England batsman Harry Brook said the tension with Indian players during the third test at Lord’s was fun and put the visitors under added pressure as England secured a dramatic 22-run victory and a 2-1 lead in the series.
Tension flared between the teams during the match, with India captain Shubman Gill sarcastically clapping England batters over delays, and Indian fast bowler Mohammed Siraj roaring in the face of England opener Ben Duckett after taking his wicket.
Brook said England decided to respond in kind after the visitors’ heated verbal exchanges with Duckett and Zak Crawley when England faced a single over from Jasprit Bumrah at the end of the third day.
“We had a little chat and we thought, we’re a team so we may as well get together and give it back at them,” Brook told reporters on Monday.
“It put them under a little bit more pressure.”
“I’ve had a lot of compliments. Everybody said it was awesome to watch. It looked like it was 11 versus two out there while we were fielding. It was good fun… it was tiring but it made fielding a lot more enjoyable,” he said.
Brook, who scored a century in the second test after missing out on a ton by one run in the first, said the hardfought series was far from over, with the fourth match starting at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
“India are such a good side, they can bounce back at any stage… every game we’ve played so far has gone into the last hour of the game, which you don’t see very often,” he said.
“I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and say, this is a great series… and everybody said that the Lord’s game was one of the best that they have ever watched.”
(Reuters)
