Former 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 criticism 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.
“Gill 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 problems.”
“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.”
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. The fifth match takes place at the Oval between Thursday, 31 July and Sunday, 4 August.
