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England’s dramatic 22-run win in the third Test at Lord’s not only gave them a 2-1 series lead over India but also sparked a post-match narrative that extended beyond the field. Jos Buttler and veteran pacer Stuart Broad have both claimed that two Indian players unintentionally motivated the England camp with their bold words and vocal on-field presence. Buttler and Broad have now revealed that the Indian duo’s overconfidence fired England up to deliver their most intense effort of the series.
Jos Buttler and Stuart Broad pick two Indians who unintentionally motivated England
Washington Sundar, buoyed by India’s resilience and momentum at the end of Day 4, confidently declared in a post-day interview to BBC, that India would wrap up the game “probably just after lunch” on Day 5. Despite being four down for 58 and chasing 193, his words reflected a strong belief in the dressing room. “Definitely India winning, probably in the first session. We are sitting pretty, and we will come out positive. We have some solid batters in the dressing room,” Sundar had said. However, his overconfidence backfired spectacularly.
On Day 5, he lasted just four balls before falling to a charged-up Jofra Archer, who had clearly taken the remark personally. Buttler later revealed on a podcast that Sundar’s words reached the England dressing room and became instant fuel for motivation. Buttler said, noting it was one of the rare moments the usually relaxed coach sprang into animated encouragement. Buttler imagined Sundar thinking under pressure.
“There’s a little clip of when Washington came out to bat and Brendon McCullum over the balcony, sort of telling everyone to raise it-it’s the guy who’s been chirping. You set yourself up, don’t you? It’s horrible. But now everyone knows what I’ve said in the media last night, and everyone’s after me. Even McCullum-possibly the only time he didn’t have his feet up-he’s leant forward to say, ‘Come on. Let’s ramp it up for this guy,” Buttler said.
“I wonder if he’s just sort of, you know, got his words out wrong, but it was proper incredible confidence. ‘Yeah, we’re going to win.’ Someone will have heard that in the dressing room. It’s almost like instead of anyone saying anything this morning for England, you could have just played that interview-and that would have got people so fired up,” Buttler concluded.
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Sledging in slips provokes England’s fierce response in the Lord’s Test
Apart from Sundar’s media comments, another Indian player, Nitish Kumar Reddy, drew the ire of the English side with his verbal aggression from the slips.
According to Broad, Reddy’s constant chatter, especially directed at Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, was reported back to the dressing room. England’s response was premeditated and ruthless. The plan materialized when Archer greeted Reddy with a hostile bouncer first ball, followed by an intimidating field setup with fielders surrounding him. Broad described how Duckett, Brook, and Joe Root all got involved in verbally rattling Reddy, who had become the focal point of England’s retaliatory aggression.
“Jofra bowled quick-his fastest spell in an England shirt-up the hill at the Nursery End, flying through at 92 miles an hour. I said, ‘God, I’ve never seen you as fired up as that.’ Actually, it was a team plan. They’ve (India) had a go at Zak Crawley. We’ve got to meet fire with fire here. Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Joe Rooty-getting stuck into Reddy-because reports came back from the middle when Crawley and Duckett were out there that Reddy was the most vocal,” Broad said.
England’s remarkable fightback on Day 5 of the Lord’s Test was as much about cricketing skill as it was about emotional ignition from India’s bold assertions. Archer’s venomous spells, Ben Stokes’ leadership, and England’s charged-up body language all pointed to a team with a point to prove. The result was a high-voltage performance that saw India reduced to 98/8 by the time the match slipped out of their hands, although the team had shown some fight and took the total to 170, still they ultimately lost the game by 22 runs.
