England is unhappy with Australia after they felt that the Australian team went against the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ and dismissed Jonny Bairstow in the recently concluded Lord’s Test match of Ashes 2023. During England’s second innings, Bairstow was batting on 10 runs off 21 deliveries when he ducked a delivery from Cameron Green.
As it was the last ball of the over and the ends were supposed to change, Bairstow came out of his crease to discuss with his batting partner Ben Stokes. While Bairstow was out of his crease, Australian wicket-keeper Alex Carey stumped him. Carey threw the ball towards the stumps to dismiss Bairstow, but the England camp was not pleased with Australia’s actions, claiming that they violated the ‘Spirit of Cricket.’ However, it is well-known that England has also broken the spirit of the game on three occasions.
Stuart Broad doesn’t always walk back to the dressing room after being caught out
In the Trent Bridge Test match of the 2013 Ashes series, Ashton Agar delivered a ball that was edged by England’s fast bowler Stuart Broad. The ball ricocheted off the gloves of wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and went directly to first slip fielder Michael Clarke. While the Australians celebrated the wicket, Broad remained unmoved. To the surprise of the Aussies, umpire Aleem Dar thought it was not out as well.
As a result, Broad did not walk back to the dressing room, which is what many batters do when they nick a delivery behind the stumps. When questioned about the incident earlier this year, Broad stated that he wouldn’t change his decision. He believed that England needed more runs and didn’t want to risk losing the game. He looked up at Aleem and accepted his decision.
In an intense match, England controversially dismissed Grant Elliott via a run-out
During the fourth ODI of the 2008 England vs New Zealand series, Grant Elliott of the Blackcaps collided with England’s bowler Ryan Sidebottom while completing a run. As a result of the collision, Elliott fell to the ground and was unable to reach the crease. England then appealed for a run-out and dismissed Elliott.
Umpire Mark Benson asked England, captain Paul Collingwood, twice if he wanted to withdraw the appeal. Collingwood accepted the wicket, despite going against the ‘Spirit of Cricket.’ Interestingly, a few years ago, Grant Elliott had collided with an ENG bowler, got run out, and Collingwood DIDN’T withdraw the appeal. Stokes, it’s in your genes.
England accepted a catch that was deflected off the non-striker’s bat
In the 2022 English summer, New Zealand visited the United Kingdom for a three-match series. During the final match of the series, Henry Nicholls attempted to score a boundary off spinner Jack Leach’s bowling when the Blackcaps were 123/4. Nicholls hit the ball towards the straight boundary, but it hit non-striker Daryl Mitchell’s bat and went straight to mid-off fielder Alex Lees.
England celebrated the catch as Nicholls walked back to the dressing room. Fans on social media have opined that England would have started ‘Spirit of Cricket debates once again had this thing happened to one of their batters. England’s breach of the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ is not limited to this incident.
In the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand, Ben Stokes accepted four overthrows after a deflection off his bat. England also won the World Cup via a boundary count in the final.
