Our Bureau
London
The inaugural Anderson Tendulkar Trophy was a series that will be remembered for a long time because of the absolute classics that it produced and the moments that the series gave for everyone to remember. Over the course of 25 days of cricketing action, it wasn’t just two teams clashing but also many egos that budded heads and thus the talk about the ‘Spirit of the Game’ came up a few times.
One of the most talked about incidents from the series was from the 5th Test at the Kennington Oval, where Indian pacer Akash Deep got ‘too close to comfort’ with England’s explosive opener Ben Duckett.
Duckett’s coach James Knott recently has urged that the action didn’t bother him but he thinks the International Cricket Council (ICC) should put a sanction on it so the youngsters don’t get encouraged by it. “It was part of a competitive series, but certainly needs a sanction to discourage youngsters. At the same time, it doesn’t bother me personally,” Knott said
Duckett and Akash Deep were involved in a classic duel with both players trying to gain an upper hand on the other. As the pacer got some plays and misses with the ball moving past the edges, Duckett was ready with his response as he smashed Akash Deep with some breathtaking reverse-scoops. The English opener even told Akash that he can’t get him out but Akash soon got the better of him and got him out.
The Indian pacer celebrated in front of Duckett but then proceeded to put an arm around his shoulder and walk him off while uttering a few words to him. The incident even made senior Indian player KL Rahul to intervene and drag Akash away. While no ICC sanction was announced for Akash, Duckett’s coach feels that the India pacer should be penalised so that youngsters don’t follow it in the future.
