According to former England skipper Joe Root claims of English hypocrisy are incorrect and members of the Australia XI may be remembered for the Lord’s stumping of Jonny Bairstow for the rest of their days.
Key points:
Alex Carey stumped Jonny Bairstow in controversial fashion during the second Ashes Test at Lord’sThe dismissal has been widely debated among players, politicians and cricket commentatorsTravis Head says Bairstow told him he would have done the same thing as Carey, during a first Test incident
Root became the latest Englishman to attack the dismissal of Bairstow by Alex Carey, adding more fuel to the fire for what is expected to be a heated third Test at Headingley.
Root claimed England would never have appealed for that kind of stumping during his five years as Test captain.
But he saved the most direct advice for Australian players, while clearly still upset over Carey dismissing Bairstow after the English batsman walked out of his crease.
“As a player it’s (about) how you want to play the game, how you want to be remembered,” Root said.
“And that’s up to each individual.
“As a team, we want to play our cricket a certain way and want to leave a certain legacy.
“I try and put myself in that situation and position and I would like to think I would have dealt with it differently.”
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Root’s comments come after Stuart Broad made similar remarks to Carey during play on day five at Lord’s, before the quick also criticised Australia in a Daily Mail column on Tuesday.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian PM Anthony Albanese also weighed in on Tuesday.
England’s reaction has prompted accusations of them being sore losers in Australia, with headlines such as “Cry Babies” and “BazBawl” splashed across tabloids.
A point Root is not overly impressed with.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Everyone will see it very differently. As a player you have to play the game how you want to play it,” Root said.
“It was within the rules, it was technically out. If you’re happy with that, then fine.
“If you’re not, I don’t think you can (criticise) other people who play the game slightly differently.”
Root also rejected Australia’s suggestion Bairstow had attempted to stump Marnus Labuschagne in similar fashion earlier in the match at Lord’s, after the Queenslander left a ball in the first innings.
“If you look at the footage, Jonny didn’t gain any advantage by doing what he was doing (when batting),” Root said.
“As a batter you are fully aware when you are batting out of your crease that you are gaining an advantage.
“Whether it is covering different angles or trying to take modes of dismissal out of the game.
“[That’s different to] scratching a mark at the end of the over and walking to the other end.”
While Root was out there defending his teammate and pouring fuel on the ‘Australia don’t play in the spirit of cricket’ fire, dashing Australia batter Travis Head said Bairstow threatened to do exactly that to him during the first Test at Edgbaston.
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“I reminded Jonny last week I walked out of my crease at the end of an over,” Head told the Willow Talk podcast.
“I quickly whipped my bat back and questioned Jonny on whether he would take the stumps and he said, ‘Bloody oath I would’, and ran off.
“I reminded him (of that). Whether he remembered saying that or not. Two days before he also tried to throw Marnus (Labuschagne)’s stumps down too.”
Head also questioned whether England would have withdrawn their appeal in similar circumstances, after both Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum said they would have.
“I know they’ve questioned it differently if they were in the same situation but with all the heat out of the air, saying that is a little bit different than in the moment,” Head said.
“There’s been some in the past when (wicketkeepers) have held the ball and waited for someone to lift a foot.
“This was purely in the same play. It wasn’t sneaky, it was done pretty quickly. It left Alex Carey’s hand straight away.”
AAP/ABC
