“Can’t imagine we'll be having a beer with them any time soon” - Brendon McCullum’s cheeky reaction to Jonny Bairstow stumping

England coach Brendon McCullum had a cheeky response when asked if the Jonny Bairstow stumping controversy would affect relations between the hosts and Australia. He replied that he doesn’t see members from the England camp having a beer with Australians any time soon.

A massive controversy erupted on Day 5 of the Ashes 2023 Test after Bairstow was literally ‘stumped’ by Aussie wicket-keeper batter Alex Carey. Batting on 10, Bairstow left a ball from pacer Cameron Green and almost instantly wandered out of his crease. Seeing this, Carey threw down the stumps. Since the ball was deemed ‘not dead’, Bairstow was given out by the third umpire.

Sharing his thoughts on the bizarre dismissal, McCullum was quoted as saying by BBC:

“I can't imagine we'll be having a beer with them any time soon. We have three Tests to land some blows and try to win the Ashes. That is where our focus will be."

He added:

“When you become older and more mature, you realise the game and the spirit of it is something you need to protect. You have to make decisions in the moment, and they can have effects on games and people’s characters.

McCullum continued:

"By the letter of the law, he is out. Jonny was not trying to take a run. It is one of those difficult ones to swallow and you look at the small margins, it is incredibly disappointing. But lots of people will have their opinion on both sides of the fence. The most disappointing thing is that it will be the most talked about event of a great Test match."

McCullum further opined that Bairstow believed the umpires had "effectively called over", which, according to him, would mean the ball was dead.

As per the laws of the game, the ball is 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".

Earlier, England captain Ben Stokes also admitted that he would have withdrawn the appeal if he was the skipper in case a similar incident occurred. Conceding that Bairstow was out, he added that he wouldn’t want to win a game in that manner.

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Pat Cummins back Alex Carey over Bairstow's stumping

On the other hand, Australian skipper Pat Cummins threw his weight behind Carey and stated that what happened was fair and well within the rules.

He opined:

"That is the rules. That is how I saw it."

The Australia captain went on to add that Carey had seen Bairstow leave his crease earlier in the over as well.

He commented:

"I think Carey saw it a few balls previous, there was no pause, he catches it and throws it straight at the stumps. Some people might disagree but just like the catch yesterday, the rule is there.”

Cummins, however, asserted that there was no bad blood as far as Australia are concerned.

He stated:

"Not from our team, you might have to ask them. It was a wonderful contest. It's been a great Ashes series so far."

Chasing 371, England were bowled out for 327 on Day 5 despite Ben Stokes’ superb 155.