Pat Cummins has hit back after England captain Ben Stokes said he ‘wouldn’t like to win that way’ after Australia refused to recall Jonny Bairstow when the wicketkeeper was controversially stunned by Alex Carey at Lord’s on Sunday.
The tourists took a 2-0 lead in the Ashes on a day when the MCC was forced to apologize after Australian players were insulted by members in Lord’s Long Room over the incident.
Stokes had a stunning century and threatened to score an astonishing English victory in front of a feverish Lord’s crowd, but he was dismissed for 155 with England still 70 adrift of their target. The tourists went on to secure a 43-point victory.
“I’m not disputing it’s out because it’s out,” Stokes said of Bairstow’s dismissal, which came when he went off his feet after dodging a pitch from Cameron Green, prompting Carey to put the ball in with his arm. get the stumps.
“If the boot was on the other foot I would have put more pressure on the umpires and asked if they had called and thought deeply about the whole spirit of the game and if I would like to do something like that.
This was the winning moment for Australia. Would I want to win a match that way? The answer is no,” Stokes added.
England captain Ben Stokes (left) was unhappy with Australia turning off Jonny Bairstow, but Pat Cummins said it was nothing the home side haven’t also tried to do
Jonny Bairstow (centre) was controversially stunned by Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey
Cummins, on the other hand, was unashamed and adamant that Australia had made the right choice when asked if he considered the spirit of cricket.
‘I thought it was fair. You see Jonny doing it all the time. He did it for (David) Warner on day one. He did it in 2019 with Steve (Smith). It’s very common for goalkeepers to do when they see a batsman keep leaving their goal,” said the Australia captain.
‘Caz (Carey) – all credit to him. He saw his chance clean a few balls in advance and rolled on the stumps. Jonny left his crease and we’ll leave the rest to the umpires,” Cummins added.
‘We’ve all played a lot of cricket. The spirit of cricket is very important.
“The way we’ve handled it over the past few years is fantastic. As a group we can be very proud.’
Stokes insisted Australia were not taking the ‘spirit of the game’ into account by taking the wicket
Unfortunately for the Poms, the normally parochial commentary box was completely and objectively unified in the honesty and spirit of the controversial moment, with a slew of ex-England skippers giving in.
Eoin Morgan, explaining that he had been playing at Lord’s since he was 16 and had never seen scenes in the Long Room like the one on the final day, said he couldn’t understand why his former squad found it hard to get done.
“I don’t see it affecting the spirit of the game,” he told Sky Sports.
“There was a huge sense of frustration [in the crowd] but I don’t understand why? It’s sheer naivety surrounding Bairstow’s firing.
At no point is the ball dead when Bairstow leaves his goal. He was clearly in his own little bubble – and you can’t do that.
“It’s actually very smart of Carey to recognize what’s going on – Bairstow lives in his own little world – and see an opportunity to take a wicket.”
Agony and ecstasy: A merry Pat Cummins (right) celebrates Bairstow’s wicket
Ex-England skipper Eoin Morgan said he didn’t believe the Aussies weren’t playing in the spirit of the game, and supported the call
Mike Atherton wholeheartedly agrees: ‘England have nothing to complain about, it was a weak piece of cricket from Jonny Bairstow.’
Dozy began to become a common word when describing the incident, with Andrew Strauss refusing to comment on the one-eyed fans’ claims.
“Frankly I think there was absolutely nothing wrong with it, but of course the crowd will see it through English patriotic eyes,” he said.
“Bairstow was drowsy going out of his way. I was quite comfortable with what Australia was doing.’
Of course there was no doubt in which camp Aussie legend Ricky Ponting was in, with the typically candid commentator as blunt as ever.
“The more clarity we get that it’s going like crap and not running out in the scorebook, that’s enough said,” he said on the Sky Sports broadcast.
“Jonny did the wrong thing and he paid by losing his wicket in an Ashes Test, simple as that.”