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The incident involving Jonny Bairstow‘s dismissal in the second Test of the Ashes 2023 at Lord’s has sparked accusations against Australia for breaching the ‘spirit of cricket’. In the last ball of the 52nd over, Cameron Green bowled a bouncer that England’s wicketkeeper negotiated with consummate ease. Assuming that the over got completed, Bairstow stepped out of his crease and started walking towards Ben Stokes at the non-striker’s end. In the meanwhile Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey under-armed the ball and hit the stumps to find Bairstow out of his crease. Eventually, the 33-year-old was declared out by the third umpire.
The Lord’s crowd expressed their dissatisfaction with the dismissal and directed criticism towards the Australian team, resulting in booing and chants of “cheat.” While England supporters are accusing the Australian players of violating the spirit of the game, it’s worth noting that England’s cricket team also have instances in the past where they have been accused of not upholding the spirit of cricket.
Here’s a list of three such instances when the English players themselves breached the spirit of the game for their advantage:
1. Stuart Broad refuses to walk during 2013 Ashes against Australia
After the Bairstow incident, Stuart Broad came to the crease and was caught on a stump mic saying “That’s all you’ll ever be remembered for,” to Australia wicketkeeper Carey. However, Broad received criticism from fans. Several supporters of the game took to social media sites and posted a clip in which Broad stood at the crease in a Test match against Australia, despite getting caught at slip. The video clip is of the first Test of the 2013 Ashes, when Broad was batting on 37 in the second innings, and got caught by Michael Clarke on Ashton Agar’s delivery.
On the camera, it could be clearly seen that the ball got a huge edge off the Broad’s bat and then bounced on Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin’s gloves and finally went to the Aussie captain Clarke. Umpire Aleem Dar refused to raise his finger as he felt the left-handed England batter was not out. However, Broad was well aware of the fact he is clearly out but instead of returning to the pavilion, he decide to hold the crease.
Let's not forget Stuart Broad – who labelled Carey's run out the worst thing he's seen – didn't walk after smashing this to Clarke. He still defends that yet conveniently forgets Bairstow attempted to run out Labuschagne the same way as Carey 2 days earlier. Selective memory pic.twitter.com/afdNix3EzG
— TomRehn9 (@tomrehn9) July 3, 2023
Stuart Broad to Alex Carey: "You'll forever be remembered for that."
Also, Stuart Broad: #Ashes pic.twitter.com/laxdRKlkH4
— Basil (@BasilZoccali) July 2, 2023
2. New Zealand’s Grant Elliott run out after obstruction during 2008 ODI match against England
During the fourth ODI of the England vs New Zealand series in 2008, Grant Elliott, the New Zealand all-rounder, was attempting a single when he collided with England bowler Ryan Sidebottom in the middle of the pitch, causing both players to fall to the ground.
Despite the collision obstructing Elliott and leaving him stranded halfway down the pitch, England fielder Ian Bell quickly retrieved the ball and threw it to Kevin Pietersen, who removed the bails at the stumps. The umpire then turned to England captain Paul Collingwood to determine whether they would withdraw their appeal.
In this situation, Collingwood had the option to withdraw the appeal and allow Elliott to continue batting. However, Collingwood decided to uphold the appeal, resulting in Elliott being given out. Nevertheless, New Zealand went on to win the match.
Reminds me of Collingwood vs NZ incident where he was called back by Vettori for a Bairstow-like dismissal.
Interestingly a few yrs ago, Grant Elliott had collided with an ENG bowler, got run out, and Collingwood DIDN'T withdraw the appeal
Can't blame u Stokes. It's in ur genes pic.twitter.com/AdPPUoBl0i
— Transponster Jay 🌙🇮🇳 (@Jay_KD77) July 3, 2023
3. England dismisses Henry Nicholls with an unusual catch during the 2022 Test vs New Zealand
The most recent instance dates back to the 2022 New Zealand tour of England. In the third Test between the two sides at Headingley in 2022, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bat first. However, their innings got off to a shaky start as they lost four wickets with the score still under 100. The English bowlers were able to put pressure on the New Zealand batters and take early wickets.
Amidst the difficult situation, Henry Nicholls and Daryll Mitchell formed a partnership to stabilize the innings. They added 40 runs together, working hard to rebuild and rescue the New Zealand innings.
Nevertheless, a controversial incident occurred soon in the match. When the Blackcaps were on 123, Nicholls played a shot towards the straight boundary, but instead of reaching the boundary rope, the ball hit non-striker Mitchell’s bat and went towards fielder Alex Lees, who was stationed at mid-off.
As a result of this incident, Nicholls was dismissed, sparking criticism from fans towards the England team for accepting the wicket in an unusual manner.
If this was England, they would have never accepted this dismissal. Sorry but just not the way England would want to win. pic.twitter.com/l40WP34vzx
— Omkar Mankame (@Oam_16) July 4, 2023
