England’s Bairstow’s head-butt ‘a bit weird’: Bancroft

Australian debutant Cameron Bancroft opened up on the headbutt controversy involving Jonny Bairstow during a press conference that left his captain in stitches.

Bairstow was said to have headbutted Bancroft in Perth four weeks ago prior to the first Ashes Test — and the opening batsman was quizzed on the night of controversy alongside Steve Smith, who found the saga hilarious, on Monday. 

A bizarre media conference after Australia’s 10-wicket victory in the first Test saw the West Australian field questions almost exclusively about what happened on the first night on England’s tour in The Avenue nightclub. 

It was a bizarre media conference, with skipper Steve Smith finding the questioning hilarious

Smith sat alongside Cameron Bancroft during the press conference  and was left in stitches

Smith sat alongside Cameron Bancroft during the press conference and was left in stitches

Bancroft was quizzed on night of controversy while the Australia captain laughed next to him

Bancroft was quizzed on night of controversy while the Australia captain laughed next to him

Australian debutant Cameron Bancroft has insisted that Jonny Bairstow had headbutted him in a Perth bar but was happy that it was not malicious and wants to put the incident behind him. 

‘I remember it very clearly,’ said Bancroft. ‘We had just won a tour game with WA and one of our values is to celebrate success so we were out as a team and that coincided with the English time arriving in Perth.

‘It was very friendly and we mingled the whole night because some of our players knew some of the English ones. I got into a very amicable discussion with Jonny and he just greeted me with a headbutt. It wasn’t the greeting of choice I was expecting. 

‘I was expecting a handshake. But there was no malice in it and we continued to have a very good conversation for the rest of the evening.

‘At the time he said sorry and for me personally it was just really weird. It was so random and I certainly didn’t expect it coming. 

‘A handshake or a hug might have been something I’d have expected more than a headbutt but there was nothing malicious about his actions. 

The opening batsman just about holds in his laughter during a bizarre press conference 

The opening batsman just about holds in his laughter during a bizarre press conference 

England's Jonny Bairstow (centre) has been accused of headbutting Bancroft

England’s Jonny Bairstow (centre) has been accused of headbutting Bancroft

Australian debutant Bancroft insisted that Bairstow had headbutted him in a Perth bar

Australian debutant Bancroft insisted that Bairstow had headbutted him in a Perth bar

JONNY BAIRSTOW STATEMENT  

‘I wanted to address you, obviously, about some news that’s come (out) over the last 24 hours.

‘First of all, personally, I think it has been blown completely out of proportion.

‘That evening, we were allowed out. There wasn’t any curfew.

‘I caught up with one of my friends and some of the Western Australia guys after they’d just beaten Tasmania at the WACA.

‘We were just in the bar, having a good laugh and a good evening out. It was very enjoyable.

‘Cameron and I enjoyed the evening and continued to do so.

‘There was no intent, nor malice, about anything during the evening.

‘As you could see, out there [on the pitch] today, there is no animosity between myself, Cameron (or) any of the other Australian players.

‘I hope we can now swipe this underneath the table, continue what is going to be a fantastic and exciting series – and we move on from there.

‘Thank you.’

‘I don’t know Jonny Bairstow but he says hello to people a bit differently to most others and as I said we got along for the rest of the night quite well. We moved along from it and it was fine.’

Bancroft insisted it was a headbutt and said: ‘Whatever your imagination pictures it as is probably right. He didn’t knock me over. I’ve actually got the heaviest head in the Western Australia squad. It’s been measured. So I took the blow quite well and moved on from it. It was a good hit. Play on!’

Bancroft, in one of the more bizarre moments of an Ashes media conference, was asked to define a headbutt because England still insisted there was nothing in it. ‘He connected with my head with a force that made me think ‘wow, that’s a bit weird’. That was it. He clashed with my forehead. Our heads collided.

‘It’s all good humour isn’t it? I’ll look back on this one day and it will be a dot in my life. We’ll live and learn and move on.’ 

Bancroft supposedly took the blow during a night out in Perth at the start of this tour

Bairstow (left) and Bancroft (right) are said to have touched heads but there was no malice

Bairstow (left) and Bancroft (right) are said to have touched heads but there was no malice

David Warner (right) led the sledging of Bairstow during the first Ashes Test at the Gabba

David Warner (right) led the sledging of Bairstow during the first Ashes Test at the Gabba

Australia captain Steve Smith admitted that Australia had brought up the incident on the field on the fourth day in an attempt to get to Bairstow. The comments, mainly from David Warner and Peter Handscomb, were picked up from the stump microphones and revealed by Australia’s Fox TV.

‘It was basically about trying to get Jonny off his game to be honest and I think it worked with the way he got out, playing to third man. It was a pretty ordinary stroke to be fair. We were just trying to get in his head and it happened to work.’  

A clearly angry Trevor Bayliss criticised his England team for again becoming embroiled in an off-field incident in a bar but insisted that Bairstow would not be punished for what England see as a minor offence.

It came after England’s 10-wicket defeat in the first Test had been overshadowed by the revelation that there had been an incident between Bairstow and Australia’s Bancroft in aPerth bar at the start of this tour. 

