Usman Khawaja tells security to remove the MCC heckler from Lord’s Long Room

Usman Khawaja was seen identifying MCC members he wanted to remove from Lord’s and was filmed pointing at an onlooker and telling security, ‘Make sure you kick him out’.

Australia’s lead-off hitter protested to England fans in the Long Room yesterday after punching Jonny Bairstow.

It came as Rishi Sunak came out swinging against the Baggy Greens today. Asked about the incident, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister agrees with Ben Stokes – he said he just wouldn’t want to win a game like Australia did’.

Glowing members of the MCC had cracked the Australian cricket team as they returned to their dressing room in the second Ashes test which saw the Aussies take a 2-0 lead in the best of five series. MCC members filled the Long Room and stairs close to the Australian locker room to berate them and call them cheats.

Khawaja appeared enraged at something a man had told him, identified him to a guard and yelled, ‘Make sure you specifically kick him out’. He then pointed to another man and said, “Me too.”

He spoke after the game but did not reveal what was said to him, describing it as “quite disrespectful” and “really disappointing.” While defending his own rage in the Long Room, he said he “didn’t just watch to take advantage.” Lord’s is one of my favorite places to come. Respect is always shown at Lord’s, especially in the Members Pavilion in the Long Room, but there was none today. It was very disappointing,” he said.

The manner of Bairstow’s dismissal has rocked the sport – and sparked angry scenes at Lord’s yesterday – after the England wicketkeeper’s punching was branded against the ‘spirit of the game’. Three members of the MCC, whose privileged number includes some of the richest and most powerful people in Britain with Stephen Fry as president, have been suspended after several Australian players were ‘verbally assaulted’ or ‘contacted physically’.

“When someone asks me where the best place to play is, I always say Lord’s. The audience is great, especially the members are great, and some of the things that came out of the mouths of the members are really disappointing and I didn’t just sit and watch. So I only talked to a few.

“A few of them threw out some pretty big accusations and I just called them on it and they went through with it, and I was like, well this is your membership here. So I point it out to them. But it’s pretty disrespectful, to be honest. I simply expect much better from the members.’

“They are not allowed to return to Lord’s while the investigation is taking place,” the MCC said in a statement.

The argument started when Bairstow went out of his way to talk to Ben Stokes believing the over was over. But wicket-keeper Alex Carey hurled the ball at his stumps and it was handed out. Australian captain Pat Cummins decided not to withdraw the appeal in order to grant Bairstow a reprieve – sparking chaos and controversy in the Home of Cricket. Cummins later insisted the punching was “fair,” but the usually placid MCC members disagreed.

Australia was booed by the 32,000 fans at Lords for the rest of the day and in unprecedented scenes Australian stars David Warner and Usman Khawaja had to be separated from MCC members by security in the world famous Lord’s Long Room.

MCC members then lined the famous steps to shout swear words at the celebrating Australians as they returned to their dressing room shouting ‘cheat, cheat, cheat’ at them. There were repeated cries of ‘sandpaper’ to the players – a reference to the 2018 scandal in which Steve Smith and others rubbed the ball with sandpaper to make it swing more, one of the worst examples of cheating in modern times.

Afterwards, defeated England captain Ben Stokes said: ‘Would I want to win a game like that? No. If the shoe was on the other foot, I would have thought about the whole spirit of the game.” England coach Brendon McCullum said of relations with the Australians: “I can’t imagine we’re going out for a beer any time soon.”

And on the pitch before the defeat, a furious Stuart Broad told Cummins: ‘That’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen in cricket’ before turning to Carey and warning him: ‘That’s all you’ll ever be remembered for’.

Since then, three of those members have been identified and suspended from the exclusive club.

A spokesman for Cricket Australia said: ‘Australian management have requested Marylebone Cricket Club [MCC] investigate several incidents involving spectators in the members area at lunchtime on day five of the Lord’s Test.

“It is alleged that players and staff members of the Australian team have been verbally abused, with some physically approached, while on their way to lunch through the members’ area.”

New video footage showed the MCC members yelling at the Australians, with an angry support pointing at each individual member of the team and yelling “cheat” at them.

Another member yelled at them to ‘get the sandpaper’, referring to Cape Town’s infamous ball-tampering scandal of 2019 that saw David Warner and Steve Smith suspended for a year.

More inaudible insults continued to be heard as the chant grew louder and more intense as the Aussies hurried up the stairs to their dressing rooms.

It’s just not cricket and certainly not in the spirit of the game. Shame MCC shame,” someone posted.

‘The members of the long room should be ashamed! The veneer of decency comes off very easily,” another posted.

“Cricket has an elitism problem and these members are living proof, embarrassing,” added another.

One particularly angry England supporter pointed at each individual member of the Aussie team and yelled ‘cheat’ at them.

Another member yelled at the Aussies to ‘grab the sandpaper’, referring to the infamous 2019 Cape Town ball sabotage scandal that saw David Warner and Steve Smith suspended for a year by Cricket Australia.

More inaudible insults continue to be heard as the chants grow louder and more intense as the Aussies race up the stairs to their changing rooms.

While members protested the actions of Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey and skipper Pat Cummins for not withdrawing the appeal, many fans believed the abuse was far worse than the tourists’ tactics.

It’s just not cricket and certainly not in the spirit of the game. Shame MCC shame,” someone posted.

‘The members of the long room should be ashamed! The veneer of decency comes off very easily,” another posted.

“Cricket has an elitism problem and these members are living proof, embarrassing,” added another.