Ashes cricket 2023: Angry Stuart Broad takes aim at Australia over Jonny Bairstow stumping
An irate Stuart Broad has thrown more petrol on the Ashes inferno by taking aim at Australia’s senior players for their behaviour in the wake of Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal.
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Angry Stuart Broad has thrown more petrol on the Ashes inferno by taking aim at Australia’s senior players for not questioning the dismissal of Jonny Bairstow.
In his column in the Daily Mail Broad said skipper Pat Cummins would regret his decision to claim the dismissal of Bairstow, stumped by Alex Carey after wandering out of his crease on the final day of the Lord’s Test.
“What amazed me, and what I told the Australians I could not believe as we left the field at lunch, was that not one senior player among them — and I very much understand in the emotion of the game that the bowler and wicketkeeper would have thought ‘that’s out’ — questioned what they had done,’’ Broad wrote.
“Especially given what their team has been through over recent years, with all their cultural change. Not one of them said: ‘Hang on, lads. I’m not really sure about this.’ Not one of them thought: ‘He’s gaining no advantage. He’s not trying to get a run. It’s the end of the over. It’s a bit of a random dismissal. We should cancel that appeal.’
“Ultimately, Pat Cummins is a really great guy and I would be amazed, once the emotion settles, if he does not sit back and think, ‘I got that one wrong’, even though his bottom line at the time was winning a Test match.
“The Lord’s crowd are obviously huge cricket lovers and never before have I seen a reaction from them like that. They were so angry.’’
Broad noted that several other examples have been used to portray England as hypocrites but claimed the difference with Bairstow was that he had no intention of gaining an advantage.
“I have seen a clip from earlier in the match when in his guise as wicketkeeper, Jonny himself threw the ball at the stumps. But that was because Marnus Labuschagne was batting outside of his crease — in doing so, attempting to take the lbw out of the game. In other words, seeking an advantage.
“Clips of Colin de Grandhomme being run out in the Lord’s Test last year have done the rounds, too, and that is just the most ludicrous comparison ever, because he got hit on the pad coming down the pitch, was searching for a run and Ollie Pope threw down the stumps from gully. Again, trying to take an advantage.
“With regards to the Jonny incident, zero advantage was being taken there: he let the ball go, scratched his mark within the crease, and acknowledging it as the end of the over, went to speak to Ben Stokes.
“And if you look at the footage of when the stumps were broken, one umpire has got the bowler’s cap in his hand, the other is head down, walking in from square leg — actions that suggest they too thought the over had finished.’’
BRITISH PM SUNAK JOINS AUSSIE ASHES PILE ON
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has accused Australia’s stumping of Jonny Bairstow in the Ashes Test at Lord’s as “not in the spirit” of the game but says he won’t take up the friendly rivalry debate with his Aussie counterpart Anthony Albanese.
Fans and players were furious on Sunday after Bairstow was stumped by wicketkeeper Alex Carey while wandering out of his crease believing that the over was complete and that the ball was therefore dead.
The Australia team had an opportunity to withdraw their appeal but did not and Bairstow was given out by the third umpire.
While England captain Ben Stokes hailed the stumping as “the match-winning moment” but later said “Would I want to potentially win a game with something like that happening? It would be no,” Sunak’s spokesman said the British PM was in agreement.
“The Prime Minister agrees with Ben Stokes. He said he simply wouldn’t want to win a game in the manner Australia did,” Mr Sunak’s spokesman said.
“The game did provide an opportunity to see Ben Stokes at his best, and it was an incredible Test Match, and he has confidence England will bounce back at Headingley,” he said.
I’m proud of our men’s and women’s cricket teams, who have both won their opening two #Ashes matches against England.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) July 3, 2023
Same old Aussies – always winning!
Australia is right behind @ahealy77, @patcummins30 and their teams and look forward to welcoming them home victorious ðŸ‘
Asked if Mr Sunak agreed the Australian team’s actions around the Bairstow stumping were “Not in the spirit of cricket,” the spokesman added: “Yep.”
He elaborated that it was unlikely he would take up the matter with Anthony Albanese, and insisted that despite a “friendly rivalry” the British public “would want the Prime Minister to focus on the core issues of the UK-Australia relationship”.
Originally published as Ashes cricket 2023: Angry Stuart Broad takes aim at Australia over Jonny Bairstow stumping
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