Exchange of abuse at Lords
- By Ashraf Ali Siddiqui -
- Jul 17, 2023
In an unusually bizarre development at the Lord’s, the capital of cricket, the game supposedly played by gentlemen, the spectators abused the Australian players in the famous Pavilion Long Room.
The unprecedented rage that resulted in this unsavoury incident was the controversial dismissal of English batsman Jonny Bairstow in the second Ashes Test. Bairstow was given out when Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey threw the ball at the stumps after the England batsman walked out of his crease after ducking under a Cameron Green bouncer.
There was confusion in the middle, Bairstow seemingly believing the ball was dead at the end of the over but Australia were happy to proceed with a deeply divisive appeal. The umpires sent the decision upstairs for review by TV umpire Marais Erasmus, who had no option but tobut to confirm Bairstow’s stumping dismissal.
Bairstow was livid and the usually sedate Lord’s crowd responded by chanting “Same old Aussies always cheating” while booing rang around the famous old arena for several minutes.
England’s Stuart Broad, the batsman who came in after Bairstow’s exit, immediately let his frustrations show as the stump microphone caught him telling Carey that that’s all they will always be remembered for. Broad also shouted at Australia captain Pat Cummins and kept up his barrage as he exchanged angry words with Australian fielders and mockingly tapped his bat in his crease after each delivery to ensure he did not depart the same way as Bairstow.
A bitter row about the ‘spirit of cricket’ was underway, with furious fans chanting “cheats” and England’s players clearly angry Australia did not withdraw their appeal on grounds of fair play.
Members in the Lord’s Pavilion, the most prestigious stand in the stadium, confronted the Australian team as they walked through the historic Long Room to get to their dressing room at lunch. Australia batsmen David Warner and Usman Khawaja were seen stopping to speak to members who were booing before stewards stepped in to usher the players away.
Cricket Australia has requested the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) to investigate several incidents involving spectators in the members’ area during lunch on day five of the Lord’s Test. It stated that it is alleged players and staff from the Australian team were verbally abused with some being physically contacted as they made their way to lunch through the member’s area.
Apologising for the incident, the MCC clarified that the incident took place in the heat of moment and with emotions running high, words were unfortunately exchanged with some of the Australian team, by a small number of Members.
Relations between the two sides were already fraught with the Australians left fuming earlier when Mitchell Starc thought he had caught opener Ben Duckett.
Starc held a low catch only to ground the ball while still sliding on the turf. Under cricket’s laws, a catch is only completed when the fielder has “complete control over the ball and his/her own movement” and cannot touch the ground before then if a dismissal is to be completed.
The on-field umpires referred the decision to Erasmus, with the TV official ruling in Duckett’s favour.
The Australians may rue the manner of Bairstow’s dismissal as it provoked England captain Ben Stokes who went on the rampage scoring 150 that however proved to be of no value as England lost the test.