Global Sports
Perhaps it was the most provocative act of a series that has been full of grumbles and spice.
When Akash Deep put his arm around Ben Duckett after dismissing him at the Oval, he was breaking an unwritten code that frowns on any physical contact on the cricket field.
The exchange may have appeared amicable after Duckett had attempted one reverse pull too many on the second day of the final Test, but Deep was invading the space of the vanquished batter and risked sparking a far worse reaction from Duckett.
There was to be a more aggressive flashpoint as this bad-tempered series nears its end when the usually sanguine Joe Root reacted angrily to something said by India fast bowler Prasidh Krishna on another cracking day of Test cricket. But it was the passive-aggressive arm around the shoulder from fast bowler Deep as Duckett walked towards the dressing room that set cricketing minds boggling at how other, more volatile batters in Test history may have reacted.
