Australia batter says England wicketkeeper tried to stump him at Edgbaston, just like Bairstow was stumped at Lord’s
According to Australia’s Travis Head, Jonny Bairstow attempted to stump him in a manner reminiscent of the contentious stumping that sparked the fifth day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.
Australia batter says England wicketkeeper tried to stump him at Edgbaston, just like Bairstow was stumped at Lord’s
When England was five runs down and still needed 178 runs to win, Bairstow was out. He had just dipped underneath a short ball from Cameron Green, scratched the crease with his boot, and then made his way down the field to his partner Ben Stokes at the non-striker’s end. Alex Carey, the wicketkeeper, caught the ball on the bounce and quickly under-armed a throw at the striker’s end stumps before Bairstow had even started to leave his area.
The judgment was deferred by the on-field umpires to TV umpire Marais Erasmus, who ejected the hitter and marked the out as a stumping. Boos echoed throughout Lord’s as Bairstow walked away, glaring at the Australian group. The audience, which remained fairly quiet for the first fourAustralia batter says England wicketkeeper tried to stump him at Edgbaston, just like Bairstow was stumped at Lord’s days of this Test, people frequently chanted, “Same old Aussies, always cheating.” Additionally, some MCC members booed and cursed the Australian players as they came through the large room during the lunch break.
Speaking to the Willow Talk podcast, however, Head revealed he had nearly been on the receiving end of such a dismissal at Baristow’s hands during the first Test at Edgbaston.
“I sort of reminded Jonny last week I walked out of my crease at Edgbaston, at the end of the over,” Head said of the conversation he had with Bairstow after the Lord’s flashpoint. “And the ball got whipped in, and I quickly whipped my bat back and questioned Jonny: would you take the stumps? And he said, ‘Bloody oath I would,’ and ran off.
Australia batter says England wicketkeeper tried to stump him at Edgbaston, just like Bairstow was stumped at Lord’s
I essentially replied, “Remember last week when you said you’d do the same thing? I sort of reminded him of that. Whether he remembered saying that or not, he also attempted to toss Marnus’ stumps on the ground two days prior.
“So, at that precise moment, in the midst of combat, things emerge and play out. I’m sure they would have asked it differently if they had been in the same circumstance, but given the fervor in the air, expressing it a few hours later is a little different than saying it right afterwards. We continue, and ultimately it was against the letter of the law, so we’ll never know that. They have that opinion, and we do too.
Australia batter says England wicketkeeper tried to stump him at Edgbaston, just like Bairstow was stumped at Lord’s
The controversy over Bairstow’s dismissal has only grown as the series goes to Headingley on Thursday, despite Australia going on to win the Lord’s Test by 43 runs and taking a 2-0 lead in the Ashes. Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia, defended his decision to appeal for the wicket, but Ben Stokes, the captain of England, claimed he wouldn’t want to win that way.
The teams won’t be having a beer together anytime soon, according to England’s coach Brendon McCullum, and the manner of the dismissal will energize his team for the remainder of the series. Rishi Sunak and Anthony Albanese, the prime ministers of both nations, have also joined in, supporting their respective teams.
