England captain Ben Stokes insisted on Wednesday that it was time “everyone moved on” following Jonny Bairstow’s controversial sacking in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s. Australia won the match by 43 runs to go 2–0 ahead in the five match series, despite Stokes’ stunning 155. But his exploits on the field were overshadowed by the extraordinary consequences of Bairstow’s unusual exit. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese have even exchanged verbal bouncers over the issue, which began when Bairstow was stunned out by opposing wicketkeeper Alex Carey during what the England batsman thought was an interruption of play.
Bairstow’s dismissal caused a chorus of boos from a normally calm Lord’s and led to three MCC members being suspended for alleged abuse of visiting players in the pavilion.
Stokes indicated he would have withdrawn the appeal had he been the field captain at the time, while England coach Brendon McCullum suggested the incident could boost his side as they look set to become just the second team in Test history to win a series of 2-0 wins. down.
But Stokes, speaking to reporters in Headingley, where the third test starts on Thursday, said: “I don’t think as a group we can push more than we are to be honest.
“Obviously there has been a lot of uproar over last week’s incident at Lord’s, but from me as captain and from the England team I think it’s best for everyone to just get off it.”
Attempts have been made to link Bairstow’s dismissal to Australia’s 2018 South Africa ball mess scandal.
Australia ‘did nothing wrong’
But unrepentant Australian captain Pat Cummins, asked if he was concerned that his integrity had been called into question following the Lord’s incident, replied: “It doesn’t really bother me. I think the way our team has behaved over the past worn for years, has been spotless.
“There are issues that come up in every Ashes series that you have the same opinion about – English fans think one thing, Australian fans think the opposite.”
The fast bowler added: “I think 100 per cent that the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ is real. Sometimes there’s nuance to it, and everyone might see it a little differently. That’s fine, that’s part of it.
“But I definitely think it’s one of the beauties of our sport. I think our players have been excellent in that regard. We’ve all moved on. The team didn’t do anything wrong, so we’re all comfortable.”
Cummins curtly replied “yes” when asked if he would act the same way if a similar situation arose after McCullum suggested Australia would eventually regret their actions.
McCullum’s words were put to Cummins, who responded by saying, “You’ll have to ask me in the future. Right now I’m really comfortable with it. Maybe later.”
There are reports that Australian batsman Steve Smith’s mother, who is English, left Lord’s early amid the hostile atmosphere, and Yorkshire has taken additional security measures at Headingley due to growing fears over the safety of the touring party.
“We’re in our partnering period here, so we have a lot of family and kids around,” Cummins said.
“I think maybe there’s an extra eye on them, where they are in the crowd, to make sure everything is okay.”
Reaction to the incident in England and Australia has been largely divided along patriotic lines. But former England captain Mike Atherton said Bairstow had engaged in “dozy cricket” rather than Test world champions Australia abusing the ‘Spirit of Cricket’.
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