Ashes cricket: Australia has asked for more security for families following ugly scenes at Lord’s
The Australians demand extra security for families after fans left one staff member’s 11-year-old son in tears and forced one player’s mother to leave Lord’s.
The Australian cricket side has requested extra security be provided for families after abusive fans left one staff member’s 11-year-old son in tears and forced one player’s mother to leave the Lord’s Ashes Test on the fifth day.
Families were in town en masse for the clash at London’s most revered cricket ground and the presence of so many prams had been the subject of jokes at the Australia House function before the Test.
After the game, wives, partners, parents and children gathered on the ground with the players in front of the members pavilion where earlier the team had been jostled and abused.
The Australian learned that Steve Smith’s mother left early to escape taunting fans who did not know her connection to him but who recognised her nationality.
The son of one of the staffers was reduced to tears after coming under similar attack and was seen up on the balcony later, surrounded by members of the team.
Alex Carey was told during the game his actions in the second Test would haunt him for the rest of his life but his teammates are so proud of the mild-mannered wicketkeeper they have made him custodian of the team song.
Should Australia win the third Test later this week and claim an away Ashes win for the first time since 2001, celebrations will be led by the father of two now at the centre of the biggest scandal to hit the series since Bodyline.
The Australian team may be the most hated group in England at the moment, but is going about its business content to be 2-0 up in the Ashes and comfortable with how it got there. The players trained, ate at their usual local cafe, shopped with families and went about their business with no extra security and no regrets despite the hosts’ ongoing hysteria.
Stuart Broad told Carey he would always be remembered for what he did, sentiments echoed amid the ugly scenes when Australian players were jostled by Lord’s members. Broad later conceded he may have gone too far.
With Nathan Lyon injured and on his way home, Carey – having a brilliant series behind the stumps and with the bat – will lead the traditional “Under the Southern Cross I Stand” celebration. Lyon said last week custodianship of the song was “level pegging” with the captaincy.
It is an honour passed down through the years among greats such Rod Marsh, Allan Border, David Boon, Ian Healy, Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Mike Hussey and more recently Lyon.
England coach Brendon McCullum, who has already indicated he is unlikely to have a post-Ashes drink with the opposition, doubled down on condemnation of Pat Cummins, Carey and co.
The New Zealander, once well liked by Australian players, says he will use the incident to fire up the struggling English side.
“There are times as a coach when you’ve got to reduce emotion because it’s going to bubble over and you make poor decisions, there’s times when you allow emotion to go ahead because it’s going to galvanise the unit,” he said. “If that helps us to win those key moments in the next Test, then I’m all for it.”
Controversial former England great Geoffrey Boycott added to the bleating, offering the Australians advice on how to be more likeable. “Australia need to have a think about what they did and make a full public apology,” he said. “That way it will redress the situation and everyone can move on. These teams have played brilliant cricket in great spirit and it is a shame when something like that happens to spoil it all.
“Australia have now had time to think about what happened. We all make mistakes in the heat of the moment. People will think better of the Australians if they put their hands up and say ‘we got it wrong’. Let’s see … if they are man enough to do that.”
The Australians received support from Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird, who said: “The Ashes is one of the world’s most iconic sporting contests and when the stakes are so high the matches will always be hard fought. We certainly saw that on days four and five at Lord’s, just as we have seen in almost every series.
“We continue to be very proud of Pat and the Australian team. Both sides have been playing some incredible cricket and this is shaping as one of the all-time great series.”
More evidence of England’s hypocrisy on the issue arises every day with footage of Bairstow attempting to dismiss Australians the same way in this series, and opponents in the past.
Australian batsman Travis Head revealed on a podcast the English wicketkeeper was happy to stump him in a similar manner.
“I sort of reminded Jonny last week I walked out of my crease at the end of an over,” Head told the Willow Talk podcast. “I quickly whipped my bat back and questioned … whether he would take the stumps, and he said, ‘Bloody oath, I would’, and ran off.”
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