Former England teammate Ian Bell believes that Jonny Bairstow only has himself to blame for his controversial dismissal on day five of the Lord’s Test, but questioned whether Australian captain Pat Cummins should have withdrawn the appeal.
The cricket world erupted on Sunday when Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey stumped rival gloveman Bairstow as the 33-year-old wandered out of his crease, sparking debate about the Spirit of Cricket.
Speaking to Betfair, Bell argued a “moment of poor concentration” cost Bairstow his wicket, which ultimately led to Australia’s 43-run victory in the second Ashes Test.
Get all the latest cricket news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!
“Jonny will know that it’s on him,” Bell said.
“After all was said and done after defeat on day five he would have gone back to his hotel room, closed the door, looked in the mirror and said to himself, ‘That’s my mistake.’
Bairstow smirks as he praises own wicket | 00:49
“In the heat of the moment, with the crowd riled and his teammates angry about what had occurred he may have been feeling aggrieved. But once everything has cooled off, I suspect he will be bitterly disappointed that a moment of poor concentration has been so costly.
“If he had just looked behind, to see what Alex Carey was up to there would’ve been no issue.”
However, Bell questioned whether the Australians might come to regret their decision not to withdraw the appeal, arguing it may have been more trouble than it was worth.
“I have no issue with the decision to give him out though. The rules are clear. It was out. Whether Australia should have withdrawn the appeal is up for debate though,” Bell continued
“What is a shame for the Australians is that this win will be remembered for this incident, rather than the really impressive cricket they played, when conditions were against them for the majority of the time.
“If I was Pat Cummins I would like to think that I would have had the feeling that it would be more trouble than it’s worth and withdrawn the appeal. I’m sure Ben Stokes probably asked him, ‘Are you sure you want to go down this route?’.
“Perhaps if Australia knew the reaction they would get he would have said, ‘Actually, Jonny, that’s just a warning. But next time…’”
READ MORE
‘THREE HOURS TOO LATE’: Ponting calls out Stokes role in Lord’s furore
‘NICEST MAN IN CRICKET’: Ex-England skipper torches Lord’s members
‘NEEDS TO STOP’: Pietersen turns on whinging Poms
Bell was embroiled in his own run out controversy 12 years ago – during the 2011 Nottingham Test against India, England teammate Eoin Morgan played a shot that stopped short of the boundary rope. Wrongly believing it had been four runs, Bell started to walked off the ground with his batting partner, only for India to retrieve the ball and complete a run out.
Bell was given out, but India and captain MS Dhoni decided to withdraw their appeal during the tea break.
“I was unbeaten on 137,” Bell recalled.
“The slips picked up the helmets and started walking off. The umpires started handing back jumpers. Unfortunately, the ball wasn’t dead. It hadn’t gone for four. A throw came in and with me heading back to the pavilion for Trent Bridge’s finest, the bails were whipped off.
“Well, I felt sick. Instinctively I knew it was my fault. I wasn’t trying to gain an advantage. but I had just switched off.”
Speaking on Fox Sports’ The Back Page on Tuesday evening, former Australian spinner Kerry O’Keeffe clarified why Bairstow had been correctly adjudicated as out.
“A dead ball is when the fielders and batters agree to ball is dead,” O’Keeffe said.
“Jonny decided it was dead. Carey didn’t think it was dead.
“Jonny is a drifter, he drifts up the pitch. They’d identified it as a weakness and Alex Carey cashed in on it.
“I played 230-odd first-class innings. The popping crease was my safe house. I never left it. I never got out stumped. I never went for mid-pitch conferences. I felt comfortable there.
“I played in the hard-nosed seventies, and the Laws governed how you played. Respect them, respect the umpires, accept decisions. There was no spirit of cricket involved then. The Laws are the Laws.”
The third Test between England and Australia gets underway at Headingley on Thursday, with the visitors holding a 2-0 series lead.
Aussies cop it from feral MCC members | 00:39