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There was a massive controversy on Day 5 of the second Ashes 2023 Test at Lord’s on Sunday as Jonny Bairstow was stumped in bizarre fashion.
Batting on 10 in the first session of play, the England cricketer casually walked out of his crease after leaving a delivery from Cameron Green. The ball, however, wasn’t ‘dead’ at that point. Aussie keeper Alex Carey threw down the stumps and caught Bairstow out of his crease.
Since Australia refused to withdraw the appeal, the decision was referred upstairs. The England keeper-batter was clearly out of his crease and was declared out by the third umpire. There has been plenty of debate over the dismissal over the last few hours.
England’s camp, including skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, invoked the spirit of cricket to question Australia’s tactic. Aussie skipper Pat Cummins, on the other hand, backed Carey, stating that he stuck to the rules of the game.
A number of current and former cricketers have also chipped in on the debate.
Here are five prominent expert reactions to Bairstow's dismissal in the Lord's Test.
#1 “We must applaud the game smarts of the individual” - Ravichandran Ashwin backs Carey
Ravichandran Ashwin, who is a bona fine basher of the spirit of cricket, backed Carey and praised him for showing great awareness in effecting the dismissal.
Sharing his views on social media, he wrote:
“The keeper would never have a dip at the stumps from that far out in a Test match unless he or his team have noticed a pattern of the batter leaving his crease after leaving a ball like Bairstow did."
Ashwin added:
"We must applaud the game smarts of the individual rather than skewing it towards unfair play or spirit of the game."
Ashwin himself ran out Jos Buttler for backing up too far during IPL 2019, a dismissal which also sparked a massive debate.
#2 “It was a dozy bit of cricket from Bairstow” - Michael Atherton
According to former England captain Michael Atherton, the spirit of cricket debate has nothing to do with Bairstow’s dismissal and was just a lazy piece of cricket by the batter.
In his column for The Times, Atherton wrote:
"Cummins said the dismissal was a fair one and at no stage thought of revoking the appeal and calling back Bairstow. There was certainly no requirement for him to do so. The Spirit of Cricket does not come into it. It was a dozy bit of cricket from Bairstow to allow Carey the opportunity and reflected much of the flabby cricket played by England in this match.”
Intriguingly, a video has emerged on social media in which Bairstow, while keeping wickets during the Test, is seen throwing the ball at the stumps in Carey fashion. However, the batter Marnus Labuschagne was well inside his crease.
#3 “Not Out” - Brad Hogg makes his view pretty clear
Former Australian left-arm wrist-spinner Brad Hogg made his views on the debate pretty clear. According to him, the dismissal went against the spirit of the game.
Taking to Twitter, the 52-year-old wrote:
"Bairstow wicket, Not Out. Spirit of cricket pushed to the boundary. Not attempting a run, end of over, scratched crease then walked for the regulation BS chat between overs between batsman."
In the context of the Test, Bairstow’s wicket was a huge one as they slipped to 193/6 in their chase of 371.
#4 “A batter shouldn’t be roaming outside his crease” - Butt blames carelessness for Bairstow’s dismissal
According to former Pakistan captain Salman Butt, Bairstow has no one but himself to blame for the dismissal. Butt opined that the England batter had no business roaming outside his crease.
While discussing the contentious dismissal, he said on his YouTube channel:
"According to the rules, it was the right decision. You must inform the wicketkeeper before leaving the crease. A batter shouldn't be roaming outside the crease after being beaten by the ball. You have to inform the keeper or the leg umpire.”
Butt elaborated:
“There are debates about sportsman spirit after such incidents. But if you've left your crease in a situation where such a rivalry is involved, then I'm sure that this is careless. You have to be professional. It doesn't matter what the crowd said, the point is Australia lead the series 2-0."
Stokes went on a rampage after Bairstow’s exit and ended up smashing 155. However, England were all-out for 327, going down 43 runs.
#5 “It's complete naivety” - Eoin Morgan backs Carey over Bairstow
Another former England captain Eoin Morgan rubbished the spirit of cricket debate over Bairstow’s dismissal. Morgan commented that it was a clear case of Carey being alert and the batter being naïve.
Morgan told Sky Sports:
“There was a huge sense of frustration (in the crowd) but I can’t understand why? It's complete naivety around Bairstow’s dismissal. The ball is not dead at any stage when Bairstow leaves his crease. He was obviously in his own little bubble – and you cannot do that.
He continued:
“It’s actually really smart from Carey, recognizing what is going on - Bairstow living in his own little world - and seeing an opportunity to take a wicket."
According to law 20.1.2 of the MCC's Laws of Cricket, "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."
