Rishi Sunak has accused Australia of breaking the spirit of cricket over the controversial dismissal of England’s Jonny Bairstow on Sunday. Batsman Bairstow was stumped in the second Ashes Test after walking away from his position in the apparent belief the over had ended. The contentious wicket has overshadowed Australia’s 43-run win against the hosts at Lord’s. Australia captain Pat Cummins said it was a fair dismissal within the rules. But his England counterpart Ben Stokes said although he agreed Bairstow was out, he would not have wanted to win a game “in that manner”.
The incident led to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which owns Lord’s, suspending three members over confrontations with Australia players. Believing the ball to be dead and the over to have concluded, Bairstow left his ground as wicketkeeper Alex Carey threw at the stumps and was given out. England coach Brendon McCullum said Bairstow believed the umpires had declared the over finished, which would mean the ball was dead. The dismissal was referred to the off-field third umpire, however, who decided it was still in play and Bairstow was indeed out. Asked on Monday whether Mr Sunak believed Australia’s actions were not in keeping with the spirit of cricket, his spokesman said: “Yes”.
“The prime minister agrees with Ben Stokes. He said he simply wouldn’t want to win a game in the manner Australia did,” the spokesman added. Despite Mr Sunak’s verbal shot at Australia’s cricketers, the Bairstow controversy is unlikely to spark a diplomatic incident between the UK and Australia. When Mr Sunak met Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Downing Street this May, the pair said they looked forward to a summer of strong sporting rivalry between two nations.
Responding to Mr Sunak’s intervention, the Australian high commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith, told the BBC that every cricket follower will have formed a view about what happened Lord’s. “And those views will invariably be strongly held and firmly put,” he said. “The Ashes has always had such moments.” However his predecessor Alexander Downer took a more robust line, telling the Sun newspaper the incident had made England look like “bad losers”. “They lost and so they’re now screaming blue murder about it and it wasn’t fair. Boo hoo,” he added.
Taking an opportunity
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald defended his team’s actions, saying he didn’t see “too many issues with it”. “There is no doubt that when a player is leaving their crease that you take that opportunity,” he added. Cricket’s laws say 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”.
Stokes said: “When is it justified that the umpires have called over? Is the on-field umpires making movement… is that enough to call over? I’m not sure. “I am not disputing the fact it is out because it is out,” he added. “Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no.”
The dismissal, which left England needing 178 runs with four wickets left, created a hostile atmosphere, with Australia’s team being booed by the traditionally subdued Lord’s crowd. It also led to angry exchanges in the Long Room, an area outside the team dressing rooms, between Australia players Usman Khawaja and David Warner and spectators. The MCC said it had suspended three of its members after the “completely unacceptable” scenes and apologised to the Australia team.
