London [UK], July 30 : Ahead of the fifth Test against India at The Oval, England skipper Ben Stokes reflected on his conversation with World No.1 all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja during the last few minutes of the fourth Test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, which was played at Old Trafford.
Stokes said we are over it, but we won't let our bowler bowl in a situation where we can't win the game and risk exposing any of those guys to injury.
The last few minutes of the Manchester Test were, as the modern slang says, absolute cinema. With India having sealed a draw, England skipper Stokes approached Jadeja to shake hands and call it a day, but to his frustration, Jadeja refused, opting to chase his and Sundar's centuries as they neared the three-figure mark.
"Two lads, Jadeja and Washington, played incredibly well up until that point. So you sort of understand as to why they wanted to stay out there and get the hundreds. But again, like I said at the end of the game, fair enough. But I'm not going to bowl any of my bowlers in a situation where we can't win the game and expose any of those guys to injury. So it's just, we're over it," Ben Stokes told the Media.
"I think India is over that whole thing. Let's just try not to focus too much on a 20-minute period of cricket. Yeah, and it's been such a good series so far," he added.
During the last few overs, England bowled spin and even part-timer Harry Brook and seemingly threw half-hearted deliveries at the duo, with hopes that Jadeja-Sundar would finish off quickly and spare the English attack from more humiliation as they gave away a 311-run lead, which turned into a 114-run lead for India.
The exchange was shown on live television, with Stokes taunting Jadeja about whether he would score his century against Harry Brook, not even a part-time bowler for his team. Even opener Zak Crawley chimed in with some banter, saying that Jadeja should have played faster if he wanted his century.
These remarks during the last hour of the match showed the immense tiredness, frustration and helplessness of an English attack which had squandered a chance of a series win, with their skipper Stokes even putting his body on the line, holding up his shoulder and grimacing after every delivery.
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