Jonny Bairstow hypocrisy exposed by 2014 interview over his own cheeky stumping act

England’s pious complaints about the ‘spirit of cricket’ are falling apart at the seams, with wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow the latest to be outed. Watch his cheeky stumping here.

Wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow of England. Picture: Stu Forster/Getty Images

• Exposed: Cricket’s nasty underbelly

This England Ashes team is clearly too old – they’ve lost their memories.

As evidence continues to mount against England’s pathetic “spirit of cricket” complaints about the Jonny Bairstow stumping from the second Test, comes another exhibit of their hypocrisy courtesy of a 2014 interview.

In the interview Bairstow is quizzed post-match about a cheeky stumping when playing for Yorkshire, as he held the ball just behind the stumps after a delivery and waited for the batsman to ever so slightly lift back his foot from behind the crease before whipping off the bails.

Not only did the wicketkeeper take great delight in the wicket, he admitted he copied the practice from English gloveman Matt Prior who ... wait for it ... did the exact same act at Lord’s – the home of cricket.

So while the MCC members shouted abuse and booed the Australian cricket team for their stumping off Bairstow last Sunday, the fact remains they’re only crying in their warm beers because finally someone had the nerve to do to them what they’ve been getting away with for a decade.

Well, well, well 🧐

“It’s within the rules of the game and that’s how it is!” - Bairstow 2014#Bairstow#Ashes23

Thanks for the heads up @YallopDiana 👏 pic.twitter.com/aNX1KeZIkW

— Andy Lee (@andytomlee) July 4, 2023

“It was just one of those, I saw him lift his foot, I took the bails, it’s a matter of timing and it’s one of those that kind of went for us,” Bairstow said in the Sky Sports interview in 2014.

“Well I first saw Matt Prior do it against South Africa down at Lord’s and it’s just the luck of the draw, you can’t really practice it and I’m delighted to have got that one.

“It’s just one of those things that’s within the rules of the game and that is how it is.”

Travis Head makes a point to England’s Jonny Bairstow. Picture: Ian Kington / AFP

As the England team continue to stand on their high horse, claiming they’d never seek to win a game of cricket by taking a wicket such as Alex Carey’s stumping on day five at Lord’s, the reality and evidence is much different.

The only difference is Carey had the nous to immediately throw the ball at the stumps off a pace bowler, which is exactly what Bairstow tried to do to Marnus Labuschagne two days earlier.

The only difference was Carey was successful, and now that Australia is 2-0 up in the Ashes England is crying about the issue to deflect from the twin failures of Bazball.

But, unfortunately for this ageing and hypocritical English cricket team and their band of churlish supporters, the internet never forgets.

Originally published as Jonny Bairstow hypocrisy exposed by 2014 interview over his own cheeky stumping act