Bairstow issued a statement but took no questions at a press conference after the first Test

Bairstow issued a statement but took no questions at a press conference after the first Test

The wicketkeeper was speaking following England's defeat in the first Test with Australia 

The wicketkeeper was speaking following England’s defeat in the first Test with Australia 

Trevor Bayliss criticised England team for again becoming embroiled in an off-field incident

Trevor Bayliss criticised England team for again becoming embroiled in an off-field incident

‘We can’t out ourselves into these situations, however small they are,’ said Bayliss, who disputed Australia’s claim that Bairstow had headbutted Bancroft at The Avenue nightclub in Perth. ‘We’ve got to be better at this.’ 

So what actually happened? ‘There was some contact but no headbutt,’ said Bayliss in contradiction to Bancroft’s version of events. ‘There’s a big difference.’ 

But Bayliss insisted that the players code of conduct drawn up ahead of this tour following the serious incident in a Bristol bar that saw Ben Stokes arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm was not broken by Bairstow.

‘Certainly not with the rules the players had in place before this but I’m sure there will be a review of that,’ said the Australian. 

‘There was no malice involved. It was just a couple of young guys on a night out and a couple of silly things happened that at the time seemed a bit funny. Now they come up later on and gives the opposition ammunition to put pressure on.’ 

Bayliss accepted there may come a point when England’s players are going to find it hard to go outside their hotel rooms outside of match situations on this long tour. 

England crashed to an opening Ashes Test defeat by 10 wickets at the Gabba

England crashed to an opening Ashes Test defeat by 10 wickets at the Gabba

Australia openers Bancroft and Warner hit unbeaten half centuries in the win

Australia openers Bancroft and Warner hit unbeaten half centuries in the win

The opening pair shake hands after they secure a vital win in the first Test in Brisbane

The opening pair shake hands after they secure a vital win in the first Test in Brisbane

‘If that’s the position we get into then they’ve only got themselves to blame,’ said Bayliss. ‘That’s where we are. We’re here to play cricket and we’ve got to find a way to play as well as we possibly can. We don’t want any distractions from outside that. 

‘But there was no curfew that night and there was absolutely no malice in it. We’re disappointed a small incident gets blown up and put in the press. Yes, it’s a distraction and there will be further discussions between myself, the management and the team. But there will be no punishment of Jonny.

‘Any team at this level will take any opportunity to get stuck into the opposition and make them feel uncomfortable wherever possible. If you put yourself in that situation you’re fair game. We have to make sure we don’t do that in future. 

‘We’ve just got to be smarter. We’ve got to be careful we don’t do anything stupid and if that means not having a drink so be it. I thought things would change after Bristol and the players would be extra dumb and stupid if things didn’t change now.’

HOW BANCROFT HANDLED QUESTIONS OVER BAIRSTOW ‘HEADBUTT’

Cameron, well done on the innings. But can you talk us through the incident, from what you remember?

Bancroft: ‘I remember it very clearly. We’d just won a Shield game for WA (Western Australia). One of our values is celebrating success, so we were, as a team. That coincided with the English team arriving in Perth for the tour game. It was very friendly mingling the whole night. Some of the players knew some of the English players, and as the night progressed it was great to be able to meet some of those guys.

‘I got into a very amicable conversation with Jonny, and… yeah, like, he just, um, just greeted me with… just… a headbutt kind of thing. I was expecting a handshake. It wasn’t the greeting of choice that I was expecting. That was the way I took it. There was certainly no malice in his action, and we continued on having a very good conversation for the rest of the evening.’

Did he apologise to you that night or subsequently?

‘At the time, he said sorry. For me personally, it was just… really weird. It was so random, and I certainly didn’t expect it coming. As I said, a handshake or a hug would have been something that I probably expected more than a headbutt. But as I said, there was certainly nothing malicious about his action. I just took it as: ‘Yeah, I don’t know Jonny Bairstow, but he says hello to people very differently to most others’. We got along for the rest of the night quite well. I’ve let it go and moved on from it. It was fine.’

Sorry, Cameron. I realise this probably sounds a bit ridiculous. Did he head-butt you like that (motions headbutt), forward? Or (motions glancing head to the side)? We can’t actually work (it out).

‘Just… I dunno. Whatever your imagination pictures it as, is probably what it would be.’

Because when we imagine a headbutt, we imagine… (motions headbutt) knocking someone over, you know?

‘No, he didn’t knock me over. I’ve actually got the heaviest head in the Western Australia squad. It’s been measured. There’s an actual measurement for it. So yeah, I just took the blow quite well and moved on from it. Yeah, it was a good hit. Play on.’

Trevor Bayliss said that it was a long way from being a headbutt. He said there’s a headbutt, and there’s what happened to you. So could you perhaps define, maybe on a one-to-10 basis, how close it was to a headbutt?

‘He connected with … with my head. With a force that would make me think: ‘Wow, that’s a bit weird.’ And that was it.’

Where was it? Was it the top of his head hitting you in the nose?

‘Well, headbutts clash with heads, and when he made the decision to do that, our heads collided.

Whereabouts? … A headbutt, it can break your nose. It can put you in hospital. So where did the top of his head hit yours?

‘Yeah, it hit my head. Yeah. Hit me there. (Taps his forehead). Forehead. There you go.’

Cameron, you’ve made your Test debut for Australia. Is this how you envisaged your first press conference going?

‘Uh, not really, no. But look, it’s all good humour, isn’t it? I’ll look back on this one day and it’ll be a dot in my life. We’ll live and learn and move on.’ 

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