Watch: The Jonny Bairstow stumping controversy from the 2023 Ashes has taken many back to current England head coach Brendon McCullum’s stumping of Paul Collingwood in similar circumstances, from a 2009 Champions Trophy game.

Bairstow’s stumping by Alex Carey set the cricketing world alight with opinions: for many, the dismissal was a fair one and dictated by the letter of the law. For others, it was a rekindling of the “spirit of cricket” debate.

McCullum himself felt Australia would regret having made the call, also saying that it would affect the spirit of the series going forward. “In the end, they made a play, they’ve got to live with that,” he said after the game. “We would have made a different play, but that’s life.”

It did not take long for one of McCullum’s own stumping attempts to resurface, one that was similar to the Bairstow incident, but with the irony of McCullum being at the other end of the debate. During New Zealand’s must-win match against England in the 2009 Champions Trophy, the wicketkeeper saw Paul Collingwood trudging out of his crease, and pounced on the opportunity.

The incident occurred after the last ball of the 11th over of England’s innings. Collingwood, having eluded a Kyle Mills bouncer, walked out of his crease, presumably thinking it was the end of the over. Leg-umpire Asad Rauf, too, had put his head down and started walking from his position. However, McCullum saw the chance and went for it, under-arming the ball as Collingwood left his ground.

The New Zealand players went up in appeal, while Collingwood looked around helplessly: Rauf and Daryl Harper had a quick discussion to check if “over” had been called. As per the laws, Collingwood was declared out.

Unlike Australia, though, skipper Daniel Vettori decided to rescind the appeal, letting Collingwood continue to bat, saying it was an easy decision to make.

“It was obvious that there was no intention of a run, Colly had wandered down the pitch, and it was a lot easier to call him back and get on with the game,” Vettori later said.

“According to the laws of the game, it was probably out, but of late we have discussed a lot about the spirit of the game.”

Watch the Collingwood-McCullum incident here:

A friendly reminder to all England supporters – Brendon McCullum attempted to do the exact same thing to Paul Collingwood back in 2009.

Funny how these things often come full circle 🤲🏽@wwos #TheAshes #9WWOS #ENGvsAUS pic.twitter.com/RiW9hynaSf

— Will Faulkner (@willzfaulk) July 2, 2023

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