Australia accused of cheating as Ashes controversy erupts

England coach Brendon McCullum says Australia played against the “spirit of the game” as the visitors claimed a controversial victory in the second Ashes test at Lord’s.

Australia outlasted another epic solo assault by England captain Ben Stokes to win the second Ashes test by 43 runs with a session to spare on a salty last day.

Stokes seemed to be pulling a stunning victory out of impending defeat for England with an astonishing 155 that echoed another unforgettable century in a thrilling fourth-innings chase to win the Ashes test at Headingley in 2019.

Again, he turned hope into expectation for a sold-out crowd and helped to reduce a never-reached 371 target at Lord’s to 70.

Then he was gone, top-edging a short ball from Josh Hazlewood behind to wicketkeeper Alex Carey. A febrile Lord’s sank into silence until the crowd rose to send Stokes off to a sustained standing ovation.

He was the seventh man out, and the tail wagged for another hour. England was all out for 327 and congratulated Australia on the pavilion steps after the victors were booed off the field.

Australia lead the series 2-0 and the holder can clinch a first Ashes series win in England since 2001 at Headingley in the third test starting on Thursday.

England’s chances of retaking the urn were bleak. Only one team has ever come back from 2-0 down in the Ashes, and it had Don Bradman, in 1937.

The match wasn’t as epic as last week’s opening test at Edgbaston, which was a thriller for all five days, but the last day at Lord’s will live long in Ashes infamy as Stokes embellished his legend and the Australians were booed mercilessly and accused in crowd chants of cheating.

The Marylebone Cricket Club even apologised to the visitors for some of their members handling and verbally abusing the Australians in the sacred Long Room at lunch.

A chase that was moving at a serene pace erupted when Jonny Bairstow got himself stumped half an hour before lunch.

Bairstow ducked a bouncer from Cameron Green and he neither checked the fate of the ball nor stood his ground. Instead, he left his crease to talk with Stokes and wicketkeeper Alex Carey simply underarmed the ball into his stumps and the Australians celebrated. Bairstow was confused and the umpires asked for a ruling from the third umpire, who didn’t hesitate to say he was stumped for 10 at 193-6. England’s tail was exposed, still needing 178 more runs.

Despite Bairstow’s brain fade, Stokes expressed his anger to the on-field umpires, and large parts of Lord’s blamed the Australians in chants. One was, “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, cheat, cheat, cheat”.

As prim and proper Lord’s turned into the Colosseum, Stokes, the last recognised batter, switched into beast mode.

He took out his outrage on Green, initially. Green’s next over went for 14, including three Stokes boundaries. The next Green over went for 24, including three successive Stokes sixes. The last of them brought up his 100 off 142 balls. Stokes went from 62, his score when Bairstow left, to 100 in 16 balls. It was his 13th test century.

He had a warrior of similar ilk in the foxhole with him, Stuart Broad, who played up to the crowd by exaggerating planting his bat behind the crease. Broad walked off for lunch berating Carey and Pat Cummins as boos rained down on the Australians.

The second ball after lunch was dispatched over long on by Stokes. But in the same over bowled by Hazlewood, Stokes on 114 was spilled by Steve Smith at deep backward square. Carey then couldn’t hold onto a chance at 115 as the crowd cheered.

Broad took body blows from Cummins and Mitchell Starc, doing what was necessary to feed the strike to Stokes.

Stokes flayed the Australians with nine sixes, one of them one-handed over fine leg, and nine boundaries to the crowd’s utter joy.

He had 86 runs of their 100 stand from 93 balls. But he went down swinging soon after.

Without injured spinner Nathan Lyon, Australia dismissed England for 327 in 81.3 overs. Seamers Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood took three wickets each, and Starc, the one change by Australia after Edgbaston, had a leading six for the match.

Hazlewood took the day’s first wicket, when opener Ben Duckett edged behind on 83. He also got Duckett in the first innings on 98. Duckett was beside himself after a stand of 132 with Stokes that England was so badly relying on.

Then Bairstow came in, and his dismissal fired up Stokes.

Against ‘the spirit’ of cricket or fair play?
England coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes believed Australia broke “the spirit” of the laws of cricket in the Jonny Bairstow dismissal at Lord’s on Sunday.

McCullum and Stokes agreed Bairstow was out, technically, but Stokes would have backtracked on appealing for out.

“Do I want to win in that manner?” Stokes posed. “The answer for me is no.”

Bairstow was stumped when he ducked a bouncer and immediately left his crease to meet Stokes in the middle. England say he believed the umpires called, ‘Over,’ meaning the ball was dead. Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey tossed down the stumps and Bairstow was given out for 10 after a brief review.

Bairstow was confused, initially, then obviously unhappy by the stumping. He left Stokes as the last recognised batter. England lost by 43 runs and went down 2-0 in the five-match series.

Australia had to endure the crowd’s bitterness for the rest of the match, and McCullum felt the visitors brought it upon themselves.

“It was more about the spirit of the game,” McCullum said. “When you become older and more mature you realise the game and the spirit of it is something you need to protect. You have to make decisions in the moment and they can have effects on games and people’s characters.

“By the letter of the law he is out. Jonny was not trying to take a run and the umpires had called ‘Over.’ It is one of those difficult ones to swallow. You look at the small margins, it is incredibly disappointing.”

Stokes felt likewise.

“When is it justified that umpires have called ‘Over?’” Stokes said. “Does the square leg umpire making some movement justify that? Jonny Bairstow was in his crease and then came out to have a chat in the middle. I’m not disputing if it was out, it was.

“If the shoe was on the other foot I would have put more pressure on the umpires and asked whether they had called ‘Over’ and had a deep think about the whole spirit of the game and would I want to do something like that.”

Australia captain Pat Cummins said, “It was totally fair play.

“It’s a rare dismissal. There was nothing untoward or sneaky. Jonny was leaving his crease every ball. He did it for four or five balls. You’re meant to stay in your crease in cricket. Bairstow has tried it with a lot of our guys.”

Cummins said there was no ill-feeling from his side for England but McCullum thought it will impact their relations.

“I can’t imagine,” the coach said, “we’ll be having a beer any time soon.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission