INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The setting was Lord's, the teams in action were the two oldest cricketing rivals - England and Australia, the eventual prize at stake was
the steeped in history Ashes urn
The match was poised precariously with both teams having an almost 50-50 chance of winning the contest
And then it happened - a controversy that could well be the biggest flashpoint of the series
It was no surprise that the theatre that we saw emanating from the Jonny Bairstow stumping incident took on a life of its own.At the end of
the day Bairstow was given out and eventually Australia won the match and took a 2-0 series lead.But what happened exactly and what were the
big reactions?TimesofIndia.com here gives you a blow by blow account of the controversial Bairstow stumping incident and the reactions that
followed:WHAT HAPPENED?On Day 5 of the Lord's Test, which was the second Ashes Test, captain Ben Stokes and wicket-keeper batter Jonny
Bairstow were in the middle together
England were batting on 193/5.The last ball of the 52nd over, bowled by Cameron Green, was a half-tracker
Bairstow ducked below the ball which flew over his head and went to the wicket-keeper Alex Carey.Bairstow, thinking that the ball was dead
and that the over was up, walked out of his crease
Seeing this Carey, who had observed Bairstow walk out of his crease earlier, threw the ball towards the stumps and hit them
With Bairstow well and truly out of his crease, the Aussies appealed for a stumping
Baristow looked completely flummoxed, so did the English dressing room
The Aussies huddled together as the on-field umpires went up to the third umpire.THE FINAL DECISIONThe third umpire must have checked with
the bowling end umpire to see if he had called 'over'
Since the umpire hadn't called 'over', the ball was deemed to be still in play and not dead and Bairstow was adjudged stumped outWHAT THE
RULES SAYThe MCC rule for this (20.1.2) says - The ball shall be considered to be dead when it is clear to the bowler's end umpire that the
fielding side and both batters at the wicket have ceased to regard it as in play.Meanwhile the MCC rule 30.1.1 says - A batter shall be
considered to be out of his/her ground unless some part of his/her person or bat is grounded behind the popping crease at that end.WAS IT A
Bairstow had wandered out of his crease at a time when the ball was still technically 'live'
Carey was well within his rights to throw the ball at the stumps and the Aussies were playing by the rules when captain Pat Cummins stuck to
his and his team's appeal
This is also why the appeal was entertained by the umpires in the first place.THE LONG ROOM ALTERCATIONThe fact that the English fans were
well and truly feeling short-changed and wounded was made clear by the altercation that ensued in the Lord's Long Room between MCC members
and a couple of Aussie cricketers.While the players were making their way to their dressing room, via the Long Room for lunch, some members
of the MCC had a thing or two to say to the Aussies
That made the likes of Usman Khawaja and David Warner exchange visibly heated arguments.Security personnel had to step in to control the
situation.Cricket Australia reported - "several incidents involving spectators in the members area" and alleged verbal abuse and physical
contact.Many of the members in the Long Room also booed the Aussies.THE FALLOUTThe MCC apologised to the Australian team on behalf of some
of its members.The MCC statement read - "The Long Room is unique in world cricket and the great privilege of players passing through the
we expect through our disciplinary processes
It was not necessary to eject anyone from the ground and I am pleased to say that there was no repeat of this as the players resumed the
A statement about the suspension of the three members was also released which said - "MCC can confirm it has suspended three members
identified from earlier today."They will not be permitted back to Lord's whilst the investigation takes place and were informed of this by
MCC chief executive, Guy Lavender, this evening."We maintain that the behaviour of a small number of members was completely unacceptable and
whilst there was no suggestion by Pat Cummins in the post-match press conference that there was any physical altercation, it remains wholly
unacceptable to behave in such a way, which goes against the values of the club
THE REACTIONS:Fans:The Aussies were soundly booed by the partisan crowd at Lord's and called 'cheaters'
Chants of 'same old Aussies, always cheating' rang out loud across the ground.What really angered most fans was that the Aussies refused to
They saw this as a violation of the spirit of the game, even though the Australians were playing within the rules of the sport
Players:Jonny Bairstow, England wicket-keeper batter: Was fuming as he walked off the groundStuart Broad, England bowler: Walked in to bat
next, told Carey - "that's all you will ever be remembered for"
He also told Cummins - "that's the worst thing I have ever seen in cricket"
He also exchanged fiesty words with some of the Aussie fielders and mockingly kept tapping his bat inside the crease after every
delivery.Pat Cummins, Australian captain: "I thought it was fair
thing for keepers to do if they see a batter keep leaving their crease
Cares (Carey), full credit to him, he saw the opportunity, rolled it at the stumps, Jonny left his crease
You leave the rest to the umpires."Usman Khawaja, Australian batter to Australian media: "Some of the stuff that was coming out of the
members' mouths was really disappointing and I wasn't just going to stand by and cop it"Ben Stokes, England Captain: "The first thing that
needs to be said is, it is out...If I was the fielding captain I would have put a lot more pressure on the umpires to ask them what their
decision was around the over and around the spirit of the game and would I want to potentially win a game with something like that happening
Jonny Bairstow was in his crease and then came out to have a chat in the middle
having a beer with them any time soon...I feel from our point of view, if we were in the same situation, we might've made a different
It will be a must-win match for the hosts, who are one loss away from losing the series
England haven't won the Ashes since the 2015 series, when they won 3-2, playing at home
Subsequently, Australia won the 2017-18 series at home 4-0, the 2019 series in England was drawn 2-2 and then Australia won 4-0 again in
