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Sport Nation
Healy: Desperate and petulant England didn't uphold the spirit of cricket
Ian Healy • July 29th, 2025 5:00 pm
The British and Irish Lions are giving it to the Australian rugby supporters for overacting.
Well, the English cricket team themselves have been releasing their personality traits in somewhat of a rejig in recent times.
They plan on being more humble, operate with respect for the game and their opponent, with spirit of play always front and centre.
They set up the final innings at Manchester just two days ago with a total of 669 off their bats.
With a day and a half left to bowl India out, and at two for none, it looked like it was going to be a walk in the park.
India then batted for that day and a half, making 4/425, in one of the most frustrating survival acts in cricket.
Quicks laboured at the crease, spinners weren't equipped to cope any better than that sort of score, and the team was getting tested and testy.
Spirit of cricket was out the window, and thoughts of preservation of bodies was forefront in Ben Stokes' mind.
He then said: Can we finish earlier than the mandated time now that we can't win?
That was his attitude.
The Indians refused and angered England so much that they demeaned Test cricket by bowling by early, easy rubbish for (Washington) Sundar and (Ravindra) Jadeja to reach 100 both.
A terrific milestone in such a survival performance, but that bowling is not good enough in Test cricket.
There had been sledging, now there were no handshakes by some as the spirit of cricket had evaporated with the humility and moral standard that England believed they had reached consistently.
Pain is just an emotion, says Ben Stokes, who had the complete game as an all-rounder in Manchester and a series to savour so far, with a full return to form.
There are all sorts of emotion the captain is now responsible for - a role that he really loves.
Things turned desperate and petulant this week, so now we watch how things might spill over again, because the fifth Test begins on Thursday.
That's such a short turnaround with some tired bodies in the English shirts.
