R Ashwin has thrown his weight behind Alex Carey after his controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow on the fifth day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s yesterday (July 2).

Day five of the second Ashes Test match at Lord’s was full of drama, catalysed by Carey’s stumping of Bairstow. The incident set forth a chain of chaotic reactions including Ben Stokes’ whirlwind knock, a controversy in the Lord’s Long Room, and fiery post-match comments.

Stokes said after the match that he would have taken the Spirit of Cricket into consideration before appealing for a wicket like Bairstow’s. “If the shoe was on the other foot, I would’ve had a think about the whole spirit of the game. But it has happened, it was out. We have to move on… Do I want to win in that manner? No.”

Carey, however, found support from several quarters. Ashwin, known for his pragmatic, often unconventional, takes on the game, appreciated his game awareness.

When a user tweeted about how the same people applauding Carey for his presence of mind had criticised Ashwin for running out non-striker Jos Buttler, Ashwin responded by saying that in such instances, one should focus on the awareness of the player instead of the spirit of the game.

“We must get one fact loud and clear. ‘The keeper would never have a dip at the stumps from that far out in a test match unless he or his team have noticed a pattern of the batter leaving his crease after leaving a ball like Bairstow did.’ We must applaud the game smarts of the individual rather than skewing it towards unfair play or spirit of the game,” tweeted Ashwin.

We must get one fact loud and clear

“The keeper would never have a dip at the stumps from that far out in a test match unless he or his team have noticed a pattern of the batter leaving his crease after leaving a ball like Bairstow did.”

We must applaud the game smarts of… https://t.co/W59CrFZlMa

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) July 2, 2023

Ashwin had come under criticism after running out Buttler at the non-striker’s end during IPL 2019. Since then, he has issued warnings to the batters at the non-striker’s end several times, including a public warning to all batters during IPL 2020.

Let’s make it clear !! First and final warning for 2020. I am making it official and don’t blame me later on. @RickyPonting #runout #nonstriker @AaronFinch5 and I are good buddies btw.😂😂 #IPL2020

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) October 5, 2020

Bairstow was stumped on 10 when England still needed 178 for an improbable victory. His was the sixth wicket to fall. With the English tail exposed, Stokes, who was batting at the other end, went on an all-out attack and treated the Lord’s crowd to an extraordinary show.

His 155 evoked memories of his heroic Headingley knock from 2019, but he was unable to finish the game this time. England fell short by 43 runs, giving Australia a 2-0 lead in the 2023 Ashes.

You can bet on the 2023 Ashes with our Match Centre partners, bet365.