London [UK], July 15 : England Test captain Ben Stokes is "all for" the aggression and tempers that flared during the third Test against India at the 'Home of Cricket', Lord's. According to Stokes, despite all the emotions that boiled over in the last three days, nobody overstepped the line or cried "themselves to sleep over what was said or done out" on the field.
Temperament frayed, emotions ran thin as the element of spice entered the picture. In the last three days, India and England players engaged in sledging, which even led to Mohammed Siraj receiving a demerit point and losing 15 per cent of his match fee.
After a thrilling contest concluded with England's 22-run victory, Stokes was quizzed about the heated on-field atmosphere. The English skipper didn't mince his words and claimed that it was understandable for emotions and tension to soar high when two behemoths are scuffling for victory.
"No, I think in big series like this there's always going to be a time and a moment where the two teams are going to clash. I'm all for it. I don't think it really stepped over the line. I think at the end of it, if you think about it, there's 22 people out there playing for their country. It's the highest honour that you can do in our given sport. So you can understand that sometimes the emotions and the tension can get quite high," Stokes told reporters in the post-match press conference.
It all started with India Test captain Shubman Gill screaming at Zak Crawley in the final moments of the third day. He felt the lanky English opener was trying to run down the clock to deny India the opportunity of bowling a second over.
Fingers were pointed, words were exchanged, and the trend continued for the next two days. On Sunday, Siraj celebrated close to Ben Duckett in his follow-through after scything his wicket and made contact as the English opener began his walk back to the Lord's long room.
"But I don't think there's anyone in the Indian dressing room or anyone in the English dressing room that's going to bed, going to cry themselves to sleep over what was said or done out there. Sometimes it gets a little bit over-egged from an outsider's point of view. I don't think it overstepped the line from the Indian team or from our team," he added.
Even on the last day, Carse and Jadeja engaged in a heated altercation, which was soon subdued. In the 35th over, the two players collided while Jadeja sprinted for the first run. After the first contact, Carse had his arm around Jadeja's shoulder, which didn't sit well with the seasoned Indian all-rounder. Jadeja and Carse began a war of words, which led to Stokes intervening in the matter and cooling things off.
Stokes didn't believe that there was a buildup to the heated moment and said, "There was always going to be a moment in a series like this when it was going to implode. It wasn't really boiling up to it, it just sort of happened. But look, that's the spectacle of England v India, isn't it."