Ashwin’s ‘most-awaited’ tweet after Bairstow wicket sparks ‘spirit of cricket’ debate

Australia continued their dominance in the ongoing Ashes and won the second Test at Lord’s by 43 runs to go 2-0 up in the three match series.

The final day saw England skipper Ben Stokes lead from the front; however, his powerful 155-run knock failed to drive England home as their second innings folded for 327 while chasing 371. The contest witnessed few moments, which created plenty of buzz on social media. Among them the one which garnered the most attention was Jonny Bairstow’s controversial dismissal in the opening session of Day 5.

Bairstow’s dismissal saw a fresh controversy erupt in the contest, also igniting the ‘spirit of cricket’ debate on social media. For those who didn’t watch the match for whatever reasons, Bairstow was runout for 10 (22). But the fashion in which he was dismissed left the home supporters fuming, including the reputed members of MCC.

Here’s what happened: Australian all-rounder Cameron Green bowled a short delivery and Bairstow allowed it to pass to the wicketkeeper. That is when the drama unfolded. Bairstow, who assumed the ball to be dead, then walked towards his captain present at the other end but little did he know Alex Carey had other plans. Carey knocked the stumps and Bairstow was found well outside the crease, in fact no where in the frame, leading to his dismissal.

Soon after the incident all hell broke loose as chants of “same old Aussies, always cheating” engulfed the iconic stadium. The moment also left internet divided with R Ashwin, who has mostly been at the center of ‘spirit of the game’ debates, praising Carey for his awareness.

“We must get one fact loud and clear. The keeper would never have a dip at the stumps from that far out in a test match unless he or his team have noticed a pattern of the batter leaving his crease after leaving a ball like Bairstow did. We must applaud the game smarts of the individual rather than skewing it towards unfair play or spirit of the game,” he tweeted. Ashwin’s two cents on the matter was well-received by fans on Twitter, with one user calling it the ‘most-awaited’ tweet.

Ex-cricketer Aakash Chopra also echoed similar views and wrote: “Let’s say this again— Whatever is within the ‘Laws of the Game’ can’t possibly be ‘Against The Spirit Of the Game’.”

What was more surprising was former Australian spinner Brad Hogg’s take on the incident. The renowned Chinaman spinner felt the dismissal was against the spirit of the game. “Bairstow wicket, Not Out. Spirit of cricket pushed to the boundary. Not attempting a run, end of over, scratched crease then walked for the regulation BS chat between overs between batsman,” he tweeted.

Stokes too expressed his displeasure over what happened. Speaking to BBC Test Match Special following the contest, Stokes said “For Australia it was the match-winning moment. Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no,” before adding he would have withdrawn the appeal.