Stuart Broad has said Australia captain Pat Cummins will regret not dropping the appeal over Jonny Bairstow’s wicket after the England star was controversially dismissed on the final day of the second Test at Lord’s.
Bairstow was stumped by Alex Carey, caught leaving his box at the end of a Cameron Green over, and the third referee upheld Australia’s appeal as the ball was not deemed ‘dead’.
However, the wicket has sparked much debate and, when an enthusiastic Broad took the crease as the next batsman, he made his feelings clear, theatrically making sure his bat was inside at the bottom of the over and speaking to wicketkeeper Carey. about the dismissal.
Despite a heroic 155-run cameo from England captain Ben Stokes, the home side never fully recovered and the conversation has continued around the importance of the wicket.
Now, in his column for the Daily Mail, Broad chimed in, saying: “So, within the laws of the game, is the ball still alive because Alex Carey catches and throws it? Probably. Is any advantage being taken by England? No. Does a stadium full of people think that ball has gone and gone?
“In BBC radio commentary, Jonathan Agnew is past the call of the ball.
“What amazed me, and what I said to the Australians, I couldn’t believe when we walked off the pitch at lunch, was that none of the veteran players were among them, and I understand a lot in the excitement of the game that the bowler and the goalkeeper have thought ‘that is ruled out’, they have questioned what they had done”.
Broad also touched on the cultural change the Australian team has been working on since the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.
The scandal occurred during a test match against South Africa in which Cameron Bancroft was seen handling a ball with sandpaper and captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were found to be involved.
Since then, the Australia team have worked hard to repair their image and the England bowler believes they will reflect and believe they made the wrong decision.
“Especially given what their team has been through in the last few years, with all their cultural change. None of them said, ‘Wait, guys. I’m not too sure about this,'” Broad added.
“None of them thought, ‘He’s not getting any advantage. He’s not trying to get a run. It’s the end of everything. It’s a bit of a random firing. We should drop that appeal.’
“Ultimately, Pat Cummins is a great guy and I’d be surprised, once the excitement subsides, if he doesn’t sit back and think, ‘I was wrong about that,’ even though his bottom line at the time was to win. a test match.
“The Lord’s crowd are obviously huge cricket lovers and I’ve never seen a reaction from them like that before. They were so angry.”
McCullum: The decision will affect Australia | Anger will galvanize us
England manager Brendon McCullum believes the decision not to drop the appeal will eventually have an “effect” on the Australia team and believes the anger generated will only “prompt” his England team as they look to win the crucial third Test .
“In the end, they made a play, they have to live with it. We would have made a different play, but that’s life. Over time, we’ll see, but I have a feeling it could have an effect on them,” McCullum said.
“I don’t know if it’s anger, but our unit is galvanized. There are times as a coach when you have to reduce the emotion because it’s going to spill over and you can make bad decisions, but there are times when you allow the emotion to go because it’s going to galvanize unit.
“That’s what I felt this excitement did for the side. I looked around the group and the guys were a bit upset. If it helps us win those key moments in the next Test, then I’m all for it. (Win) 3 -2 sounds good.”
Stokes responds to criticism from the Australian press | “I never take the new ball”
The incident rippled through the cricket world and the Australian press, with some quarters speaking out harshly against the England team, with the West Australian Newspaper using an image of Stokes’s head on top of a baby with a doll and a headline of “Cry Babies”. .
The England captain has since jokingly responded on social media, saying: “That’s definitely not me. Since when do I bowl with the new ball?”
After the fiery day at Lord’s, Stokes was quick to criticize the incident and question whether it was in the “spirit of the game”.
“Jonny left his crease to go out and have the conversation between overs like every batsman does and I think if I were the field captain at the time I would have put a lot more pressure on the umpires to ask them what their decision was about,” he said. Stokes.
“So I would have had to really think about the spirit of the game and whether I would have wanted to win a game if something like that happened, and it would be no.”
Watch the crucial third test of this summer’s men’s Ashes series live on Sky Sports Cricket from Thursday, July 6. Headingley coverage starts from 10am with the first dance at 11am. Also Stream This Summer’s Men’s and Women’s Ashes Series on NOW TV.
