Australia beat England by 43 runs in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s and now lead 2-0 in the five-match series. However, the final day’s action at Lord’s was anything but pleasant. There were some incidents that overshadowed the game and the result. Attention shifted to the debate surrounding the concept of the “spirit of cricket”, particularly sparked by the dismissal of Jonny Bairstow by Alex Carey during the second innings. When Bairstow was on 10, Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey stumped him out. Although the dismissal was within the rules, the England players and crowd turned against the Australian team as they felt it lacked sportsmanship.
England captain Ben Stokes, speaking after the match, clearly said that he would never want to win a Test match like this. He suggested that he should have withdrawn the run-out appeal.
England team coach Brendon McCullum also made similar statements and even said that he would soon refrain from sharing drinks with the Australian team.
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While the incident remains a topic of discussion among England cricket fans and social media, one of the best umpires to ever grace the cricket field, Simon Taufel, has taken up the matter. Taufel believes that the third umpire’s decision to give Bairstow out was absolutely correct, although it was not in favor of England. Taufel has also argued that this decision changed the course of the entire match.
Taufel was speaking in an interview with ABC Sydney Mornings, where he said that even though England disagreed with the decision, it was the right one. He pointed out that for the ball to be considered dead after an over or a delivery, both teams have to ignore its active position. However, in this case the fielding team did not do so.
“The right decision has been taken. They (England) didn’t like it. For that ball to be considered dead after an over or even after a delivery, both sides need not pay attention to it being in play. Clearly, the fielding side didn’t do that,” Taufel said.
There have been several repetitions of the event and Taufel’s assessment appears to be accurate. Bairstow, after surviving a short ball from Cameron Green, casually walked outside the crease while the ball was still in play. Showing great sportsmanship, Alex Carey quickly took possession of the ball and smashed it down the stumps. Bairstow, believing the ball to be dead, was stunned and had to run towards the pavilion while the crowd jeered and jeered the Australian team.