‘It’s Australia affected, not me’: Jonny Bairstow responds to Amazon documentary and that run-out incident during last year’s Ashes

Ahead of Australia’s vital T20 World Cup clash against England, Jonny Bairstow has spoken about that run-out at Lord’s. He says he does not need to see Amazon’s new Test documentary as he knows who knows who the incident affected more.

Jonny Bairstow says he will stick to Netflix rather than seeking out the new Test documentary – adamant it is Australia who were adversely affected by ‘stumping-gate’ at Lord’s, not him.

The England star is a comedic focus of the recently released series on Prime Video, when Australian players recall an anecdote of a seething Bairstow entering the Lord’s dining room, and them choking on their soup with laughter at the ‘pin-drop’ tension over lunch.

Bairstow insists he hasn’t seen the documentary and isn’t bothered by any of the fallout around it, nor has he felt the urge to discuss his contentious stumping by Alex Carey with Australian players in the nearly 12 months post that dramatic day at Lord’s, ahead of another Ashes rematch in Sunday morning’s World Cup group game in Barbados.

As far as Bairstow is concerned, England have not looked back and he queries whether it is Australia who must ask themselves whether they have any hang ups over what happened and what has been said since.

Bairstow says England has not looked back since the infamous incident at Lord’s last year. Picture: Stu Forster/Getty Images

“I’ve not seen any of it to be quite honest with you. I’ve got other things that I watch on TV and what have you,” Bairstow said on Friday from Kensington Oval.

“I think I’ve seen enough cricket when you’re involved in it day to day and playing in it, I’m OK. I don’t need to sit and watch it in my hotel room.

“I think, post that event, the way in which us as a side reacted to that I think was a real positive way and you look at the results after that thing that happened at Lord’s, and I actually think that we finished that series a lot stronger than Australia did.

“Look, I think the impact it had on us as a side and the Test side was a very positive effect. And you can make your own assumptions as to what effect it had on Australia and their individuals.”

Australia hung on to win the Lord’s Test and go 2-0 up despite Ben Stokes’ ferocious counter-attack after Bairstow was dismissed, but England bounced back to claim the third Test at Leeds and then dominated the last two Tests to draw the series.

Adding an extra dimension to the T20 face-off starting on Sunday morning (AEST) is the fact that Australia can really twist the screws on England’s hopes of making it through to the Super 8s stage of the tournament if they can secure a win in Barbados.

Bairstow’s focus is now on England’s T20 World Cup match against Australia. Picture: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

England’s washed-out game against Scotland and Scotland’s subsequent defeat of Namibia means England will find themselves in a qualification shootout over net run-rate with the Bravehearts if they fail to beat Australia.

Bairstow said England aren’t panicking.

“It doesn’t derail us either way. We know we’ve got to win more games than we lose in tournament cricket, that’s just part and parcel of it,” Bairstow said.

“A win puts you in a position in the group which is obviously more favourable and that’s just the way it is. But at the end of the day the other two games that we’ve got post this are must-win games anyway.

“(Beating Australia will) be good for momentum. It’ll be good for confidence. But at the same time if that doesn’t happen it’s not going to derail the group.”

In their reflections on the stumping, Australian players have repeatedly emphasised that they had observed Bairstow wandering out of his crease repeatedly at Lord’s and Usman Khawaja claimed that England – and Bairstow himself – had attempted to catch Australian players out of their crease in much the same way previously in the match and the series.

Khawaja claims Bairstow tried to do the same thing as Carey previous to the infamous incident at Lord’s. Picture: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

The fly-on-the-wall camera in the Lord’s dressing room vividly captures the reactions of Australian players returning after the chaotic scenes out in the middle and in the Long Room where players were abused by MCC members.

Marnus Labuschagne is also captured returning from lunch and jovially retelling the events in the lunch room where a flustered Bairstow had asked Australian players if they were “happy” with what had transpired, only for David Warner to retort “very.”

Mitchell Marsh said he struggled to stifle his laughter at the scene playing out before him.

Bairstow says the outside noise that surrounds Australia and England battles never infiltrates his mind and is expecting another Ashes classic to play out on neutral territory in Barbados.

“They’re great games, aren’t they? Always great spectacles,” Bairstow said.

“Guys that have played against each other for a long time now, which in many ways is really exciting.

“You know each other’s games whether it be playing against each other in the IPL or other games around the world.

“It’s something that the 22 guys will be going out there knowing quite a bit about the opposition and hopefully it’ll be a fantastic atmosphere as it always is in Barbados and the best side will come out on top.”