England regards Bairstow dismissal as against ‘the spirit’ of cricket; Australia says it’s fair play

PTI, Jul 3, 2023, 8:09 AM IST

Image credit: Twitter / @ICC

London: England coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes believed Australia broke “the spirit” of the laws of cricket in the Jonny Bairstow dismissal at Lord’s on Sunday.

McCullum and Stokes agreed Bairstow was out, technically, but Stokes would have backtracked on appealing for out.

“Do I want to win in that manner?” Stokes posed. “The answer for me is no.” Bairstow was stumped when he ducked a bouncer and immediately left his crease to meet Stokes in the middle. England say he believed the umpires called, Over,’ meaning the ball was dead. Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey tossed down the stumps and Bairstow was given out for 10 after a brief review.

Bairstow was confused, initially, then obviously unhappy by the stumping. He left Stokes as the last recognized batter. England lost by 43 runs and went down 2-0 in the five-match series.

BAIRSTOW IS RUN-OUT.

WHAT A MOMENT IN ASHES.pic.twitter.com/Dw4EFpt0x3

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 2, 2023

Australia had to endure the crowd’s bitterness for the rest of the match, and McCullum felt the visitors brought it upon themselves.

“It was more about the spirit of the game,” McCullum said. ”When you become older and more mature you realize the game and the spirit of it is something you need to protect. You have to make decisions in the moment and they can have effects on games and people’s characters.

“By the letter of the law he is out. Jonny was not trying to take a run and the umpires had called Over.’ It is one of those difficult ones to swallow. You look at the small margins, it is incredibly disappointing.” Stokes felt likewise.

“When is it justified that umpires have called Over?'” Stokes said. ”Does the square leg umpire making some movement justify that? Jonny Bairstow was in his crease and then came out to have a chat in the middle. I’m not disputing if it was out, it was.

“If the shoe was on the other foot I would have put more pressure on the umpires and asked whether they had called Over’ and had a deep think about the whole spirit of the game and would I want to do something like that.” Australia captain Pat Cummins said, ”It was totally fair play.

“It’s a rare dismissal. There was nothing untoward or sneaky. Jonny was leaving his crease every ball. He did it for four or five balls. You’re meant to stay in your crease in cricket. Bairstow has tried it with a lot of our guys.” Cummins said there was no ill-feeling from his side for England but McCullum thought it will impact their relations.

“I can’t imagine,” the coach said, ”we’ll be having a beer any time soon.”