Pat Cummins says the attacks on his side will unite them as they move 2-0 up toward the third Test

The Australians confirmed they had observed Jonny Bair­stow wandering from his crease and resolved to do to him what he had attempted to a number of their batters earlier in the game.

The Australians set off to Headingley 2-0 up in the Ashes, minus Nathan Lyon, anticipating Todd Murphy’s inclusion and united under fire from an enraged English cricket camp and its boosters.

Everybody is copping it but mild-mannered wicketkeeper Alex Carey finds himself at the centre of a storm after the legitimate stumping of Jonny Bairstow.

However, captain Pat Cummins believes the hysteria will be good for the player and the rest of the team.

One member brayed that it would haunt him forever as he walked through the upper classes’ hallowed enclosure.

Cummins seems rather bemused by it all.

“There’s nothing like loud crowds to bring a team together,” he said after Australia had won at Lord’s.

“For sure he is one of the guys we will get around, but these kind of moments really strengthen a side. I thought Kez (Carey) had another fantastic game, he has been fantastic.”

Steve Smith, who endures ugly abuse wherever he goes in England, told Cummins that “it felt like a normal day in terms of what he cops”.

In the early exchanges of this Ashes series, the Australians looked a little unsettled by Eng-land’s tactics, but they have held their own and it is the home side now that appears to be questioning its approach.

All boasts about entertaining cricket went out the window as Ben Stokes set negative fields and ordered his bowlers to pitch everything short as the game slipped away.

Claims it is “only a game” and the result doesn’t matter didn’t ring as true as the England captain inferred that the Australians had breached the spirit of cricket in a manner he would not.

Coach Brendon McCullum then threatened to do what India had under Virat Kohli and refuse a traditional drink with the opposition when the contest is done.

Never mind, the Australians seemed to enjoy drinks with friends and family on the ground in front of the Members at the end of play and one staff member was later seen sporting an MCC tie on the balcony as celebrations really kicked off some hours later.

David Warner, who had been tripped by one of the members as he made his way to the dressing room, was sporting a cap from his St Andrew Beach Brewery and was particularly energetic in his celebrations.

Warner has defied the cynicism of those who said he could not bat in England and put in a number of good contributions at the top of the order, even if that first Ashes hundred remains elusive.

Australia has a quick turnaround and will replace Nathan Lyon with Todd Murphy.

Lyon has been ruled out of the series and his absence was felt on the last day at Lord’s, according to coach Andrew McDonald.

“As you saw (on Sunday), at certain times, we had to do it differently without Nathan Lyon down the other end, which we’ve been so used to,” he said. “At times it looked a little bit chaotic so we do like to have that spin option.

“There’s no doubt when a player is leaving their crease or leaving their ground at certain periods of time that you take that opportunity,” McDonald said. “I think Pat relayed that in the after-match that there was some conversation around Jonny leaving the crease and Alex Carey took that opportunity and the ball’s still live in our minds.”

The Australians confirmed later that they had observed Bair­stow wandering from his crease and resolved to do to him what he had attempted to a number of their batters earlier in the game.

“It’s with every player,” McDonald said. “It’s like when a player is running down the wicket to Nathan Lyon, does he take the opportunity to fire a ball down leg side because he’s leaving his crease?

“There’s no doubt about that. You see a run-out opportunity at point, you throw at the bowler’s end.

“So yeah, I think anytime that a player leaves their ground, you take that opportunity. I think the deliberation that potentially was being discussed out there was the fact that whether it was called over or not. I think that’s where sort of Ben [Stokes] was discussing with the players out on the field.

“But any of these events are always going to polarise opinion. We saw it on day four with the [Mitchell Starc] catch as well.

“Some people thought it was out, some people thought it was not out. So, these types of events are interpreted as part of the laws and sometimes not everyone agrees with it.”

Australia took the gamble by including Starc in this match but will have to see how its seamers pull up before deciding on the make-up for Headingley.

Cummins has played all three games but is unlikely to be replaced unless injured, Josh Hazlewood had a good break between the first and second Tests so should be ready for a third, and Starc played the World Test Championship but missed the first Test.