 |
| File |
Australia secured a 43-run victory over England in the second Ashes Test at Lord's, propelling them to a commanding 2-0 lead in the five-match series. However, the match was not without controversy as an incident involving England's wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow sparked drama at the iconic venue.
Bairstow, having scored just 10 runs, ducked under a bouncer from Australia's Cameron Green but inadvertently walked out of his crease. Seizing the opportunity, Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey swiftly caught the delivery and executed a precise underarm throw towards the stumps.
Bairstow believed the ball was dead, but TV umpire Marais Erasmus confirmed his dismissal. As the Australian players erupted in celebration, the crowd began chanting 'same old Aussies, always cheating.'
England's Ben Stokes, who played a remarkable innings, scoring 155 runs, shared his perspective on the incident, indicating that if a similar situation occurred in Australia, he would have withdrawn the dismissal.
"My thoughts on this are, when does the umpire calling 'over' justify it? Does the square leg umpire's movement validate it? Jonny Bairstow was in his crease and then came out to have a chat in the middle. I'm not disputing that he was out; he was," Stokes expressed.
"If the situation were reversed, I would have had to consider the spirit of the game. However, it happened, and it was out. We need to move forward. Do I want to win in that manner? No," he added.
Renowned Indian bowler Ravichandran Ashwin, often involved in controversial dismissals, commended Australia's Alex Carey for his game awareness.
"We need to acknowledge one fact. The keeper would not attempt to run out a batsman from that distance in a test match unless he or his team had noticed a pattern of the batsman leaving his crease, as Bairstow did. Rather than questioning fair play or the spirit of the game, we should applaud the individual's game intelligence," Ashwin tweeted.
In summary, Australia celebrated their victory in the second Ashes Test, but the match was overshadowed by the run-out controversy involving Jonny Bairstow. The decision stood, and England's Ben Stokes questioned the timing of the umpire's call. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin praised the alertness of Australia's Alex Carey in seizing the opportunity.
© https://www.cricketkeedaa.com/
