Widely respected England batsman Joe Root has added his voice to the howls of disapproval towards Australia’s controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s.
Root, a former England captain, joined Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum and Stuart Broad in criticising Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey for dismissing Bairstow in the second Test and skipper Pat Cummins for not withdrawing the appeal.
“As a player, it’s how you want to play the game, how you want to be remembered,” Root told reporters ahead of Thursday’s third Ashes Test in Leeds.
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“And that’s up to each individual. As a team, we want to play our cricket a certain way and want to leave a certain legacy. I try and put myself in that situation and position and I would like to think I would have dealt with it differently.”
Australia lead the series 2-0 and the incident will go down as one of the most divisive in Ashes history.
The atmosphere will be highly charged at Headingley – Root’s home ground – and while himself upset with Australia, the world’s No.1 batsman appealed for fans to remain calm.
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In extraordinary scenes, MCC members confronted and abused Australia’s players after the Bairstow dismissal in the fabled Long Room at Lord’s.
“Support England. I think that’s the most important thing, that you come in to support your nation, doesn’t need to go beyond that. It shouldn’t ever go beyond that,” Root said.
“Everyone should be here to enjoy the cricket on the field. And that’s what it should be about and shouldn’t be about anything other than that.”
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