Australian batsman Travis Head said that Jonny Bairstow recently attempted to dismiss him in a manner similar to the way the England batter was dismissed in the second innings of the Lord’s Test, which sparked a lot of controversy that still refuses to die down. Bairstow’s dismissal occurred when England were struggling at five wickets down, needing 178 more runs to win. Bairstow ducked under a short ball by Cameron Green, scraped his guard and wandered out of the crease towards Ben Stokes at the non-striker’s end. However, even before Bairstow left his crease, Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey gathered the ball and threw it to break the stumps at the striker’s end.
The on-field umpires referred the decision to the TV umpire, Marais Erasmus, who ruled Bairstow out, declaring it as a stumping. Bairstow was not impressed with what had happened and it also sparked off rounds of boos from the crowd at Lord’s. The spectators, who had been relatively quiet during the first four days of the Test, then began chanting “Same old Aussies, always cheating.” It carried on even during the lunch break, as the Australian players walked through the Long Room, some members of the MCC booed and hurled abuses at them.
Travis Head has now cleared the air in an interview with the Willow Talk podcast. He said that he had almost experienced a similar dismissal at Bairstow’s hands during the first Test at Edgbaston. Head recounted a conversation he had with Bairstow following the incident at Lord’s, stating, “I reminded Jonny that last week, at the end of the over, I had walked out of my crease at Edgbaston. The ball was whipped in, and I hastily swung my bat back and asked Jonny if he would have taken the stumps. He replied, ‘Absolutely I would,’ and then ran off.”
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Travis Head further added, “I also reminded him that two days prior, he had attempted to throw down Marnus’s stumps. In the heat of the battle, things are said and actions play out. I understand they might have a different perspective if they were in the same situation. However, making such statements a few hours later, after the heat of the moment has dissipated, is different. We will never truly know. We move on, and ultimately, according to the rules, the decision was out. That’s their opinion, and we have ours.”
Australia won the Lord’s Test, defeating England by 43 runs and securing a 2-0 lead in the Ashes series. However, the controversy around Bairstow’s dismissal has lingered on even as the teams head across to Headingley for the third Test match.
Australian captain Pat Cummins defended his team’s decision to appeal for the wicket, but England captain Ben Stokes expressed his reluctance to win in such a manner. Apart from the players and the support staff, even the Prime Ministers of both countries, Rishi Sunak and Anthony Albanese, have expressed their support for their respective teams.
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