Australia captain Pat Cummins remains resolute about the fact that there was nothing untoward in his team dismissing England wicket-keeper batter Jonny Bairstow in the second Ashes 2023 Test at Lord’s on Sunday. Cummins has rubbished all the talks of “Spirit of Cricket” about the incident by calling it a plain and simple stumping.
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Not just another debatable dismissal in cricket, it has escalated to an extent where the Prime Ministers of both countries have had to pass statements with regard to the matter. Both of them have shared contrasting opinions favouring their respective teams.
While English Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that he wouldn’t want to win a game in the manner that Australia did. He supported England captain Ben Stokes and backed England to bounce back in the series. Australian PM Anthony Albanese, meanwhile, opined how Australia have the habit of always winning and took a jibe over English supporters booing the Australian team.
Pat Cummins On If He Would Apologize Like Brendon McCullum For A Debatable Dismissal
Veteran England pacer Stuart Broad said that Cummins will regret his decision of not calling Bairstow back. Addressing the reporters before the third Test, Cummins gave a hilarious response on being asked if he would apologize for Bairstow’s dismissal the same way Brendon McCullum did to Muttiah Muralitharan seven years ago.
Cummins started laughing at the same question and said that the conversation of the spirit of cricket should not even be discussed in the matter.
“Maybe ask me in years to come [laughs].”
“I don’t think a conversation about the spirit of cricket even comes into a dismissal like that. It was plain and simple a stumping.”
Click here to read more about what exactly happened between the former New Zealand captain and current England Test head coach and legendary Sri Lankan spinner in Christchurch 17 years ago.
Pat Cummins Surprised By Brendon McCullum’s “Beer“ Comment
Cummins, 32, also expressed surprise at hearing McCullum’s viewpoint on not sharing beers with the Australian team “anytime soon”. Following head coach Andrew McDonald, Cummins has become the second Australian to criticize McCullum for passing a statement in the aftermath of a legal dismissal.
“I‘ve got no problems at all with Baz [Brendon McCullum]. I know how much he loves a beer, so that was surprising.”
When all’s said and done, the third Test Headingley Test is expected to be an absolute blockbuster. It is due to the same reason that former England captain Joe Root is expecting wicket-keeper batter Jonny Bairstow to entertain fans at this home ground.
