‘When people don’t like a dismissal under the laws of cricket, they quote spirit of cricket’: Simon Taufel

Former ICC Elite Panel umpire Simon Taufel has criticized the hypocrisy of many people criticizing third umpire Marais Erasmus’s decision to issue Jonny Bairstow after he went off the rails in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, and stated that people quote Spirit of Cricket to support their opinion when they don’t like a dismissal under the Laws of Cricket.

Sydney, July 5: Former ICC Elite Panel umpire Simon Taufel has criticized the hypocrisy of many people criticizing third umpire Marais Erasmus’s decision to issue Jonny Bairstow after he went off the rails in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, and stated that people quote Spirit of Cricket to support their opinion when they don’t like a dismissal under the Laws of Cricket.

On day five of play in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, Bairstow was on 10 in the 52nd over when he dove under a Cameron Green bouncer and accidentally went out of his crease.

Australian wicket-keeper Alex Carey immediately directed an underarm throw after catching the throw, and jumped for joy after firing an accurate underarm throw at the stumps. On the field, umpires Ahsan Raza and Chris Gaffaney sent the decision up, where TV umpire Marais Erasmus confirmed Bairstow’s dismissal.

The dismissal provoked a furious reaction from the fans, who began chanting “same old Aussies, always cheating” and booing the visitors for the rest of the day, with some players also facing verbal abuse from MCC members in the long room.

Was Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal from Lords a breach of the Spirit of Cricket? This is a question I’ve been inundated with, so I thought it best to share my thoughts publicly by asking everyone one or eight questions to consider… Have you seen an umpire tell a fielding side that the trailing keeper has no may attempt to be a stupid?

Was there a complaint from anyone when Bairstow tried to punch Marnus exactly the same way in the first innings? What did Jonny Bairstow say about his firing? He’s been very quiet. Why? In my experience, when people don’t like a layoff under the Laws of Cricket, they cite the Spirit of Cricket to support their position,” Taufel wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Carey’s humiliation of Bairstow has made headlines in the cricketing world, with even England and Australia now gearing up for the third Ashes Test in Leeds from Thursday, with respective Prime Ministers Rishi Sunak and Anthony Albanese defending their teams.

Taufel, who sits on the MCC Laws sub-committee, further wrote: “What part of the codified Preamble (the Spirit of Cricket) was breached by the fielding side? What did the fielding side do in bringing about a legitimate dismissal that unfairly violated the ability of the batter in his effort not to be dismissed? (Did they run into him or distract him or prevent him from making up his ground?)

“Under the Laws, should a batter be immune from dismissal simply for being negligent (and leaving his pitch too early)? Did England knock out Ben Duckett when they disagreed with the Starc catch decision under the laws and the umpires’ decision?

The hypocrisy and lack of consistency of some people and groups is quite interesting and worrying for the future of our game. Maybe I’m the odd one out here? The good news is that we are actively involved in Test Cricket, the best form of the game,” he concludes.