Ashes: Ben Stokes accuses Australia of forgetting the ‘spirit of the game’ after punching Jonny Bairstow
Ben Stokes accuses Australia of forgetting ‘the spirit of the game’ in controversial Jonny Bairstow stumping – and claims England wouldn’t have done the same after Ashes’ embarrassing defeat at Lord’s
- Ben Stokes was dissatisfied with Australia’s dismissal of Jonny Bairstow from Lord’s
- Bairstow was unconventionally stunned by Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey
- Stokes questioned whether Australia had taken into account the ‘spirit of the game’
England captain Ben Stokes said he ‘wouldn’t want to win like this’ after Australia refused to recall Jonny Bairstow after the wicketkeeper was controversially stunned by Alex Carey at Lord’s on Sunday.
Pat Cummins’ side took a 2-0 lead in the Ashes, on a day when the MCC was forced to apologize after Australian players were berated by members in Lord’s Long Room over the incident.
Stokes had a stunning century and threatened to score an astonishing English victory in front of a feverish Lord’s crowd, but he was dismissed for 155 with England still 70 adrift of their target. The tourists went on to secure a 43-point victory.
“I’m not disputing it’s over because it’s over,” Stokes said.
“If the boot was on the other foot I would have put more pressure on the umpires and asked if they had called and thought deeply about the whole spirit of the game and if I would like to do something like that.
This was the winning moment for Australia. Would I want to win a match that way? The answer is no,” Stokes added.
England captain Ben Stokes (left) expressed dissatisfaction with Australia turning down Jonny Bairstow
Jonny Bairstow (centre) was controversially stunned by Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey
Cummins, on the other hand, was unashamed and adamant that Australia had made the right choice when asked if he considered the spirit of cricket.
‘I thought it was fair. You see Jonny doing it all the time. He did it for (David) Warner on day one. He did it in 2019 with Steve (Smith). It’s very common for goalkeepers to do when they see a batsman keep leaving their goal,” said the Australia captain.
‘Caz (Carey) – all credit to him. He saw his chance clean a few balls in advance and rolled on the stumps. Jonny left his crease and we’ll leave the rest to the umpires,” Cummins added.
However, with England needing to win all three remaining Tests to retain the Ashes, Stokes was confident his side are still capable of pulling off the unthinkable.
“We won 3-0 against New Zealand (last summer) and we won 3-0 against Pakistan in Pakistan. We’ve won three games in a row twice, so all we’re thinking about is winning the series 3-2.’
England have designated a 15-man squad for the third Test at Headingley, which starts on Thursday, with Matthew Potts and Rehan Ahmed left out and Stokes expects a hostile atmosphere in Leeds after admitting the atmosphere at Lord’s reminded him of the World Cup 2019 final, when England defeated New Zealand.
Bairstow was stunned after being sacked from Lord’s on the last day on Sunday
Stokes insisted Australia were not taking the ‘spirit of the game’ into account by taking the wicket
“It wasn’t until I got out and went out on the balcony to look that I thought, ‘I’ve never heard Lord’s like that,'” Stokes said. ‘Yes, I’m sure it will be staged (at Headingley).
‘Australia has its past and have been here a few times since then (Sandpapergate) and I think they are all used to the English crowd.
“If we go to Australia, we will also be called names. See, that’s part of the sport we play – you bring together thousands of people who want their team to win and they just jump on things.
“We get it in Australia – 90,000 Australians at the MCG all swearing at you. It’s part of it. It’s part of the job.’