Shouldn’t we all just calm down a bit after Lord’s? Once prime ministers decide to intervene, you know things have gone too far. Rishi Sunak has made it clear he wouldn’t want to win a match that way apparently, which feels very much like Tony Blair’s decision to wade into the case of Corrie’s jailed heroine Deirdre Barlow. Mark you, that really was important. So… was Jonny Bairstow out after being stumped by sharp-eyed Australian keeper Alex Carey? Undoubtedly. Should the Australians have withdrawn their appeal? Possibly, because Bairstow had good reason to think the over was finished when he moved out of his ground. But had England gone on to win the Test (and the Ashes), you can’t imagine skipper Pat Cummins would be getting an especially warm reception when he touched down in Sydney.
Rather than getting too worked up about the spirit of cricket, England should try to win a Test match
And what’s all this about the spirit of cricket? Well, to an Aussie eye that tends to involve English batters playing on after they are out.
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