Jonny Bairstow’s run out: What happened, the rules and reactions

Fifth day of the second Ashes Test was mired in controversy with Jonny Bairstow adjudged run out in a decisive moment. An under-arm throw from Alex Carey caught Bairstow short and led to dramatic scenes on and off the field.

England were halfway through their chase of 371 runs when Bairstow was stunned by the unconventional dismissal.

What happened on Day 5 at Lord’s?

Having ducked a bouncer from Cameron Green, England keeper-batter Jonny Bairstow instantly got up, marked his guard and walked towards Ben Stokes at the other end.

An alert Australia’s wicketkeeper Alex Carey collected the ball and threw it towards the stumps in one quick motion to find Bairstow short.

As Australia celebrated and England players looked bewildered, the decision was sent to the TV umpire Marais Erasmus. After a brief look, the umpire adjudged it to be a fair dismissal and sent Bairstow packing.

TV replays later suggested Bairstow had seemingly made a habit of this. The England batter would leave the crease early often which was seemingly picked up by Carey.

What does the law say about the dismissal?

According to law 20.1.2 of the MCC’s Laws of Cricket, “the ball shall be considered to be dead when it is clear to the bowler’s end umpire that the fielding side and both batters at the wicket have ceased to regard it as in play.”

In this case, the fielding side clearly considered the ball to still be in play and hence it wasn’t a dead ball.

Much like the running out at the non-striker’s end, this too is a legal dismissal but falls under the grey area of the gentleman’s game.

Ashwin backs Carey

India off-spinner R Ashwin, who has often been subjected to unfair criticism for running out batters at non-striker’s end for backing too far, has backed Carey.

“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,” Ashwin tweeted.

How did the two captains react?

England’s Ben Stokes was sceptical about the incident and clarified he wouldn’t have wanted to “win a game in that manner”.

“I am not disputing the fact it is out because it is out,” Stokes said.

“If the shoe was on the other foot I would have put more pressure on the umpires and asked whether they had called over and had a deep think about the whole spirit of the game and would I want to do something like that.”

“For Australia, it was the match-winning moment. Would I want to win a game in that manner?

“The answer for me is no,” Stokes affirmed.

His Australian counterpart Pat Cummins, on the other hand, offered a contrasting view.

“I think (Alex) Carey saw it happen a few balls previous,” Cummins said in the post-match presentation.

“There was no pause. Catch it, straight away, have a throw at the stumps. I thought it was totally fair play. That’s how the rule is. I know some people might disagree. Just like the catch yesterday, the rule is there. That’s how I saw it.”

A frustrated England coach Brendon McCullum said “he can’t imagine we’ll be having a beer any time soon”.

“When you become older and more mature, you realise the game and the spirit of it is something you need to protect,” McCullum told the BBC.

“You have to make decisions in the moment, and they can have effects on games and people’s characters.

“By the letter of the law, he is out. Jonny was not trying to take a run. It is one of those difficult ones to swallow and you look at the small margins, it is incredibly disappointing.

“But lots of people will have their opinion on both sides of the fence. The most disappointing thing is that it will be the most talked about event of a great Test match.”

How did other former cricketers react?

Former England captain Andrew Strauss: “In truth, I think there was absolutely nothing wrong with it but, of course, the crowd will see it through English patriotic eyes.”

“Bairstow was being dozy going outside of his crease. I was pretty comfortable with what Australia did.”

Former England captain Michael Atherton said on Sky Sports: “England have nothing to complain about, it was a dozy bit of cricket from Jonny Bairstow.”

Another former England captain Eoin Morgan agreed: “I don’t see it compromising the spirit of the game,” he told Sky Sports.

“There was a huge sense of frustration (in the crowd) but I can’t understand why? It’s complete naivety around Bairstow’s dismissal.

“The ball is not dead at any stage when Bairstow leaves his crease. He was obviously in his own little bubble – and you cannot do that.

“It’s actually really smart from Carey, recognising what is going on – Bairstow living in his own little world – and seeing an opportunity to take a wicket.”

How did the crowd react?

The incident resulted in loud boos from the English crowd. There were chants of “same old Aussies, always cheating.”

Even the MCC members in the iconic Long Room of Lord’s pavillion took potshots at the likes of Usman Khawaja and David Warner.

Khawaja was making his way through the room at the ‘Home of Cricket’ when he stopped and had a brief chat with an MCC member. With tempers flaring, a security official had to step in and pull him away to prevent the matter from escalating.

Later, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) “unreservedly apologised” to the Australian team.

“The Long Room is unique in world cricket and the great privilege of players passing through the Pavilion is very special. After this morning’s play, emotions were running high, and words were unfortunately exchanged with some of the Australian team, by a small number of members,” the MCC said in a statement.

“We have unreservedly apologised to the Australian Team and will deal with any Member who has not maintained the standard we expect through our disciplinary processes. It was not necessary to eject anyone from the ground and I am pleased to say that there was no repeat of this as the players resumed the field for this afternoon’s session.”

Before this, Australian team management had requested the MCC to investigate the incident involving spectators in the members’ area.

“Australian management has requested the Marylebone Cricket Club investigate several incidents involving spectators in the members area during lunch on day five of the Lord’s Test,” Cricket Australia said in a statement.

“It is alleged players and staff from the Australian team were verbally abused, with some being physically contacted, as they made their way to lunch through the members area.”

This wasn’t the first controversial moment during the second Ashes Test. A day prior, Mitchell Starc taking the catch of Ben Duckett was deemed not out – much to the annoyance of the Aussies.

Eventually, Stokes’ battling 155 runs knock went in vain as Australia won by 43 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the Ashes.

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