The final day of the second Ashes Test was marred by controversy when Jonny Bairstow was ‘stumped’ by wicket-keeper Alex Carey after leaving his crease thinking the ball was dead.
Bairstow ducked under a bouncer from Cameron Green at the end of the 52nd over and saw the ball pass to Carey, who had earlier produced another superb catch to send Ben Duckett back for 83 after England got off to a productive start on the fifth day made.
Bairstow sauntered out of his crease, thinking the over was over, but the Australian keeper decided to roll the ball towards the stumps to get the 33-year-old Englishman out.
Bairstow was clearly out of his field, but there has been much controversy over whether the batsman should have been ruled out as the umpires began to move into position for the next over.
In addition, some believed Australia’s decision to eliminate Bairstow was unsportsmanlike. That’s why Mail Sport pundits LAWRENCE BOOTH, NASSER HUSSAIN and JASON GILLESPIE have weighed in on Sunday’s antics.
The final day of the second Ashes Test was marred by controversy when Jonny Bairstow was ‘stumped’ by wicket-keeper Alex Carey after he left his crease thinking the ball was dead.
LAWRENCE BOOTH: Bairstow tried the same with Labuschagne!
My first instinct when Australia’s Alex Carey threw down the stumps was to wonder why Jonny Bairstow would risk leaving his crease before the umpires decided the ball was dead.
Watch out for Ben Stokes: he regularly keeps his bat behind the line while checking the fielding side to see if he can leave his crease. Why? Because he’s damned if he’s going to give his opponents a sniff of cheap wicket.
I’ve never had much time for the idea that cricket has a spirit that only seems to apply when the stakes aren’t high. Whether we like it or not, cricket has laws and they must be applied by the umpires. The only question on the mind of Marais Erasmus, the third official, was whether the ball was dead when Carey released it. Unfortunately for England, that was not the case.
If Carey had paused for a few seconds, it would have been a different matter.
Was it sharp practice? Yes a bit. And let’s face it: it would get annoying if the wicket-keeper underarmed the ball at the stumps after every delivery on the fortuitous chance the batsman had gone walkabouts.
But, as Sky showed, Carey had noticed that Bairstow left his crease early. For him it was a chance to grab a wicket.
It was a crucial stage of a crucial test and the Axis was on the line. You may disapprove of what Carey did, but you can’t argue that he acted outside the law. In addition, Bairstow similarly attempted to dismiss Marnus Labuschagne during Australia’s second innings.
Bairstow ducked under a Cameron Green bouncer at the end of the 52nd over (above)
NASSER HUSSAIN: Ruthless Carey punished stupid Jonny
Alex Carey was ruthless. It was very smart, switched-on cricket.
Jonny regularly went away or ducked under the ball, and then immediately went out of his way.
These days you don’t get out of your crease at either end until it’s a dead ball, or until the ball comes into play when you back up.
It was a bit stupid of Jonny and they saw the opportunity and took it. Only thing was it was the last ball of the over and had the umpire called? If the umpire throws up, it becomes a dead ball.
But the fact that Carey threw it, from the moment it came into his gloves, meant it was completely within the rules. I’m not one to get into this whole spirit of the game.
Be turned on and don’t leave your fold – it’s a lesson.
I watch Indian cricketers, and those from Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and they always look at the umpire with square legs and ask him, ‘I’m leaving my crease now, is that okay?’
Leave it before time and they know they can run out.
Bairstow sauntered out of his crease, thinking the over was over, but the Australian keeper decided to roll the ball to the stumps to get the 33-year-old Englishman out.
JASON GILLESPIE: Spirit of cricket creates confusion! Apply the laws…
I like that the laws of the game were applied. I have never been okay with us having a ‘spirit of cricket’ philosophy that is interpreted differently from country to country.
For example, the next time you see an Indian player batting, watch what they do when the ball goes through the wicket-keeper – they always look back and to the square-legged umpire to get the nod to leave the crease.
My belief is that by playing within the rules, you are playing within the spirit of the game. Because we have so many opinions around the world about what this so-called ‘spirit of cricket’ entails, confusion arises when a controversial situation arises.
The laws were applied when Mitchell Starc ‘grassed’ a catch to give Ben Duckett a reprieve on Saturday and adhering to them will keep confusion to a minimum.
Bairstow looked shocked at what had happened after the incident took place on Sunday
DAVID ‘BUMBLE’ LLOYD: If you ask the pros, he’s out!
If you ask the pros, Jonny Bairstow is out. It’s that simple.
Alex Carey was alert to it. He had seen him come out of his fold before and Bairstow has only himself to thank for that.
According to the letter of the law, he’s out.
But if I had been in the Australian camp I would have given it some serious thought and called him back.
I was surprised that Pat Cummins and Australia didn’t think, ‘We’ll get you out of here.’
They are a good enough cricket team and they should have. But this is the Ashes and a rivalry like no other.
It was never going to be all pally pally and chummy, not least after Saturday’s Mitchell Starc controversy!