The China Mail - England won't play nice against India warns Brook

After England battled to a fiery 22-run victory in the third Test at Lord's, the teams will lock horns again with the series on the line in Manchester.

An England win would put them 3-1 up with one game to play, while India must take the last two matches to secure their first Test series triumph on English soil since 2007.

It promises to be another fiercely-fought encounter after India's fielders clashed with England batsmen Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett in a time-wasting row at Lord's.

That lit a fire under England when it was their turn to field, with Jofra Archer giving a pumped-up send-off to India's Rishabh Pant.

As the tension mounted in England's 22-run win, Brydon Carse and India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja were involved in a mid-pitch collision.

But Brook is adamant Ben Stokes' side did not go to far with their spikey approach in pursuit of victory.

"I've had a lot of compliments. Everybody said it was awesome to watch. It was good fun, I have to admit, it was tiring but it made fielding a lot more enjoyable," he said on Monday.

"I think it put them under a little bit more pressure. The opportunity that arose for us to not be the nice guys was because of what they did. We just thought 'we're not standing for that'.

"We had a conversation and said 'it's time to not be those nice guys that we have been before'. You don't always have to be nice. Who knows, that might have played into our favour. It was good fun.

"We were doing it within the spirit of the game. We weren't going out there effing and jeffing at them and being nasty people. We were just going about it in the right manner."

India pace bowler Mohammed Siraj was fined 15 per cent of his match fee and given one demerit point for his angry send-off of Duckett during England's second innings, which ended with the pair brushing shoulders.

Brook revealed it was at his urging after some choice words from head coach Brendon McCullum that they decided to fight back.

Asked whether that aggressive approach will continue as England look to win the series, Brook said: "God knows. We'll see whether it happens again and whether it works.

"We were just putting them under more pressure. Baz (McCullum) actually said a few days before that we are too nice sometimes.

"I brought it up the night before the last day: 'Baz said the other day we're too nice, I think tomorrow is a perfect opportunity to really get stuck into them'."

B.Carter--ThChM