The non-stop reactions for the controversial stumping continues as even the Victorian Police didn't leave the chance to rub the Bairstow wicket onto the English wounds.
After the infamous Jonny Bairstow stumping from Day 5 of the Lord’s Ashes 2023 Test got Australia and England at loggerheads and triggered a widespread debate on social media, so much so that even the two nations’ PMs got involved, Victorian Police tried to lend the heated matter a funny twist.
It was at the expense of Bairstow in a viral tweet, wherein the Victorian authorities cited the example of the England wicketkeeper-batter to press home the rulings: not to cross over until the green signal. The amusing post had a screengrab from Bairstow’s dismissal backed with a traffic light signalling red.
The Victorian security personnel expressed gratitude towards Bairstow for exemplifying a message they wanted to send across to the Australian public boarding the roads: abide by the laws or be at risk. The post being a metaphor for the Englishman not complying with the laws and paying the ultimate prize
The Aussie handle made it clear they also intended to address the “grumpy” English attitude in relation to the dismissal, which has got the entire England cricket fraternity conveniently inclined towards the ‘spirit of cricket’ despite Bairstow himself trying to inflict a stumping in exactly the same fashion against Marnus Labuschagne earlier in the Test match.
Taking to Twitter, the Victorian Police said it remains thankful of Jonny Bairstow for reiterating the repercussion of not following the laws and trying to cross by when the light is not green yet – as the batter did when he wandered outside the crease even as the ball was active when Alex Carey inflicted the stumping from behind.
“We’d like to thank Jonny Bairstow for reminding everyone about the dangers of stepping over the crease before you’re given the green light,” the Victorian Police tweeted.
We’d like to thank Jonny Bairstow for reminding everyone about the dangers of stepping over the crease before you’re given the green light.
Check out our road safety tips ➡ https://t.co/1fSI5XpMMe then tag a grumpy Englishman (we’ll go first @metpoliceuk) pic.twitter.com/tvyh511pLN
— Victoria Police (@VictoriaPolice) July 3, 2023
The polarizing reactions seem to have given the controversial stumping and the whole episode an undying steam, with non-stop word of approval and disapproval from both sides while the matter continues to hog the limelight even as Australia played tough, hard cricket and deserves praise for clinching a 2-0 series lead in the marquee series.
