Australian captain Pat Cummins has spoken about his role in the controversial defeat of English batsman Jonny Bairstow during the second Ashes Test last year, which proved to be a turning point in the series, sparking England’s motivation to recover from a 0-0 scoreline. 2 to level the series 2-2. During the second Test of the Ashes series in July last year, Bairstow was stunned by wicketkeeper Alex Carey for just 10 runs in a 371-run chase. The defeat was made when Bairstow left his box, assuming the ball was dead after he deflected it.
Just when he left, Carey wasted no time in kicking him out. The dismissal proved to be a big problem for Australia as England scored 327 runs in the run and lost the series 2-0.
The runout, carried out on the fourth day of play, proved to be one of the biggest controversies in the recent history of the Ashes series. The Australian team were abused by members of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in the Long Room at Lord’s Stadium when they returned for lunch, and debates over the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ were held endlessly, with many fans and pundits opining that Bairstow should also have been warned or the dismissal should not have been carried out. The dismissal, however, was legal as per the laws of cricket.
Speaking in footage from the documentary ‘The Test’ released on May 24 this month, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, Cummins said: “Cam Green was bowling and bowled a bouncer and he [Bairstow] ducked beneath him and simply slipped out of his fold. So I just said to Kez [Carey] the ball before, I said, ‘Kez, just throw it.'”
Carey nailed it when Bairstow was called out by the TV referee. Speaking about returning to the Long Room, Cummins recalled: “Walking back to the Long Room, it was like we ripped their soul out… sure, yeah, people crossed the line,” recalls Cummins in one of the interviews of the documentary.
Australian batsman Usman Khawaja also said: “One of the members… was pulverizing me (abusing him). I was like, ‘nup, you can’t be saying such things’. He said: ‘Oh, I can say what I want’. ‘, almost like a sense of entitlement.”
Batsman Marnus Labuschagne also added: “One of them was foaming at the mouth. One guy hit Bull [nickname for David Warner] when he went up the stairs.”
Reflecting on the moment in the dressing room, Carey joked: “Someone told me to play… 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 school kid who shouldn’t be laughing… eating my soup, then I looked at Jonny and Jonny was looking at us and I’m as [mimics trying not to spit out his soup].”
Cummins was adamant about the dismissal, saying: “Quite simply, it was out of the question.”
This escape attacked England, who had hitherto put up a great fight against Australia. They won the third and fifth Tests comprehensively, leveling the series at 2–2. The Three Lions could also have won the fourth Test in Manchester if it had not been interrupted by rain. Australia retained the prestigious Ashes ballot by leveling the series, but failed to win the series in England for the first time since 2001.
After the defeat, Carey suffered a lot of abuse on social media and also from the crowd during matches. This abuse reached such a point that Australia’s cybersecurity police had to get involved.
In the documentary, Carey and his wife, Eloise, discussed the incident. “That’s probably what shocked me the most, the abuse, people coming after you… personal, family, all that kind of stuff.”
Carey’s form, however, deteriorated after the Lord’s Test and he failed to make the ODI squad for the Cricket World Cup to be held in India later that year. He silenced talk about his team with an unbeaten 98 against New Zealand in Christchurch in March this year.
Slugger Steve Smith admitted he was worried about Carey’s well-being this entire time.
“I could feel that he was not well mentally and I can understand that. I was worried about him and his well-being,” Smith said.
“Everyone projected onto Kez and didn’t project onto anyone else. It was all onto Kez. Looking back, I feel so bad for him and what he went through at the time and what his family would have gone through being there at the time. It would have been very difficult,” Khawaja added.
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