Kevin Pietersen has leapt to Ben Stokes’ defence after the England captain was criticised for his response to India refusing an early end in direction of the top of the fourth Take a look at.
India left Emirates Outdated Trafford on Sunday with a draw to maintain the Rothesay collection alive – England lead 2-1 – after the vacationers batted out 5 classes as Stokes’ facet took simply 4 wickets in 143 overs.
England’s toil may need ended earlier as Stokes supplied to shake palms with 15 overs left however he was rebuffed by Ravindra Jadeja as he and fellow spinner Washington Sundar had been approaching their a whole bunch.
The hosts had been visibly irritated by the choice and some supplied some selection phrases, whereas Stokes withdrew his frontline bowlers and turned to Harry Brook‘s crazy mid-30mph off-spin to hasten a end.
Solely when each Jadeja and Washington introduced up three figures did the penultimate Take a look at of the collection conclude, however Stokes was labelled a “spoilt child” by former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar on streaming service JioHotstar in India.
Pietersen on X
Pietersen, a former England team-mate of Stokes, views issues in another way, although, as he mentioned on X: “Two days fielding and no end result on the playing cards – you WANT to get off the sphere!
“You can’t have a pop at Ben Stokes for his frustration. Very straightforward to have a pop at him whenever you’re sitting in your lounge watching. You’re NOT within the battle. Go away the boys within the ring to be emotional.”
With a blockbuster Ashes collection looming on the horizon, many Australian media retailers have seized upon the contentious day 5 incident in Manchester, with a Sydney Morning Herald opinion piece titled: “Spare us the whinging, England. The one factor embarrassing about Outdated Trafford was your tantrum.”
Stokes, whose facet will look to seal a collection win on the Kia Oval this week, insisted he wouldn’t have had extra satisfaction from getting 100 than an 80 or 90 not out to assist his facet keep away from defeat.
Needle
However former Australia opening batter and head coach Justin Langer informed Australian day by day digital newspaper The Nightly: “It’s nice to see that Take a look at cricket nonetheless has that tough edge.
“If the roles had been reversed, I think about if it had been Ben Stokes whose younger team-mates had the prospect to attain a Take a look at 100, he would have finished the very same factor (as Jadeja and Sundar).”
Tensions between England and India had died down in Manchester after the rancour at Lord’s earlier this month though this newest flashpoint provides one other layer of drama to this week’s fifth and ultimate Take a look at.
Pietersen added: “The Stokes subject ought to NOT distract from the batters who batted to save lots of the Take a look at Match! Excellent effort and one which makes The Oval a vital Take a look at.
“Each BIG collection I performed in had needle and a few kind of controversy at some stage. Take pleasure in this controversy main into the fifth Take a look at. It’s what makes a collection memorable!”
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