Australian skipper Pat Cummins opened up about his role in the controversial stumping of England batsman Jonny Bairstow during the second Ashes Test last year, which proved to be a turning point in the series, fueling England's motivation to bounce back from a score from 0-2 to a draw. the series 2-2. During the second Test of the Ashes series in July last year, Bairstow was hampered by wicketkeeper Alex Carey for just 10 runs in a 371-run run-chase. The punching took place when Bairstow had stepped outside his crease, assuming the ball was dead after dodging it.
Just as he stepped out, Carey wasted no time in running him off. The dismissal proved to be a major blow for Australia as England scored 327 runs in the run-chase to trail 2–0 in the series.
The run-out, carried out on the fourth day of the match, proved to be one of the biggest controversies in the recent history of the Ashes series. The Australian team was abused by members of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in the Long Room of the Lord's Stadium as they returned for lunch, and debates about 'Spirit of Cricket' were waged endlessly, with many fans and pundits dissenting that Bairstow should either have been warned or the dismissal should not have taken place. However, the dismissal was legal under the laws of cricket.
In a recording of the documentary 'The Test' released on May 24 this month, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, Cummins said: “Cam Green was bowling and he bowled a bouncer and he [Bairstow] ducked under it and then just freaked out. So I just told Kez [Carey] the ball in front of it, I said: 'Kez, just throw it'.”
Carey was on target with his punches when Bairstow was given out by the TV referee. Speaking about walking back to the Long Room, Cummins recalled: “When we walked back to the Long Room, it was like we'd ripped the soul out of them… absolutely, yes, people were stepping over the line,” Cummins recalled in one of the interviews from the documentary.
Australian batsman Usman Khawaja also said, “One of the members… was yelling at me (abusing him). I was like, 'nup, you can't say that'. He said, 'Oh, I can say whatever I want. ' ', almost a sense of entitlement.”
Batsman Marnus Labuschagne also added: “One of them was frothing at the mouth. A guy hit Bull [nickname for David Warner] when he went up the stairs.”
Reflecting on the moment in the locker room, Carey joked, “Somebody told me to throw it… I'm not sure who it was.”
Mitchell Marsh, the Australian all-rounder, recalled the scene in the dining room: “I was sitting there like a schoolboy who shouldn't be laughing… eating my soup, then I look up at Jonny and Jonny is staring at us and I'm like this [mimics trying not to spit out his soup].”
Cummins was convinced the dismissal was justified, saying: “It was just clear, it was over.”
This run-out troubled England, who had put up a great fight against Australia up to that point. They won the third and fifth tests comfortably and drew the series 2-2. The Three Lions could also have won the fourth Test in Manchester had it not been interrupted by rain. Australia retained the prestigious Ashes urn by drawing the series, but could not win the series in England for the first time since 2001.
After the stumble, Carey faced a lot of abuse on social media and also from the crowd during the matches. This abuse reached such a scale that the Australian Cyber Security Police had to be involved.
In the documentary, Carey and his wife Eloise discussed the incident. “That's probably what shocked me the most: the abuse, the people coming after you…personally, family, all that stuff.”
However, Carey's form slipped after the Lord's Test and he could not make the ODI side for the Cricket World Cup held in India later that year. He silenced talk surrounding his selection with an unbeaten, match-winning 98 against New Zealand in Christchurch in March this year.
Star hitter Steve Smith admitted he was worried about Carey's well-being all along.
“I felt he wasn't mentally well and I can understand that. I was concerned about him and his well-being,” Smith said.
“Everyone was projecting on Kez and not projecting on anyone else. It was all on Kez. Looking back, I just feel so bad for him for what he went through at the time and what his family would have gone through when they were there.” It would have been so difficult,” Khawaja added.
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