Webdesk: On Sunday, Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey ran out England’s Jonny Bairstow, reigniting the Ashes Test debate.
Bairstow started advancing towards the other end of the crease, thinking the ball was dead, but the wicketkeeper broke the stumps, surprising the English cricketer.
The third umpire declared Bairstow out, which hurt England.
After the match, Australian skipper Pat Cummins was asked about England captain Ben Stokes’ statement about withdrawing the appeal if it happened to an Australian player.
“Ben Stokes says he would’ve withdrawn his appeal,” the presenter inquired post-match.
Cummins replied “okay”.
Social media reacted differently to the Australian captain’s one-word answer. Fans and professionals debated cricket spirit.
Stokes asked BBC’s Test Match Special: “When is it justified that the umpires have called over?
“Are the on-field umpires moving, indicating over? I’m unsure.”
The cricketer said Bairstow was “in his crease then out of his crease” and didn’t object to the dismissal since “it is out”.
“If the shoe was on the other foot I would have placed more pressure on the umpires and questioned whether they had called over and had a deep think about the overall spirit of the game and would I want to do something like that. Australia won the match. Would I want that? I’m no.
Stokes responded “Yes” when asked if he would’ve dropped the run-out appeal in a similar situation.
