England used same stumping tactic that cost Jonny Bairstow his wicket in second Ashes Test at Lord’s

Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins has defended the controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow that sealed victory in the second Ashes Test, pointing out that the English wicketkeeper has tried to pull off similar dismissals.

England supporters were left howling when Bairstow was given out after scoring just 10 runs on a thrilling final day of play at Lord’s.

With the match in the balance, Bairstow left his crease after leaving a Cameron Green delivery and Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey seized his opportunity, throwing the ball onto the stumps to dismiss the batsman before the umpire had called ‘over’.

It ultimately proved extremely costly, as England surged within sight of an unlikely victory before being dismissed just 43 runs short.

The crowd at Lord’s became unruly, chanting ‘same old Aussies, always cheating’ while England captain Ben Stokes – who hit an amazing 155 runs – claimed the Aussies should have revoked their appeal.   

‘If I was fielding captain I would have had a real think about the spirit of the game. For Australia it was the match-winning moment. Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no,’ he said.

The scoreboard highlights how crucial the wicket was, with England storming toward an unlikely victory with Bairstow the last of the recognised batsmen

Carey has attracted plenty of criticism, with England pace bowler Stuart Broad telling him on the pitch that the act is all he will be remembered for

However, vision has shown that Bairstow tried to dismiss Marnus Labuschagne by throwing the ball into the stumps when the Aussie was briefly out of his crease after a delivery – but failed to execute as well as Carey did.

It should be noted that Labuschagne was not relaxing after facing the last ball of the over, like Bairstow did when Carey took his wicket – which is central to England’s argument that the act was not within the spirit of the game. 

Aussie captain Pat Cummins said there were other occasions in the match – and in other Tests – where Bairstow attempted similar tactics. 

‘I thought it was fair,’ Cummins said.

‘You see Jonnny do it all the time, he did it [on] day one to Davey Warner. He did it in 2019 to Steve [Smith].

‘It’s a really common thing for ‘keepers to do if they see a batter keep leaving their crease.

‘[Carey] full credit to him, he saw the opportunity, I think Jonny did it a few balls beforehand, rolled it at the stumps, Jonny left his crease, you leave the rest to the umpires.’

ESPNCricinfo writer David Hobbs tweeted Bairstow also attempts to get batters out using the method in County Cricket as well.

‘If Bairstow was to complain. other than in heat of the moment, it would be ridiculous because it must be attempted half a dozen times in Yorkshire club games every weekend. It’s just that the wk [wicketkeeper] rarely hits on account of the big gloves,’ he wrote.

However, former Aussie spinner Brad Hogg disagreed, saying that the Aussies had pushed the ‘spirit of the game’ too far.

‘Bairstow wicket, Not Out. Spirit of cricket pushed to the boundary. Not attempting a run, end of over, scratched crease then walked for the regulation BS chat between overs between batsman,’ he tweeted.

Aussie captain Pat Cummins celebrates the Bairstow wicket while the English batsman looks bemused and remains on the pitch for the umpire’s decision

Stokes and Cummins (pictured after play finished on Sunday) might be off each other’s Christmas card lists this year after a fiery second Test won by the Aussies

Travis Head has words with a clearly agitated Bairstow before the English batsmen trudges off at Lord’s

Former English wicketkeeper Paul Nixon agreed with Hogg, saying they were two different examples as Bairstow had planted his back foot to signify the play had ended before Carey threw down his stumps.

‘Just arrived home & see the #Bairstow incident. Totally agree Hoggy he put his foot back in and held it a sec to respect the WK and that’s all it takes as respect,’ he tweeted.

’23 years as WK that all it takes from a batter a little foot hold. Poor it’s not the spirit of the game.’

English seamer Stuart Broad was also caught on the stump mic angrily responding to Carey after the incident.

‘That’s all you’ll ever be remembered for. That,’ he said.

Cricket fans were left angry and divided by the incident.

‘You know what’s funny you bunch of plonkers, Jonny Bairstow tried the exact same thing IN THIS TEST MATCH. And the last series! Hahahahaha you absolute bunch of frauds,’ an Aussie fan fired at English critics.

‘Aussie cheats. Send them home. And sack the umpires,’ an English fan fumed.

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