Ashes: Australia booed by Headingley crowd after Jonny Bairstow incident
Australian stars David Warner and Usman Khawaja were booed at Headingley as Pat Cummins’ side met with hostility after volatile Lord’s Test
Unsurprisingly, Australia received a hostile reception at Headingley as England fans booed Pat Cummins’ side ahead of the third Ashes Test.
The Australian national anthem was largely respected by the Headingley crowd, with some boos at the end before much louder jeers greeted Aussie opener Usman Khawaja and David Warner at the crease.
The atmosphere was even more feverish at the end of the first over, after Stuart Broad fired Warner and immediately proceeded to get the crowd going on the Western Terrace.
Earlier in the day, a few boos welcomed Pat Cummins onto the field for the pre-match coin toss.
The hosts’ anger at their rivals over Jonny Bairstow’s controversial punching at Lord’s doesn’t seem to be fading in the days since Australia won the second Test at the Home of Cricket, with fans outraged by Alex Carey’s morally questionable act.
Australian captain Pat Cummins (left) greeted a few boos at the coin toss
The end of the Australian national anthem was greeted with loud boos from the audience
David Warner (left) and Usman Khawaja headed to the crease to a hostile reception
After ducking out of the way for a bouncer from Cameron Green, Bairstow – who had been in his crease – scratched his target before going off the wicket to talk to Stokes, thinking the ball was dead.
Carey, noticing Bairstow leaving his ground, stumped his rival wicket-keeper, with the umpires thinking the ball was still alive.
The Lord’s crowd was outraged by the behavior of the Australians and they were greeted by a volatile Long Room during the lunch hour, with the MCC later apologizing after the players were upset by the members’ actions.
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But the masses in Leeds chose not to give in to expressing their distaste for the Aussies and were heard berating the players ahead of Thursday’s game.
Barmy Army spokesman George Gallantree warned that a hostile atmosphere awaited the Aussies.
“It gets louder than a Taylor Swift concert on the Western Terraces in the afternoon after the fans have had a few Tetley Bitters,” Gallantree said. News Corp.
“Lord’s is more of a library compared to Headingley.”
Despite the controversial nature of Sunday’s antics, Cummins believes his squad behaved exceptionally well at Lord’s.
Stuart Broad immediately whipped the audience into a frenzy after he removed Warner
The Aussie opener headed back to the pavilion to a cascade of boos after being sent off
“It doesn’t really bother me to be honest,” Cummins said when first asked how he felt about his integrity being questioned. “I think the way our team has behaved over the last few years has been flawless and we’ve been fantastic.
“I think that was shown again on day five at Lord’s.”
But did you miss an opportunity to do something positive for the game?
“We’ve all moved on and as I said the other day, we didn’t do anything wrong,” Cummins said after bizarrely bringing up the 1970s Trevor Chappell underarm bowling incident for the first time.
“One hundred percent I think it’s real,” Cummins said when asked about the spirit of cricket.
“Sometimes I think there’s nuance to it and people see it a little differently. You talk about cricket as a gentleman’s sport and you want to regain respect for the opposition, umpires and fans at all times.
“It’s one of the strengths of our game. I think our players were excellent in that respect.’
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