02 July 2023 , 18:59
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There hasn't been such uproar among the sedentary patrons of Lord's since the Chablis served at lunch was a touch warm.
But if the Aussies thought they got a rough ride in the Long Room after their sharp practice to dismiss Jonny Bairstow, just wait until the chaps from Bash Street find their voices on Headingley's famously articulate Western Terrace on Thursday.
Freddie Flintoff once observed that Lancashire players cheerfully referred to Twenty20 assignments against Yorkshire as dates with one of Europe's most volatile and febrile football crowds.
And Australia had better be ready for a warm reception, on and off the pitch, at the third Ashes Test because their win-at-all-costs bravado caused grave offence at Headquarters.
They are going to get some chin music from a faster, fresher England attack with 94mph Mark Wood off the leash.
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And they will soon discover if they have been forgiven for what they did to Bairstow, one of the White Rose's favourite sons, instead of calling him back.
Don't hold your breath, cobbers.
It is nothing new for England to lose an Ashes Test at Lord's against the old penal colony. In the last 89 years, the Aussies have only lost here twice.
But it is unprecedented, in 146 years of sporting rivalry, for a Lord's crowd to greet an away win with a sustained concerto of booing.
It is unprecedented to taunt an Australian captain patrolling the boundary at Headquarters with chants of “cheat, cheat, cheat.”
Bairstow was furious with the dismissal (Popperfoto via Getty Images)It is unprecedented for MCC members to heckle and manhandle players from a visiting Test nation in the Long Room.
And it is unprecedented for sections of a sell-out 32,000 fifth-day crowd to serenade the Baggy Greens with football-style refrains of “Same old Aussies, always cheating.”
First things first: They did not cheat. When Bairstow left his crease, and wicketkeeper Alex Carey threw down his stumps at the striker's end, by the letter of the laws he was out.
But if the Aussies were narked by Bairstow going walkabout to do his gardening up the pitch when they felt the ball was still in play, maybe it would have been sportsmanlike to warn him.
Pat Cummins could have withdrawn his appeal (Getty Images)Even after Carey's opportunist stumping, skipper Pat Cummins had ample time to withdraw his team's appeal. He chose not to do so.
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If Cummins felt Bluey was fair game, that's up to him. But the Long Room's verdict was emphatic.
Worryingly, within minutes of last man Josh Tongue being castled by Mitchell Starc, the Western Terrace was trending on Twitter.
And it wasn't because chip butties will be half-price on Thursday.