Bairstow spotted in tense exchange with Cummins after controversial Ashes wicket

02 July 2023 , 20:16

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Jonny Bairstow was controversially dismissed on Sunday (Image: Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Jonny Bairstow looked furious as he shook hands with Australia captain Pat Cummins after his questionable dismissal at Lord's.

Australia won the second Ashes Test on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the series, despite a heroic 155 from Ben Stokes. The game will be remembered for Bairstow's wicket, which allowed the Aussies to have a crack at England's tail and win back-to-back Tests.

Bairstow was stumped from distance after wicketkeeper Alex Carey threw the ball up to the stumps off the bowling of seamer Cameron Green. The Yorkshireman was only out of his crease because he assumed the ball was dead at the end of an over.

Australia appealed and the umpires were left with no choice but to dismiss Bairstow due to him being out of his crease. England were furious with Australia's actions, as bowler Stuart Broad was heard saying "that's the worst thing I've seen in cricket".

While Bairstow's dismissal was legal, many cricket fans believe it goes against the spirit of the game. Bairstow was foolish to leave his crease, but he wasn't trying to run or gain an advantage. In short, he wasn't expecting Carey to attempt a stumping.

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As such, Bairstow was in no mood to congratulate Australia when the two teams shook hands at the end of the game. Stokes said "well played" to Pat Cummins, but Bairstow just glared at the Australia captain before moving on to the rest of the team.

Bairstow didn't congratulate Australia's Pat Cummins after the match (Twitter/@HomeOfCricket)

What did you make of the controversial incident at Lord's on Sunday? Let us know in the comments below!

Australia's tactics at Lord's marred an enthralling Test match. Piers Morgan labelled the Aussies "pathetic", while MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) members in the Lord's pavilion confronted Cummins' players as they walked past - such was the anger.

Stokes and his England team-mates were also furious. Reflecting on the incident, the skipper said: "When is it justified that the umpires have called over? Is the on-field umpires making movement, is that enough to call over? I'm not sure.

"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."

England coach Brendon McCullum added: "I can't imagine we'll be having a beer with them any time soon... We have three Tests to land some blows an try and win the Ashes. That is where our focus will be."

There is a sense that Australia didn't need to resort to such controversial tactics, as England were still 178 runs from victory when Bairstow was dismissed. "You'll forever be remembered for that," Broad, one of the greatest cricketers of all time, told Carey.

Cummins was bullish when asked why he upheld his team's appeal for Bairstow's wicket. He said it was "fair play" before adding: "That's the rules. That's how I saw it."

Tom Blow