England star Stuart Broad has conceded that “red mist” came over him when he antagonised Australia’s players while at the crease, but continued to criticise Australia for not rescinding its appeal on the controversial Jonny Bairstow stumping.
Broad was the man who replaced the England wicketkeeper at the crease on day five of the Lord’s Test and immediately took aim at Australian captain Pat Cummins and his charges for what he deemed to be a dirty play.
The 36-year-old called Cummins a “great guy” and said the Australian captain would regret his part in the incident in the years to come.
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“What amazed me, and what I told the Australians I could not believe as we left the field at lunch, was that not one senior player among them — and I very much understand in the emotion of the game that the bowler and wicketkeeper would have thought ‘that’s out’ — questioned what they had done,” he wrote in a column for the Daily Mail.
“Especially given what their team has been through over recent years, with all their cultural change.
“Not one of them said: ‘Hang on, lads. I’m not really sure about this.’ Not one of them thought: ‘He’s gaining no advantage. He’s not trying to get a run. It’s the end of the over. It’s a bit of a random dismissal. We should cancel that appeal.’
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“Ultimately, Pat Cummins is a really great guy and I would be amazed, once the emotion settles, if he does not sit back and think, ‘I got that one wrong’, even though his bottom line at the time was winning a Test match.”
Broad based his fairness argument on whether or not the England star was “trying to gain an advantage”.
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“With regards to the Jonny incident, zero advantage was being taken there: he let the ball go, scratched his mark within the crease, and acknowledging it as the end of the over, went to speak to Ben Stokes,” he wrote.
“And if you look at the footage of when the stumps were broken, one umpire has got the bowler’s cap in his hand, the other is head down, walking in from square leg — actions that suggest they too thought the over had finished.
“So, within the laws of the game, is the ball still live because Alex Carey catches it and throws it? Probably. Is there any advantage being taken by England? No. Does a full stadium of people think that ball has been and gone? Yes. On BBC radio commentary, Jonathan Agnew has already moved on from the calling of the ball.”
Vision of Bairstow attempting to stump Marnus Labuschagne earlier in the Lord’s Test also surfaced in recent days, and Broad said there was a distinct difference between the two acts.
Bairstow stunned by Carey’s act
“Yes, I have seen a clip from earlier in the match when in his guise as wicketkeeper, Jonny himself threw the ball at the stumps,” he wrote.
“But that was because Marnus Labuschagne was batting outside of his crease — in doing so, attempting to take the lbw out of the game. In other words, seeking an advantage.”
Broad’s views predictably have not gone down too well in Australia, with many pointing out his infamous decision not to walk after being caught at slip during the 2013 Ashes series.
The two teams will reconvene in Headingley on Thursday night for the third Ashes Test, which is a must win for England if it is to reclaim the famous urn out of Australia’s grasp.
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