Australia beat England in the second Ashes Test at Lord's by 43 runs on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-Test series. During the match England’s wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow was run-out under controversial circumstances which led to drama at the iconic venue.
Bairstow, who got out when he ducked under a bouncer from Cameron Green when he started walking of his crease. Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey immediately directed an underarm throw after catching the delivery and fired an accurate throw towards the stumps.
There have been a lot of speculations about his dismissal; on the one hand, some believe that the umpire made the correct decision, whereas others believe that it was not a fair call. England star Ben Stokes, who played an incredible innings and smashed 155 runs, expressed his disappointment and revealed that if this incident happened in Australia, he would withdraw the dismissal.
"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. Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no," Stokes had said in an interview with BCC moments after the defeat.
UK PM Backs Ben Stokes
UK PM Rishi Sunak also shared his views on the Bairstow's dismissal controversy. When asked if the British PM also believes that Australia's act was not within the spirits of the game, his spokesman said yes. "The prime minister agrees with Ben Stokes. He said he simply wouldn't want to win a game in the manner Australia did," the spokesman added.
“But the game did provide an opportunity to see Ben Stokes at his best and it was an incredible test match. He has confidence that England will bounce back at Headingley (in the Third Test),” the spokesman added.