brettig wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald: “Increasingly the balance of world opinion favours an Indian win in the final game. Why? Because the posturing that accompanied England’s Bazball revolution has got to the point that even some among their countrymen are beginning to tire of it all … England looked churlish, bad-tempered and even a little brittle. Happy and jovial when things go their way, but sulky and childish when they don’t.”
The former Australia coach Justin Langer said he thought Stokes would have made the same decision as the India captain, Shubman Gill. “India were wanting to keep two of their players in to score a Test century and keep England in the dirt for another half hour, knowing there’s another match in a few days’ time,” Langer wrote for the Nightly. “I imagine if it were Ben Stokes whose young teammates had the chance to score a Test hundred he would have done the exact same thing.”
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England take a 2-1 series lead into the final Test, which starts on Thursday at the Oval. Jamie Overton has returned to the squad for that game, with the fitness of the trio of seamers who played in Manchester to be assessed when they return to training on Wednesday. Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer could all be stood down, with Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue also available to replace them.
India have called up the 29‑year‑old wicketkeeper Narayan Jagadeesan after confirming that Rishabh Pant sustained a fracture in his right foot when he was hit by the ball on the opening day at Old Trafford.
