The ongoing Ashes 2023 series has been marred by a controversial stumping incident, resulting in a heated exchange between the England and Australia cricket teams.
The incident occurred on the final day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s. In 52nd over of the England’s second innings, Jonny Bairstow walked out of his crease immediately after leaving a final delivery from Cameron Green, assuming it to be the end of the over. Meanwhile, Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey quickly reacted, dislodging the bails and catching Bairstow out of his crease. As per the rules, the dismissal stood tall since the ball was not considered ‘dead,’ forcing the Bradford-born to make his way back to the pavilion after scoring just 10 runs.
The incident triggered a war of words between the two teams, with the England camp vehemently criticizing Australia for what they saw as unsporting behavior. They questioned the sportsmanship spirit of the Australian team, while the visitors defended their actions by pointing to the rules and regulations of the game.
On July 6, former Aussie player, Tim Paine re-shared a video on his Twitter account featuring Bairstow during his time with Yorkshire in 2014. In the clip, Bairstow executed a cheeky stumping by removing the bails as the opposition batter momentarily lifted his back leg after leaving the ball alone.
In the video, the 33-year-old in a post-match interview can be seen defending the act done by him. Bairstow stated that it is a matter of luck, no gloveman can practice this, and it is within the rules of the game.
“It’s just luck of the draw. It’s just something that we can’t really practice and just one of those that goes your way. Delighted to have got that one. It’s just one of those things. It’s within the rules of the game and that’s how it is,” the English wicketkeeper had said in the interview.
— Tim Paine (@tdpaine36) July 6, 2023
Earlier, Paine, the former Australian captain, expressed his criticism of the England camp regarding their strong reactions to Bairstow’s stumping. The Hobart-born accused the hosts of hypocrisy during an interaction on SEN Breakfast, where he was questioned about the controversy surrounding the incident.
“Expected from them, to be honest. It’s funny cricket. I have heard a few people talk about it last few weeks and everyone is guilty of it in cricket, everyone likes to use the spirit of cricket as a defense when something doesn’t go your way,” The former Australian red-ball captain said to SEN Breakfast
“The simple answer is just to play within the laws of the game, isn’t it, and let the umpires do their jobs. Pretty predictable. A lot of hypocrisy, that’s for sure, coming out of the English,” the 38-year-old further added.
Despite the off-field verbal spats, the focus now shifts to the on-field action as the third Test at Headingley is set to commence. The match, scheduled for July 6, promises an intense battle between the two teams, with both England and Australia eager to claim victory and gain an upper hand in the Ashes series.
