Opinion
Okay, full disclosure. I’m an Aussie fan, writing an opinion piece on an Aussie website. Not exactly screaming a balanced perspective.
However, in light of what has been said following the thrilling end to a great contest at Lord’s, I felt compelled to come on here and write this down. This is the cricket lover in me, not the Aussie fan.
I was up at 6:30am, making the morning coffee and prepping the new dog for their walk, and I got the obligatory message from our hardworking weekend editor, who had wrapped up his Ashes coverage.
“I’m packing the schedule this morning given the controversy.”
Controversy? A new controversy?
Jonny Bairstow looks frustrated after being run out by Alex Carey. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
So, I watch the highlights, and Alex Carey’s stumping of Jonny Bairstow roams across my screen. My initial thoughts? Didn’t even bat an eyelid. In fact, I watched the highlights all the way to the end, waiting to see what the controversy was.
So then I go read, and it turns out that in fact it was THAT stumping of Bairstow. Not only that, but the members at Marylebone Cricket Club had abused Aussie players, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum had criticised it for not being in the spirit of the game, and Stuart Broad had said it to Carey’s face on the field afterwards.
Really? THAT is what you guys are kicking a stink up about? I’m sorry, but I think I can say with some confidence, having played cricket as an opening batsman and a wicketkeeper in both Australia and in England that most cricketers would consider that dismissal completely fine.
Ben, Brendon, and members of the MCC, sit down. If you think this is not done in the spirit of the game, I actually question how much cricket you’ve actually played. I shouldn’t have to do that, because I know for a fact that you’ve played more than I have.
I’ve seen this sort of dismissal happen multiple times. I’ve DONE it once or twice. The reason why is simple: it’s a case of tactics, like literally everything in cricket.
Isn’t it the first rule of batting to always stay in your crease?
Extraordinary drama as Jonny Bairstow’s all time brain fade get him bizarrely run out
I’m not going to begrudge any batsman who bat out of their crease: in fact, the vast majority of my cricket mates and opening batting partners do. From a tactics standpoint, it makes sense: giving you that extra metre gives the ball less time to swing, helps you to deal with length better, (especially for yorkers), it adds more doubt into the mind of the umpire should an LBW appeal come up: it does a lot.
But if you miss the ball, do you know what all those mates do? They step back into their crease. Some of them have even made it part of their stance and practice it. It’s second nature, because this is the first rule of batting: always stay in the crease. Stepping back in the crease is done for one key reason: to eliminate any chance of the wicket keeper stumping you.
On a personal level, I always bat in my crease, as I personally found having that extra metre or so gave me more time to pick out shots to play, and I’d trust myself to be able to dig out the yorker or deal with the swing.
A friendly reminder to all England supporters – Brendon McCullum attempted to do the exact same thing to Paul Collingwood back in 2009.
— Will Faulkner (@willzfaulk) July 2, 2023
Funny how these things often come full circle ????????@wwos #TheAshes #9WWOS #ENGvsAUS pic.twitter.com/RiW9hynaSf
That’s my point, where you choose to bat and what you do is a case of your tactical approach to counteract the bowler, and as such: you shouldn’t be surprised if a quick-thinking wicket keeper tries to take advantage of that.
In this scenario, there is no case of the spirit of the game being challenged, because the batsman is choosing to bat out of their crease in reaction to the bowling, and the bowling side is reacting to it. How both sides deal with it is where the contest is generated.
This isn’t isolated to subbies cricket either, many international stars have gotten out this way; and Brendon McCullum was responsible for one such instance himself when he dismissed Paul Collingwood in 2009. Even more noticably, Bairstow tried to do the exact same thing to Marnus Labuschagne in the SAME test match, just a few days ago. Bairstow is completely within his rights to do that, Marnus saw it and got his foot back. The cricketer in me has no issue, because this is a tactical part of the game.
This is why the argument of the spirit of the game doesn’t make sense: has the contest been unfairly balanced?
This isn’t an instance of the 1981 underarm bowling incident, where the Chappell brothers up-ended the contest in their favour to stop Brian McKechnie having a fair chance to play a shot. This isn’t even the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal, where Dave Warner and co. deliberately manipulated the match ball in their favour.
You can argue the spirit of the game here, because the game is being objectively tipped in one team’s favour. Objectively, what the Chappell brothers did and what 2018 Australian test cricket leadership group did was not in the spirit of the game.
Can you argue that here? No, I honestly don’t think you can.
Dozy cricket from Colin De Grandhomme last year. The appeal was not withdrawn by England (video is courtesy of ECB) #Cricket pic.twitter.com/J2t6ELyFFp
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) July 2, 2023
Unlike those instances, the balance of the game hasn’t been offset. Cummins shouldn’t have to call Bairstow back, because Bairstow chose to bat out of his crease to counteract Green’s bowling. It was his choice to not step back in his crease. That’s the entire reason why Carey reacted in the first place.
The reason why members of the English team, staff, members of the MCC, the media and the general public are so upset is because of how it looks, the optics: it came at a critical point in a critical Test match in the context of one of the biggest test series in the world.
But the simple truth is that, what transpired on the Lord’s hallowed turf is within the spirit of the game, and completely legal. It was a choice of tactics used by Carey to take advantage of Bairstow forgetting, for one brief moment, the number one rule of batting:
Always stay in your crease.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
Australia have reclaimed top spot in the ICC's Test rankings, replacing India. Despite not playing since winning 2-0 in New Zealand in March, Pat…
This series’ twelfth and final team has a distinct West Indian flavour at the top of the order, and a domineering captain.
Mitch Marsh has been appointed as Australia's men's Twenty20 captain, set to lead a squad to the World Cup that does not include Steve…
Australia are set to turn their back on rising star Jake Fraser-McGurk’s whirlwind IPL form and drop Steve Smith in their T20 World Cup…
It seems franchise cricket has forgotten about the great battle between bat and ball. In fact, this season in the IPL there is no battle at all.
The mammoth rise of Jake Fraser-McGurk - his enormous potential and the destructive shot-making that he possesses makes him a very tempting option.
