The dust might have literally settled over Lord’s, and the revelling Australians will shortly be heading off to Leeds, but words like ‘cheat’ and a team being reprimanded for going against ‘the spirit of cricket’ will not be easily forgotten.
After a frenetic action-filled final day of the second Test match, the facts are clear. Australia have a 2-0 series lead, and an entire generation of England fans will have to confront the notion that their side might lose a home Ashes for the first time in 22 years.
However, the scoreboard does not even tell half the story of what occurred on Sunday in west London. Three Marylebone Cricket Club members have had their membership temporarily suspended, England head coach Brendon McCullum said he would not be having a beer with Australia “any time soon” and a debate over the spirit of cricket will rage until at least the next Test starts.
Jonny Bairstow’s unforgettable Test
The hero of the 2022 summer was hailed so again on the first morning of the match when he lifted into the air and carried away from the field a Just Stop Oil protestor. At that point the relations were still good, with even David Warner praising the Englishman for his actions in preventing any paint from reaching the playing wicket.
England’s Jonny Bairstow carries a Just Stop Oil protester off the pitch at Lord’s (Mike Egerton/PA).— (PA Wire)
But on the morning of the fifth day, Bairstow’s controversial stumping sparked a debate. The Yorkshireman ducked a bouncer, which went straight through to Alex Carey behind the stumps, paused for a moment then went to speak to his batting partner Ben Stokes, just as the wicket-keeper threw the ball at the stumps and appealed. The decision was made after an umpire review and he was out.
The chorus of boos that followed has not been heard at Lord’s before, nor the chants (which are usually reserved for the more lively northern grounds) of “same old Aussies always cheating” or “cheat, cheat, cheat” when Josh Hazlewood was starting his run-up.
Former Australia international Brad Hogg branded the wicket a “cheap move” while Ben Stokes insisted that he would not have wanted to win “in that way”. Lord’s holds a ‘spirit of cricket’ lecture every year, and it is one of cricket’s many idiosyncrasies that something can follow the rules of the game, but not be considered in its ethos, just as the Bairstow wicket has been.
What now for the Marylebone Cricket Club?
Lord’s was already under the microscope for its position of privilege in the wake of the Commission for Equity in Cricket report’s findings at the start of the week, with racism, sexism, elitism and class-based discrimination found to be “widespread and deeply rooted in the sport”.
There are roughly 18,000 MCC members, of which just 217 are women (as of 2019), but it was the actions of those in the elite position that has drawn criticism, especially from the Australian press. As cries of “cheats” echoed around Lord’s it was the barrage the Australian players were subject to in the pavilion itself that crossed a line. Some of the players were reportedly tripped and subject to boos, hisses, chants of “cheaters” and told to “go back home” as they made their way back to the changing room.
Three MCC members have had their membership suspended, and chief executive Guy Lavender even had to tell give a speech at lunch in the Pavilion urging respect, while questions were raised in the post-match press conferences over player safety.
Who will cope better with injuries?
Australia’s Nathan Lyon hobbles back to his crease during day four of the second Ashes test— (PA Wire)
Nathan Lyon sustained a significant calf tear on the second day and will play no further part in the series. Having played 100 Test matches in succession, and barring the events on the final day, the spinner hopping out to the crease to put on another 15 runs for the final wicket alongside Mitchell Starc, would have been one of the defining moments of the Test match.
More of a concern for England remains over the fitness of vice-captain Ollie Pope. The batter sustained a shoulder injury in the field, and while he came out to bat again at number three, he suffered a recurrence in the second innings and will be further examined ahead of the Headingley Test match.
The defining image of Ben Stokes in this series?
Stokes was out for 155 after a mammoth effort with the bat— (AFP via Getty Images)
The perfect picture. Stokes bowed over the bat, devastated that his attempt to recreate the magic of Headingley in 2019 had not happened, and Josh Hazlewood with arms spread in celebration. No other players were there to congratulate the bowler, with all nine of them spread on the boundary.
It was almost the perfect innings, and although it was not enough to drag England over the line as he had done four years before, his 155 runs got his side closer to the target of 371 than anyone assumed was possible when they were 45 for four the evening before.
While some may be critical of the four-and-a-half hours of short bowling that eventually reaped the rewards in Australia’s second innings, no one can fault the effort from Stokes, who quite literally puts his body on the line time and again for his side.
