In the fourth innings of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, Australia set England a daunting 371-run target. Pat Cummins and co. were given a major fright by England captain Ben Stokes, who struck nine fours and nine sixes en route to a breathtaking 155. The visitors ultimately prevailed by 43 runs to claim a 2-0 advantage in the Ashes.
The stumping of Jonny Bairstow off the bowling of Cameron Green became one of the day’s most significant discussion points. Bairstow safely navigated a bouncer from the tall Australian all-rounder with the final delivery of the 52nd over, allowing the ball to reach Alex Carey.
England’s wicketkeeper-batsman began strolling towards Ben Stokes at the non-striking end, believing that the ball was ‘dead’ in cricketing parlance. However, Carey miscued the ball and struck the stumps, finding his opponent outside the crease. Bairstow was defeated.
This caused a great deal of discontent among English fans, who viewed it as contrary to the essence of cricket. Ben Stokes, captain of England, also expressed his displeasure with the incident. Stokes believes that the intensity of the series will increase throughout the remainder of the third test and the remainder of the series.
“I have no doubt that it will be stepped up. Australia has a history and has visited England several occasions since, so I believe they are accustomed to the English crowd, Stokes was quoted as saying by Fox Cricket.
“When we travel to Australia, we are also criticised. I believe that is a part of the sport we perform. Thousands of individuals who want their team to triumph will simply jump on anything. We get it in Australia: 90,000 Australians are cursing at you at the MCG. It’s a requirement of the position.”
I believe we’re still on good terms. Pat Cummins
Australian captain Pat Cummins, who defended his teammate Carey, stated that some sort of controversy typically arises during the Ashes. Cummins stated that his team is “still amicable” despite receiving harsh criticism from fans and opponents.
“It seems that every Ashes has some element of drama—even one-sided Ashes in the past, things heat up in the middle of a series,” said Cummins.
“It appears as though two old adversaries are competing against each other. Will it result in any change? I don’t believe so. I do not believe it will affect us in any way. I believe we’re still on good terms, so we’ll see what happens. Being up 2-0 is something to be extremely delighted about. There’s already so much going on in this series that I didn’t think it required any more attention, but perhaps there is.”
Notably, Stuart Broad insulted Carey during his batting on the fifth day. The veteran pacer reportedly informed the wicketkeeper that his dismissal of Bairstow would be remembered.
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