Anthony Albanese, Rishi Sunak trade friendly Ashes barbs

Anthony Albanese and Rishi Sunak agree on many things but not the Ashes, swapping light-hearted sledges on the sidelines of NATO overnight.

Diplomacy briefly took a back seat, as Anthony Albanese and his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak traded barbs in a lighthearted meeting on the NATO sidelines.

With England currently trailing behind Australia in the Ashes, cricket was the flavour of sledging as Mr Albanese presented Mr Sunak with a piece of paper with “2 -1 (Aus - England)” – the status of the Ashes series – as they posed for photos.

In response, Mr Sunak brought out a photo of English batsmen Mark Woods and Chris Woakes celebrating, after England won the third Test on Sunday, keeping the team’s hopes of a series win alive.

Pulling one last trick out of his sleeve, Mr Albanese held up a photo of England wicket keeper Jonny Bairstow – who was controversially stumped during the second Test at Lords – telling Mr Sunak: “I was going to be really provocative”.

Mr Albanese took the dig one step further, pretending to mark out a crease with his foot on the floor.

Mr Sunak shot back: “I’m sorry I didn’t bring my sandpaper with me”, in a reference to the ball tampering scandal of 2018.

The pair laughed as they shook hands while posing for photos.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Anthony Albanese share a laugh over the current Ashes cricket series. Picture: Twitter

Mr Albanese said he ‘was going to be provocative’. Picture: Twitter

Just last week, both world leaders intervened over Australia’s contested win at Lords.

Mr Sunak had earlier suggested the stumping of Bairstow by Australia’s wicketkeeper Alex Carey was not within the “spirit of the game”, because it occurred while Bairstow believed there to be a break between overs.

Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said at the time: “The PM agrees with (captain) Ben Stokes who said he simply wouldn’t want to win a game in the manner Australia did”.

In response, Mr Albanese warned Mr Sunak to “stay in your crease”

Cricket aside, Mr Albanese and Mr Sunak used the meeting on the NATO sidelines in Lithuania to discuss progress with AUKUS, technology transfer and economic challenges, as well as the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement now in place.

Mr Albanese with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and his wife Diana Nausediene ahead of a social dinner during the NATO Summit. Picture: Paul Ellis – Pool/Getty Images

Mr Albanese shook hands with French President Emmanuel Macron. Picture: Ludovic MARIN / AFP

Overnight, Mr Albanese also met the Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, a delegation of US senators and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stolenberg.

In his meeting with Mr Costa, the two leaders talked about what was needed to wrap up negotiations on the Australia- EU FTA, which is currently being stalled because of a battle over naming rights.

With Mr Stolenberg, Mr Albanese used his face-to-face time to commend NATO’s efforts to strengthen connections with the Indo-Pacific.

NATO’s intention to open an outpost in japan has been met with backlash by French President Emmanuel Macron and former Australian prime minister Paul Keating.