“That’s definitely not me” – Ben Stokes takes cheeky dig at the Australian newspaper for mocking him ahead of third Ashes Test

England captain Ben Stokes has taken a dig at an Australian newspaper for mocking him for his comments on Jonny Bairstow’s controversial dismissal on the final day of the second Ashes Test on Sunday, July 2.

‘The West Australian’ published a picture of Stokes (as a baby with a milk bottle’s nipple on his mouth) on its front page with the tagline – ‘Crybabies’.

Stokes quote-tweeted the post and replied:

“That’s definitely not me, since when did I bowl with the new ball.”

The development comes after Stokes criticized Bairstow’s mode of dismissal. Watch the controversial dismissal below:

The 32-year-old told the BBC Test Match Special that they would have withdrawn the appeal, if they were the fielding team.

"When is it justified that the umpires have called over? Is the on-field umpires making movement, is that signifying over? I'm not sure. Jonny was in his crease then out of his crease. I am not disputing the fact it is out because it is out."

He continued:

"If the shoe was on the other foot, I would have put more pressure on the umpires and asked whether they had called over and had a deep think about the whole spirit of the game and would I want to do something like that. For Australia, it was the match-winning moment. Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no."

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“Totally fair play” – Pat Cummins justifies Alex Carey for Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal in 2nd Ashes Test

Australian captain Pat Cummins, on the other hand, backed Alex Carey for Bairstow’s dismissal in the second Ashes Test. The 30-year-old told Sky Sports:

"I think Carey saw it happen a few balls previously, three or four balls previously, and there's no pause, catch it, straightaway and throw at the stumps."

Cummins added:

"I thought it was totally fair play. That's how the rule is. Some people might disagree. That's how I saw it."

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What do the rules say?

Law 20.1.2 of ICC's playing conditions for the WTC 2023-25 cycle:

“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.”

Australia are currently leading Ashes 2-0. The third Test will be played at Headingley in Leeds from Thursday, July 6.

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Squads for 3rd Ashes Test

England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (captain), Steve Smith (vice-captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson (wk), Mitchell Starc, David Warner