Former Australia international Brad Hogg has branded Jonny Bairstow’s controversial stumping at Lord’s a “cheap” move and insisted England were “hard done by”.
Bairstow was dismissed in bizarre circumstances on a tense final day in the second Test, with Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey throwing down the stumps after the batter ducked the final ball of the over and set off to talk to partner Ben Stokes.
The wicket was upheld by TV umpire Marais Erasmus, who judged that the ball was not dead, but Bairstow clearly felt the over had been completed.
England captain Stokes said he would have withdrawn the appeal and suggested it was not in line with the spirit of cricket, and he found an unexpected ally in Hogg.
The 52-year-old, who played seven Tests and 138 limited-overs internationals for Australia, told talkSPORT: “I was disappointed from the start, I thought they should have called Bairstow back.
“He wasn’t taking any advantage. At the end of the day it’s not a good spectacle for Test cricket.
“England, for me, were hard done by. You don’t want to win a Test match by taking cheap wickets like that. It’s not the same as a stumping, not the same as running someone out batting out of their crease. He was in his crease (when facing).
“He did the same act a number of times at the end of the over beforehand, Australia should have warned him if they were going to do this.”
