Wisden

The independent voice of cricket

LIVE SCORES
2023-2025 World Test Championship

‘Australia should’ve called Bairstow back’ to ‘I thought it was fair’ – Who said what on the Jonny Bairstow stumping controversy

Who said what on the Jonny Bairstow stumping
by Wisden Staff 3 minute read

Alex Carey’s stumping of Jonny Bairstow on the fifth morning of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s led to a lot of buzz in the cricket community, with almost everyone involved joining in on the conversation and having a say on the controversial dismissal.

England’s chase of 371 was poised tantalisingly at 193-5 when Carey stumped the unsuspecting Bairstow, who had wandered out of his crease thinking the ball was dead. The Australians went through with their appeal and Bairstow was declared out stumped. England eventually lost the game by 43 runs.

Ben Stokes, who scored 155 in a knock that included nine sixes, felt that the Bairstow wicket was the match-winning moment of the game. He said that he would not have wanted to win a game in that manner.

bet365

“I am not disputing the fact it is out because it is out. If the show was on the other foot I would have put more pressure on the umpires and asked whether they had called over and had a deep think about the whole spirit of the game and would I want to do something like that. For Australia, it was the match-winning moment. Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no,” said Stokes after the match.

There were lots of other reactions to the dismissal as well, ranging from questioning the Spirit of Cricket to appreciating Carey’s awareness of the game.

The dismissal also brought up several similar incidents that have happened in cricket, including Brendon McCullum’s run out of Muttiah Muralitharan in a Test match at Christchurch. Muralitharan had completed a run and moved out of the crease to celebrate his partner, Kumar Sangakkara’s century when McCullum, currently England coach, had whipped the bails off to run him out.

Stuart Broad was also heard on the stump mic telling Carey that he would be remembered for this incident, a comment that made people instantly bring up Broad’s infamous non-walk in the 2013 Ashes Test at Trent Bridge.

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

Have Your Say

Become a Wisden member

  • Exclusive offers and competitions
  • Money-can’t-buy experiences
  • Join the Wisden community
  • Sign up for free
LEARN MORE
Latest magazine

Get the magazine

12 Issues for just £39.99

SUBSCRIBE