The Jonny Bairstow dismissal controversy nearly overshadowed England captain Ben Stokes’ brilliant 155 and Australia’s 43-run win at the Lord’s on Day 5 of second Test. While Australians are convinced that the run out pulled off by Alex Carey was well within the rulebook, England players have found it a tough pill to swallow. England head coach went on to say that he doesn’t believe he will be having a drink with Australian players anytime soon. Not even 24 hours had passed since the incident but McCullum’s old video of running out former Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan as resurfaced.
In the video, Kumar Sangakkara took a single and completed his century. Muralitharan completed the single and left the crease with an intention to congratulate his teammate instead of going for the second run. The square leg umpire signalled that the ball was not dead yet but Muralitharan wanted to congratulate the wicketkeeper-batter. Meanwhile, McCullum saw the opportunity and ran Muralitharan out. There was not much confusion as the umpire raised his finger straightaway.
“I can’t imagine we’ll be having a beer any time soon. I think it was more about the spirit of the game and when you become older and more mature you realise the game and the spirit of it is something you need to protect,” McCullum told BBC after Pat Cummins-led Australia took a 2-0 lead in the Ashes 2023.
“You have to make decisions in the moment and they can have affects on games and people’s characters. By the letter of the law he is out. Jonny was not trying to take a run and the umpires had called over. It is one of those difficult ones to swallow and you look at the small margins it is incredibly disappointing. But lots of people will have their opinion on both sides of the fence. But the most disappointing thing is that it will be the most talked about event of a great Test match,” the 41-year-old added.
The next Test will be played at Headingley, Leeds. It will be a must-win encounter for England to keep their hopes of regaining the urn alive.
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