It was no surprise that the theatre that we saw emanating from the Jonny Bairstow stumping incident took on a life of its own.
At the end of the day Bairstow was given out and eventually Australia won the match and took a 2-0 series lead.
But what happened exactly and what were the big reactions?
TimesofIndia.com here gives you a blow by blow account of the controversial Bairstow stumping incident and the reactions that followed:
WHAT HAPPENED?
On Day 5 of the Lord’s Test, which was the second Ashes Test, captain Ben Stokes and wicket-keeper batter Jonny Bairstow were in the middle together. England were batting on 193/5.
The last ball of the 52nd over, bowled by Cameron Green, was a half-tracker. Bairstow ducked below the ball which flew over his head and went to the wicket-keeper Alex Carey.
Bairstow, thinking that the ball was dead and that the over was up, walked out of his crease. Seeing this Carey, who had observed Bairstow walk out of his crease earlier, threw the ball towards the stumps and hit them. With Bairstow well and truly out of his crease, the Aussies appealed for a stumping. Baristow looked completely flummoxed, so did the English dressing room. The Aussies huddled together as the on-field umpires went up to the third umpire.
THE FINAL DECISION
The third umpire must have checked with the bowling end umpire to see if he had called ‘over’. Since the umpire hadn’t called ‘over’, the ball was deemed to be still in play and not dead and Bairstow was adjudged stumped out
WHAT THE RULES SAY
The MCC rule for this (20.1.2) says – The ball shall be considered to be dead when it is clear to the bowler’s end umpire that the fielding side and both batters at the wicket have ceased to regard it as in play.
Meanwhile the MCC rule 30.1.1 says – A batter shall be considered to be out of his/her ground unless some part of his/her person or bat is grounded behind the popping crease at that end.
WAS IT A FAIR DECISION?
Yes. Bairstow had wandered out of his crease at a time when the ball was still technically ‘live’. Carey was well within his rights to throw the ball at the stumps and the Aussies were playing by the rules when captain Pat Cummins stuck to his and his team’s appeal. This is also why the appeal was entertained by the umpires in the first place.
THE LONG ROOM ALTERCATION
The fact that the English fans were well and truly feeling short-changed and wounded was made clear by the altercation that ensued in the Lord’s Long Room between MCC members and a couple of Aussie cricketers.
While the players were making their way to their dressing room, via the Long Room for lunch, some members of the MCC had a thing or two to say to the Aussies. That made the likes of Usman Khawaja and David Warner exchange visibly heated arguments.
Security personnel had to step in to control the situation.
Cricket Australia reported – “several incidents involving spectators in the members area” and alleged verbal abuse and physical contact.
Many of the members in the Long Room also booed the Aussies.
THE FALLOUT
The MCC apologised to the Australian team on behalf of some of its members.
The MCC statement read – “The Long Room is unique in world cricket and the great privilege of players passing through the Pavilion is very special. After this morning’s play, emotions were running high, and words were unfortunately exchanged with some of the Australian team, by a small number of members.
“We have unreservedly apologised to the Australian Team and will deal with any Member who has not maintained the standard we expect through our disciplinary processes. It was not necessary to eject anyone from the ground and I am pleased to say that there was no repeat of this as the players resumed the field for this afternoon’s session
MCC MEMBERS SUSPENDED
Following all this, the MCC has suspended three members.
A statement about the suspension of the three members was also released which said – “MCC can confirm it has suspended three members identified from earlier today.
“They will not be permitted back to Lord’s whilst the investigation takes place and were informed of this by MCC chief executive, Guy Lavender, this evening.
“We maintain that the behaviour of a small number of members was completely unacceptable and whilst there was no suggestion by Pat Cummins in the post-match press conference that there was any physical altercation, it remains wholly unacceptable to behave in such a way, which goes against the values of the club.
THE REACTIONS:
Fans:
The Aussies were soundly booed by the partisan crowd at Lord’s and called ‘cheaters’. Chants of ‘same old Aussies, always cheating’ rang out loud across the ground.
What really angered most fans was that the Aussies refused to withdraw their appeal. They saw this as a violation of the spirit of the game, even though the Australians were playing within the rules of the sport.
Players:
Jonny Bairstow, England wicket-keeper batter: Was fuming as he walked off the ground
Stuart Broad, England bowler: Walked in to bat next, told Carey – “that’s all you will ever be remembered for”. He also told Cummins – “that’s the worst thing I have ever seen in cricket”. He also exchanged fiesty words with some of the Aussie fielders and mockingly kept tapping his bat inside the crease after every delivery.
Pat Cummins, Australian captain: “I thought it was fair. You see Jonny (Bairstow) do it all the time, he did it on day one to David 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. Cares (Carey), full credit to him, he saw the opportunity, rolled it at the stumps, Jonny left his crease. You leave the rest to the umpires.”
Usman Khawaja, Australian batter to Australian media: “Some of the stuff that was coming out of the members’ mouths was really disappointing and I wasn’t just going to stand by and cop it”
Ben Stokes, England Captain: “The first thing that needs to be said is, it is out…If I was the fielding captain I would have put a lot more pressure on the umpires to ask them what their decision was around the over and around the spirit of the game and would I want to potentially win a game with something like that happening – and it would be no.”
“When is it justified that umpires have called ‘Over?’ Does the square leg umpire making some movement justify that? Jonny Bairstow was in his crease and then came out to have a chat in the middle. I’m not disputing if it was out, it was.”
(Reuters Photo)
Coaches:
Brendon McCullum, England Head Coach to the BBC: “I can’t imagine we’ll be having a beer with them any time soon…I feel from our point of view, if we were in the same situation, we might’ve made a different decision.”
Andrew McDonald, Australia Head Coach to Australian media (responding to Brendon McCullum’s comments): I haven’t spoken to him (McCullum). I’ve heard that comment for the first time, and I’m somewhat disappointed by that….There’s no doubt when a player is leaving their crease or leaving their ground at certain periods of time that you take that opportunity,” McDonald said. “I think Pat relayed that in the after-match that there was some conversation around Jonny leaving the crease and Alex Carey took that opportunity and the ball’s still live in our minds…..It got sent upstairs and ultimately, the officiating third umpire decides it’s out, it’s within the laws of the game. So yeah, I don’t see too many issues with it, to be perfectly honest.
The third Ashes Test will be played at Leeds and begins on July 6. It will be a must-win match for the hosts, who are one loss away from losing the series. England haven’t won the Ashes since the 2015 series, when they won 3-2, playing at home. Subsequently, Australia won the 2017-18 series at home 4-0, the 2019 series in England was drawn 2-2 and then Australia won 4-0 again in 2021-22 at home.