The stands at Lord’s were nothing short of feral after the match-defining moment between Alex Carey and Jonny Bairstow.
As a chorus of boos rang out across the stadium and into the corridors of the famed member’s stand, the English press laid into Australia.
The contentious moment drew a scathing assessment from some corners, the Daily Mail said Pat Cummins “looked PATHETIC” for his decision not to withdraw Australia’s appeal.
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“Pat Cummins sat in his chair on the dais at the post-match press conference, grinning sheepishly like a child who has been rumbled for filching a penny from the jar,” wrote Oliver Holt.
“The Australia captain did not seem to realise it but he had won a Test match and lost his reputation.
“He had conspired in the match-deciding dismissal of Jonny Bairstow on a pathetic technicality that made the much-reviled Mankad look like the height of sporting etiquette.
“There is some justification for a Mankad. There was none for the way Cummins and his wicketkeeper Alex Carey combined in the dismissal of Bairstow.
“Put it this way: neither of them will be getting an invitation to give the MCC Spirit of Cricket Lecture any time soon.”
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Day one and day five couldn’t have been further apart in attitude between the teams.
After England were waxed for being too friendly, Australia gave them absolutely every reason not to be mates in the three Tests to come.
That was certainly the assessment of UK Telegraph reporter Oliver Brown, who wrote Australia’s move was akin to that of the well-documented sandpaper scandal.
“For Lord’s, this was the day that decorum died,” Brown wrote.
“In every corner of a stately sporting citadel, the old Ashes codes of honour and mateship did not so much ebb away as evaporate.
“Stuart Broad told Alex Carey that his dastardly stumping of Jonny Bairstow was the only act for which he would ever be remembered.
“Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, said he could not imagine sharing a beer with the Australians any time soon.
“And in the pavilion of all places, a skirmish broke out, with a couple of egg-and-bacon ties needing to be forcibly separated from Usman Khawaja under a portrait of Sir Donald Bradman.
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“So much for scrupulous Australia, then,” he added.
“So much for this band of impeccable puritans, who have embarked on such a radical makeover since the 2018 sandpaper scandal that their captain models seaweed hoodies and their leading run-scorer hawks a brand of oat milk.
“Window-dressing, all of it. For when it comes to opportunistic or plain underhand tactics, the world’s No.1 Test side have proved that they remain in a class of their own.”
England hasn’t escaped ridicule throughout.
The so-called Bazball – named for its fast-paced, aggressive style of play created in the image of eponymous player, now England coach McCulllum – has been scrutinised.
If England lose this year’s series, which is being labelled an inevitability on the other side of the world, the home side can take some solace, writes Jonathan Liew of The Guardian, tongue firmly in cheek.
“England are 2-0 up in the Memory Ashes, and realistically it’s hard to see them giving it up from hare,” he said.
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“Perhaps when the final wicket falls at the Oval, we will be treated to the surreal sight of both teams erupting in wild celebration.
“Australia can hold aloft the old Ashes trophy – silly little red thing, one for the traditionalists, take it home if you want.
“Stokes, meanwhile, can brandish the Vibes Urn, a giant gold-encrusted amphora filled with Red Bull and kebab meat, a real trophy for real men.
“The open‑top bus parade starts at 2pm the following afternoon.”
The sarcastic remark is telling and echoes assistant coach Jeetan Patel’s comments that the approach is “100 percent” more important than the result. A strange view, perhaps.
In any case, England are now 2-0 and face the tough task of winning three on the bounce.
It’s not improbable, given how close they came to winning the first two.
It’ll take a mammoth effort, but the scenes of day five will give England the energy it needs to exact revenge when the third Test starts on Thursday, according to BBC scribe Jonathan Agnew.
“The Bairstow dismissal and the furore around it will galvanise England,” he mused.
“It is not going to do relations between the sides much good and England will have to use that to their advantage if they are going to have any chance of getting back into the series.
“The Headingley crowd is always hostile and that is only going to go up another notch when the third Test begins on Thursday.
“You cannot argue with history. England have never come from 2-0 down to win the Ashes.
“But they just have to take each match at a time, starting with Headingley, and take forward the positives of the Lord’s final day.
“Who knows, we could yet see something even more extraordinary.”
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