The MCC has suspended three of its members over “unacceptable” behaviour during the dramatic final day of the Second Ashes Test at Lord’s following the alleged verbal abuse of Australian players.
A febrile atmosphere broke out at the usually polite and hospitable home of English cricket on Sunday after Alex Carey’s legal but controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow that played a key role in Australia eventually wrapping up a 43-run victory to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series ahead of the critical Third Test at Headingley that starts on Thursday.
Crowd fury at the dismissal - which many argue is not in keeping with the spirit of the game - spilled over into the Lord’s Long Room, where Australian pair Usman Khawaja and David Warner were picked up by television cameras appearing to become involved in angry verbal confrontations with MCC members as the Australian players made their way back to the pavilion at lunch.
Security guards eventually had to step in to guide Khawaja away in ugly scenes that many current and former players said they had never witnessed at Lord’s before.
Cricket Australia quickly called for a formal investigation into the alleged abuse, while Australian captain Pat Cummins stated that some of the MCC members may now lose their membership over what he described as “aggressive and abusive” behaviour.
The MCC initially apologised swiftly for the incidents and said they would “deal with any member who has not maintained the standard we expect through our disciplinary processes”.
The MCC later confirmed on Sunday evening that three of their members had now been suspended pending an investigation by the club.
“Further to the earlier statement, MCC can confirm it has suspended three members identified from earlier today,” the MCC said in a statement. “They will not be permitted back to Lord’s whilst the investigation takes place and were informed of this by MCC chief executive, Guy Lavender, this evening.
“We maintain that the behaviour of a small number of members was completely unacceptable and, whilst there was no suggestion by Pat Cummins in the post-match press conference that there was any physical altercation, it remains wholly unacceptable to behave in such a way, which goes against the values of the club.
“MCC condemns the behaviour witnessed and once again we re-iterate our apology to Cricket Australia. We are thoroughly disappointed to be talking about poor behaviour when the Long Room, as stated by Pat Cummins himself, is otherwise renowned for being ‘really welcoming’. It has been a thrilling day to finish off a wonderful five days of Test cricket.”
Carey’s stumping of the unwitting Bairstow came after the England batter had ducked a Cameron Green bouncer and then left his crease before the end of the over had been announced, not realising that Australia’s wicket-keeper had immediately scooped up the ball and taken a shot at the stumps in one motion. He was out of his ground by the time the impact was made and given out after a review by the third umpire.
Bairstow was on 10 at the time of his controversial dismissal, batting alongside captain Ben Stokes as England resumed day five on 114 for four chasing 371 for the most unlikely victory to level the Ashes series after their agonising opening two-wicket loss at Edgbaston. His exit reduced the hosts to 193 for six and dealt a major blow to their hopes of a remarkable comeback, despite Stokes keeping the chance alive for a couple more hours in the afternoon with a fantastic unbeaten 155.
Stokes later insisted that he would have withdrawn the appeal over the Bairstow stumping had he been in Cummins’ shoes. He said: “Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no.”
However, opposite number Cummins saw no issue with Carey’s actions and praised his wicket-keeper for being alive to the sort of opportunity that he claimed England had benefitted from themselves on more than one occasion in the past.
“I thought it was fair,” he said. “You see Jonny do it all the time, he did it on day one to David Warner, he did it in 2019 to Steve (Smith),” Cummins told reporters.
“It’s a really common thing for keepers to do if they see a batter keep leaving their crease. Cares (Carey), full credit to him, he saw the opportunity, rolled it at the stumps, Jonny left his crease. You leave the rest to the umpires.
“It was all one motion, there was no pause or sneakiness about it. It was ‘catch, throw’ straightaway.”
