Pat Cummins says he has been shocked by the fallout from the “non-event” of Jonny Bairstow’s Lord’s dismissal and insisted Australia would be looking at their own “pretty silly” error were the situation reversed.
The debate over Bairstow’s controversial stumping by wicketkeeper Alex Carey as he left his ground on the final day of the Second Test on Sunday has continued to rumble into the eve of the third at Headingley, which starts tomorrow.
The incident has created a clear and predictable divide, with Australia sticking to their guns that the dismissal was fair and England claiming they would have withdrawn an appeal in similar circumstances on the grounds of fair play.
“For what I think is a pretty common non-event, it does seem like everyone has a pretty strong opinion about it,” Australia captain Cummins said. “I don’t think there’s any discussion. It’s out.
“If the shoe was on the other foot, I wouldn’t be looking at the opposition, I’d probably be thinking [about] our own batter, and would be thinking it’s pretty silly.”
England skipper Ben Stokes has forecast a ramped-up atmosphere at Headingley this week on the back of the controversy, and while Joe Root yesterday called on England fans to focus on supporting their team first, Cummins says his team are prepared for the inevitable backlash, having been booed off at Lord’s.
“People pay for their tickets, they can turn [and] while I hope that I would never go to a sporting event and try to abuse players, some people do,” Cummins said. “I’m sure it’ll be a pretty fiery week from the crowd. But again, we’re on the field. I think in Australia, we’re as guilty as anyone a lot of the time, so I think it’s reality, to be honest.”
Australia are certain to make one change to their team, with 22-year-old spinner Todd Murphy in line for an Ashes debut in place of the injured Nathan Lyon, and are weighing up whether to refresh their seam attack with a second.
Josh Hazlewood has played consecutive Tests for the first time in more than two years and while the quick bowler is fit, Australia are keen to manage his workload and look likely to bring back Scott Boland into their XI.
