Joe Root concedes the controversial Bairstow dismissal was ‘in the laws of the game’
ECB unveil new documentary series following Cricket Australia’s ‘The Test,’ and dig into THAT now infamous controversial dismissal of Jonny Bairstow.
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“Jonny will hate me saying this, but stay in your crease and you can’t get given out, can you?”
Former captain Joe Root has released England’s hold on the moral high ground in the saga that erupted after Jonny Bairstow’s infamous dismissal at Lord’s.
Branded as a ‘reply’ to Cricket Australia’s ‘The Test’, the ECB has unveiled a new documentary series that takes viewers behind the scenes of last year’s dramatic Ashes series.
In a three-part documentary, the ECB dive into the controversial moments from the remarkable Ashes series through the perspective of captain Ben Stokes and his men.
Root, Bairstow, Stokes and Stuart Broad are among the England players who feature throughout the series, breaking down the heartbreak at Edgbaston, the tension at Lord’s, victory at Headingley, frustration at Old Trafford and thrilling finale at The Oval.
The bitter fallout of Bairstow’s stumping at Lord’s, which turned Australian keeper Alex Carey into a villain in England, and controversy surrounding debate over the ‘spirit of the game’ feature prominently in episode two of the series.
Root sympathised with the Aussies’ decision to dismiss Bairstow, despite his initial reaction.
“Initially I was quite angry but I think when you’re involved in the game it’s very difficult to put yourself in the other position … at the end of the day it’s in the laws of the game. You should be aware as a player.” Root said.
Broad highlighted how the incident “ignited the series”.
“This is what we wanted - the fans are properly with us here,” Broad said.
“Not sure this is a great look for an Australian team which has tried their hardest to change their look of themselves”.
Stokes, who was stranded at the non-striker’s end, was confused with the whole situation.
“It was just one of those moments where it was like what’s going on here?,” he said.
“I questioned the umpires whether they called over because when that happens the ball is dead. What are you going to do? You can’t change what happens.”
Ben Duckett, Moeen Ali and Bairstow all had a one-eyed view, questioning the Australian team’s decision making.
“It’s obviously a decision they [Australia] made which they wanted to go through with and that’s totally on them… I don't think ‘Stokesy’ would’ve let the dismissal actually happen.” Duckett said.
Moeen conceded “obviously the law is that it’s out”.
“But I honestly thought it was a great opportunity for Australia to say no… it was a missed opportunity,” he added.
Bairstow played a flat bat.
“Look, who knows whether it was right or wrong or anything in between. We are out there representing ourselves and as long as you can go home and be alright with yourself then so be it.” Bairstow said.
Lunch break on day five featured the ugly and unfamiliar scenes of booing and abuse from MCC members towards the Australian team.
“The roar when Stokes walked into that Long Room was spine tingling, but by the time we turned left to our change rooms, the boo overwhelmed it, enough for me to stop to Stokesy and say ‘do you hear that’,” Broad said.
Stokes nearly single-handingly replicated his Headingley heroics from 2019 with a ruthless knock of 155, an innings containing nine sixes – the most in an Ashes innings.
“He gets into this zone and he’s so focused on what he’s trying to do,” Root said.
“It’s almost superhuman - it’s like something takes a hold of him, like he just doesn’t miss. It was a remarkable show of hitting on such a slow two-paced wicket.”
The series can be streamed on the ECB’s official website.
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