Barber at centre of Alex Carey haircut furore clarifies story as identity of player remains mystery

The hairdresser at centre of the Ashes ‘barbergate’ furore has clarified his story and pleaded with fans to stop slamming his business in online reviews – as the identity of the Aussie player who did a runner remains a mystery.

England legend Sir Alastair Cook started the rumour on Thursday, claiming Alex Carey had a haircut at the same cash-only establishment as him before the Headingley Test, but left without paying because he only brought his bank card.

The unnamed Aussie player said he would make a bank transfer of $57, but cash-only clipper Adam Mahmood said no payment arrived after 72 hours.

Cricket Australia officials later insisted it was a case of mistaken identity and that Carey had not even had a haircut since the start of June – a story his teammate Steve Smith backed up on social media.

They said that another unnamed player had visited the barber without cash, but claimed he had paid via an international bank transfer.

Cricket Australia officials insisted it was a case of mistaken identity and that Alex Carey had not had a haircut since the start of June

Cook was forced to sheepishly apologise, telling the BBC his report was a case of ‘mistaken identity’.

‘There’s also been a bit of fuss around on a rainy day, a bit of news about a haircut which might have been discussed on radio the other day,’ he said.

‘A case of mistaken identity, so I apologise for the mistaken identity to Alex Carey.’

Mahmood, 39, has confirmed that he has now been paid and is disappointed that Aussie cricket fans decided to troll his business with negative online reviews. 

‘He’s gone and didn’t pay. I didn’t have a plan to make any trouble from it,’ Mahmood told News Corp.

‘But fortunately or unfortunately, end of the day my last customer was Sir Alastair Cook.’

The Iranian father of two does not believe the Aussie cricketer in question delayed the payment on purpose, but probably got busy and forgot.

However, the negative reviews from Aussie fans that threaten to bring down his four-star Google rating do concern him very much.

Ex-England captain Alastair Cook incorrectly claimed Carey didn’t pay for his haircut

‘I’ve got already many bad reactions from Australian fans on my page for my business. My rating has gone down,’ he said.

Cricket Australia has not disclosed the identity of the player who didn’t, but there’s speculation it might have been backup gloveman Jimmy Peirson, who had was sporting a fresh cut on Saturday.