NEWS
Follow UsDespite a stunning hundred from Ben Stokes, England lost the second Ashes Test at Lord’s against Australia by 43 runs, with the visitors going up 2-0 in the series. But like any other Ashes Test, a controversy was always around the corner when Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey threw the ball at the stumps, catching Jonny Bairstow strolling away from his crease.
That dismissal sparked a strong debate on the internet and even got the usually ‘stoic’ Marleybone Cricket Club (MCC) members to react disgustingly. While the laws of the game certainly backed the mode of dismissal, both England skipper Ben Stokes and the fans were against the mode of dismissal, citing it as ‘unspirited’.
Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who himself has sparked the debate for run-out at the non-striker’s end, put the entire discussion in simple terms, stating that one must applaud the game smarts of individuals backing Carey.
"We must get one fact loud and clear. The keeper would never have a dip at the stumps from that far out in a test match unless he or his team have noticed a pattern of the batter leaving his crease after leaving a ball like Bairstow did. We must applaud the game smarts of the individual rather than skewing it towards unfair play or spirit of the game," Ashwin tweeted.
In the post-match press conference, Australian skipper Pat Cummins cleared the air, stating that it was a ‘pattern’ and that led to Carey throwing it down to the stumps.
"You see Jonny do it all the time," Cummins said. "He did it on day one to Davey Warner. He did it in 2019 to Steve [Smith]. It's a really common thing for keepers to do if they see about a batter keep leaving their crease. So Kez [Carey], full credit to him. He saw the opportunity. I think Jonny did it a few balls beforehand. Rolled it at the stumps. Jonny left his crease. You leave the rest to the umpires."
It didn’t stop there, with England’s head coach, Brendon McCullum, too, citing that it was against the Spirits of the game. McCullum also called it a ‘difficult’ one to swallow, considering how England were well placed in the run-chase before the dismissal.
"It's a tough one. To the letter of the law it was out. From our point of view, Jonny felt he was certainly not trying to take a run and he felt that as far as the umpires were concerned, they had effectively called over so therefore they thought the ball was dead,” McCullum told BBC.
Australia's head coach Andrew McDonald, on the other hand, stated that it is 'well within the laws' and reckoned that he was perfectly fine with the mode of dismissal.
“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. It got sent upstairs and ultimately, the officiating third umpire decides it’s out, it’s within the laws of the game. So yeah, I don’t see too many issues with it, to be perfectly honest,” McDonald told in the post-match presser.
