The England wicketkeeper is in the firing line for mimicking the run-out attempt unleashed on him with great critique from English camp by his Australian counterpart.
Even as English cricket stands shockingly cribbing about the Alex Carey run-out, which should never have attained controversial proportions, fans all over the globe are showing Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and their teammates the mirror with a clip where the England wicketkeeper was trying to subject an Australian batter to a similar run-out in the Lord’s Ashes 2023 Test.
While Bairstow took great offence at being run-out by Carey from behind the stumps in one motion after needlessly meandering outside the popping crease, the English cricketer was himself trying to replicate the mode of dismissal earlier in the Test match against Marnus Labuschagne.
The viral clip being testament to it, Bairstow tried to catch Labuschagne’s feet outside the white line when he left James Anderson during the 31st over of the Australian innings on Day 3 of the game. Fans are wondering, then, how come England make such a big fuss of a simple, by-laws run-out when the shoe is on the other side?
So much so that members of the Lord’s pavillion took an unprecedented stance and abused the Australian players during the tea break in the esteemed long room and captain Stokes even tried to rain on the Australian triumph, insisting later he doesn’t believe in winning in such a fashion.
It’s almost as if England loves to use the unwritten ‘spirit of cricket’ as a convenient ploy and want to dictate when it gets evoked and where the line shall be drawn for the opposition when the laws of the game were once again merely subjecting one of their own to a fair and legal run-out.
Thought we had seen this before. Jonny Bairstow attempting to catch Marnus Labuschagne stepping out of his crease two days ago. #Ashes @wwos @9NewsAUS pic.twitter.com/U28fEvlEu8
— Sam Djodan (@samdjodan) July 2, 2023
Bairstow shall be asked if he feels Labuschagne deserved a run-out if he left the crease instantly with the ball still in play, why then did he expect Carey and the Australians to revoke their appeal when he was at the receiving end of a basic, rookie error?
The matter has perhaps only exposed the longstanding hypocrisy that English cricket has operated with when it comes to certain laws of the game.
Bairstow had no qualms going for a run-out that he wanted to be revoked against him, Stuart Broad fumed at an opposition persisting by the laws when he was happy to farm his ground when the umpire failed to spot the clearest of edges a decade back and Stokes, who was happy to raise his hands to the most costly overthrow since it went England’s way in a World Cup final, claims there was a fairer manner in which the Australians should’ve reached the winning post.
