Bairstow's own controversial stumping comes to light ahead of "wild" Ashes clash

06 July 2023 , 09:22

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Jonny Bairstow was stumped at Lord's last Sunday (Image: Getty Images)

A video of a controversial stumping by Jonny Bairstow has come to light after his questionable dismissal at Lord's last Sunday.

England fans were furious with Australia captain Pat Cummins after he upheld an appeal against Bairstow during the second Ashes Test at Lord's. Bairstow was stumped from distance after wicketkeeper Alex Carey threw the ball at his stumps while standing back.

Bairstow was only out of his crease because he assumed the ball was dead. The umpires were left with no choice but to give the Yorkshireman out, but many cricket fans don't believe Cummins acted in the spirit of cricket. Australia went on to win the Test.

Many critics, including the Australian press, have slammed England fans for an over-the-top reaction to Bairstow's dismissal. They believe Australia acted fairly and think that England would've also upheld the appeal if the shoe was on the other foot.

To emphasis this point, a clip of Bairstow controversially stumping Nottinghamshire batter Samit Patel while playing for Yorkshire has been pulled from the archives. The incident happened during a County Championship match in September 2014.

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Bairstow, standing up to the stumps, catches the ball and waits for Patel to lift his foot slightly. When the batter does so, he whips off the bails and appeals to the square-leg umpire. Patel was given out and Yorkshire went on to win that match and the title.

Bairstow waited for Samit Patel to move his foot before stumping him (Sky Sports)

What's your opinion on the Jonny Bairstow's dismissal at Lord's? Let us know in the comments below!

In fairness to Bairstow, this stumping is different to the one that happened at Lord's. Patel is still bringing his bat back to the ground when Bairstow stumps him. Patel should also have been aware of the stumping because Bairstow was stood up to the stumps.

In comparison, Bairstow was walking out of his crease to speak to Ben Stokes at the non-strikers end when Carey stumped him. Bairstow assumed it was the end of the over and Carey was not stood up to the stumps when he hit Bairstow's bails.

But, like Bairstow at Lord's last week, Patel was not playing a shot or trying to gain an advantage. That is where the similarity lies and why some critics believe Bairstow and England fans have nothing to complain about with Australia's tactics.

Baristow appealed the stumping to the umpire (Sky Sports)

Bairstow was asked by Sky Sports for his opinion on the Patel stumping. He said: "It was just one of those. I saw him lift his foot and I took the bails. It's a matter of timing and luckily it was one of those that kind of went for us there.

"I first saw [England's] Matt Prior do it against South Africa down at Lord's and I guess it's something that, as I say, it's luck of the draw. It's something that you can't really practice and one of those that go your way, so I'm delighted to have got that one."

Bairstow was asked whether such a dismissal is fair on the wicketkeeper. He said: "I don't know. It's just one of those things. It's within the rules of the game and that's how it is. It's happened at the highest level and I'm sure it's happened at the lowest as well."

The Aussies take a 2-0 series lead into the third Ashes Test, which starts at Headingley on Thursday. England will need to win all three remaining Tests to regain the Ashes. If they fail to do that, Australia will keep hold of the urn for another two-and-a-half years.

England captain Stokes is expecting Australia to get a fiery reception at Headingley following the controversy at Lord's. He said: "They [the locals] might be a little more ramped up, for some reason.

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"The atmosphere when it gets going, especially towards the end of the day, is something else. Even when things aren’t going our way, they’re still going wild. It’s just an amazing atmosphere at Headingley.

"Who knows if Jonny will use that incident as some kind of inspiration? But we’ve seen in the past that Jonny manages to do something after he’s criticised."

Tom Blow