Sydney: Former International Cricket Council (ICC) Elite Panel umpire Simon Taufel has slammed the hypocrisy of many people criticising third umpire Marais Erasmus' decision to give Jonny Bairstow out in the second Ashes Test at Lord's. The Aussie stated that people cite Spirit of Cricket to support their view when they don’t like a dismissal under Laws of Cricket.
Bairstow was on 10 when he ducked under a bouncer from Cameron Green and inadvertently walked out of his crease.
Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey immediately fired in an underarm throw that hit the stumps. On-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Chris Gaffaney sent the decision upstairs, where Erasmus confirmed Bairstow's dismissal.
The dismissal drew a furious reaction from the fans, who started to chant "same old Aussies, always cheating", and booed the visitors for the rest of the day, with some players also facing verbal abuse from the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) members in the long room.
"Was Jonny Bairstow's dismissal at Lords a breach of the Spirit of Cricket? This is a question I have been inundated with, so I thought it best to share my thoughts publicly by asking everyone a question or eight to consider… Have you seen any umpire tell a fielding side that the keeper standing back is not allowed to attempt a stumping?
"Was there a complaint from anyone when Bairstow tried to stump Marnus exactly the same way in the first innings? What has Jonny Bairstow said about his dismissal? He has been very quiet. Why? My experience is when people don’t like a dismissal under the Laws of Cricket, they cite the Spirit of Cricket to support their view," wrote Taufel in a post on LinkedIn.
Carey's stumping of Bairstow has made huge headlines in the cricketing world even England and Australia now gear up for the third Ashes Test at Leeds from Thursday, with the respective Prime Ministers Rishi Sunak and Anthony Albanese defending their teams.
Taufel, who is a member the MCC Laws sub-committee, further wrote,"Which part of the codified Preamble (the Spirit of Cricket) was breached by the fielding side? What did the fielding side do in effecting a legitimate dismissal that unfairly impacted the ability of the batter in their attempt not to be dismissed? (Did they run into him or distract him or prevent him making good his ground?)"
"Should a batter be immune from dismissal as per the Laws by simply being negligent (and leaving his ground too early)? Did England retire Ben Duckett when they disagreed with the Starc catch decision as per the Laws and umpires' decision?
"The hypocrisy and lack of consistency from some people and groups is quite interesting and concerning for the future of our game. Maybe I am the odd one out here? The good news is that we are actively engaged with Test cricket, the best form of the game," he concluded.
