Former ICC elite referee Simon Taufel denounced the “hypocrisy and lack of consistency” of some after Jonny Bairstow’s controversial stumping in the recent Lord’s Test, saying people are citing the “spirit of the game” if they don’t like a dismissal according to the cricket’s law. Bairstow’s controversial stumping in the second Ashes Test has opened a debate with the likes of England coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes saying it was not in the spirit of the game.
“In my experience, when people don’t like a layoff under the Laws of Cricket, they quote the Spirit of Cricket to back up their views,” Taufel wrote in a lengthy post on LinkedIn.
Was Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal from Lord’s a breach of the Spirit of Cricket? Have you seen an umpire telling a fielding side not to try to stump the trailing keeper?’ “Did anyone complain when Bairstow tried to punch Marnus exactly the same way in the first innings? What did Jonny Bairstow say about his firing? He’s been very quiet. Why?’ he added.
After the dismissal, Australia had to endure the crowd’s bitterness for the rest of the game as they were booed and jeered with chants of “same old Aussies, always cheating” echoing with the Lord.
In addition to the prime ministers of both countries, several former and current players have also expressed their views on the matter.
“The hypocrisy and lack of consistency of some people and groups is quite interesting and worrying for the future of our game. Maybe I’m the odd one out here?” Taufel wrote.
The incident occurred on the final day of play when Bairstow, after dodging a slow bouncer from Cameron Green, immediately left his crease to have a chat with Ben Stokes in the centre, believing the ball was ‘dead ‘ used to be.
However, wicket-keeper Alex Carey played within the rules and broke the stumps and third umpire Marais Erasmus ruled in Australia’s favour.
“What part of the codified preamble (the Spirit of Cricket) was breached by the fielding side? What did the fielding side do in effecting a legitimate dismissal that unfairly affected the batsman’s ability in their bid not to be dismissed? (Did they run into him or distract him or prevent him from making up ground?) “Under the Laws, must a batter be immune from dismissal simply by being negligent (and leaving his field too early)? “Did England retire Ben Duckett when they disagreed with the (Mitchell) Starc catch decision under the laws and the umpires’ decision?” Taufel said.
Australia won the Test by 43 runs to go 2-0 into the third Test at Headingley on Thursday, which begins on Thursday.
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