In one of the biggest Ashes controversies in recent memory, Carey stumped Bairstow. Photo: Getty Images/Ryan Pierse
For Lord, it was a day when decorum died. In every corner of the majestic sports citadel, Ash's old codes of honor and camaraderie were not so much fading as they were vanishing. Stuart Broad told Alex Carey that his vile humiliation of Johnny Bairstow was the only act he would ever be remembered for. Brandon McCallum, the England manager, said he couldn't imagine drinking beer with the Australians anytime soon. And in the pavilion of all places, a skirmish broke out, a pair of bacon ties had to be forcibly separated from Usman Khawaja under the portrait of Sir Donald Bradman.
We suspected that the final act of the unforgettable Trial would be dramatic, but no one expected the Long Room to turn into a Lair. Such were the passions unleashed by the resurgence of some good old antipodean sharp practice, with Carey grabbing a decisive Bairstow wicket after a batsman flagged his guard. It could be justified by the laws of the game, but by the spirit? Beyond. And on this day, five crowds, much more noisy than the usual meek audience in the homeland of cricket, did not allow the Australians to hear the end.
Usman Khawaja was detained by security after talking to one of the participants in a long room 😳
🗣️ “I have NEVER seen such scenes!” pic.twitter.com/2RnjiNssfw
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket), July 2, 2023
Here's to you and conscientious Australia. So much for this group of pure puritans who, after the sandpaper scandal in 2018, embarked on such a drastic transformation that their captain models seaweed sweatshirts and their top scorer sells a brand of oat milk. Showcases and all. For when it comes to opportunistic or simple underhand tactics, the world's No. 1 test team has proven itself to be in a class of its own.
«Same old Aussies, always cheating.» Anyone who comes for a day of truly rugged sports will hear this refrain in their dreams. It started the moment Carey casually knocked Barstow's stumps out of his crease, and it never stopped. Throughout Ben Stokes' six Popeye-style punches and Broad's taunts of Carey, the English fans' opinion of what they were witnessing was unmistakable. «Deceive, deceive, deceive.»
According to teammates, the goalkeeper was naturally guilty of nothing more than quick wits, taking advantage of Bairstow's drowsiness. An alternative interpretation was that it was truly terrible sportsmanship. After all, almost everyone initially assumed the ball was dead. The judges turned their backs on action. Bairstow stamped his foot before going down the gate. Even Carey was hesitant in protest before screaming like a banshee when he realized the batsman was ready to take him.
Pat Cummins didn't try to withdraw the appeal. Despite all suggestions that he is one of the softest Australian captains, too diplomatic, he can be supremely ruthless when the occasion calls for it.
Should Australia withdraw its appeal over Johnny Bairstow's controversial statement?
Compare Cummins' behavior to that of MS Dhoni, who famously remembered Ian Bell at Trent Bridge in 2011 after being ejected under similar circumstances, to the point of booing loudly on the ground. «I don't think it's really in the spirit of the game,» Shane Warne said during India's move, which they canceled during tea break. “To follow the letter of the law, the ball was still alive and they just came out of their crease. But in spirit? It's not included.»
Back in 2011, MS Dhoni was known to recall Ian Bell at Trent Bridge in 2011 year after he was kicked out. in similar circumstances. Photo: Action Images/Ed Sykes
It threatens that it will be some time before Australia escapes the shadow of what in the eyes of outraged English fans was just a dirty act. The Cummins players didn't so much get their notebook dirty here at Lord's as they poured all the ink on it. As if the criticism wasn't loud enough, when Nathan Lyon was sent to the bouncers despite being barely able to walk, or when Mitchell Stark announced Ben Duckett's catch despite him dragging the ball across the grass, everything boiled over one day Carey lured Bairstow in a dubious way.
Even among his fellow Australians, Trevor Chappell's name was soon spoken. Chappell committed perhaps the most infamous example of bad sportsmanship in cricket when, in 1981, he hit Brian McKechney under the armpit after the World Series Cup final ball to prevent New Zealand from scoring a six. Did Carey deserve to be in the brackets of this company? Not if you ask Cummins, who thinks everything was fair. Yes, if you could have seen the cold fury of the Marylebone Cricket Club as Australia marched back through the Long Room to a chorus of insults at lunchtime.
It was both darkly unedifying and utterly compelling. When, if ever, can you remember that this majestic pavilion was a hotbed of such fury and resentment? Cricket Australia belatedly attempted to restore moral high ground by insisting that their players were the victims of both verbal and physical altercations, prompting a quick apology from the MCC. But the scars from this episode will last much longer than any written statements.
The caricature of Australian cynicism is now, for better or worse, the theme of this Ashes. Carey, in particular, should have secured his own security by the time he rendezvoused with West Terrace at Headingley later this week. While English fans can put up with defeat and the possibility of their first Ashes home defeat since 2001, they cannot forgive anyone they see as a scoundrel. Is everything fair and love and war? Not always. And especially not now.
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