Marnus Labuschagne and Jonny Bairstow have proved the drama over the England wicketkeeper‘s controversial stumping at Lord’s is alive and well as they had a pointed exchange after the last ball of the fifth Test – before James Anderson had the final word.
Bairstow’s dismissal by Alex Carey became the flashpoint of the Ashes series when he walked out of his crease after mistakenly thinking the ball was dead, with English fans abusing Aussie stars as they walked through the famous ground’s Long Room during a break in play.
The heated arguments that followed saw the tourists accused of violating the spirit of cricket, and even escalated to the point where the Australian and British prime ministers got involved.
Bairstow took a cheeky dig at Labuschagne on the final ball of the first day’s play at The Oval on Thursday by pretending to get ready to throw the ball at the stumps after gloving the delivery.
Labuschagne engaged in a bit of theatre with Bairstow, over-dramatically dragging his bat behind the crease after the final ball as he reminded the English wicketkeeper what he should have done during the second Test at Lord’s
The batter responded by staring at the keeper as he over-dramatically dragged his bat along the ground while walking out of his crease, as if he was showing Bairstow what he should have done at Lord’s.
That’s when Anderson hit the Aussie with a few choice words.
‘Anderson seemed to suggest, “we don’t do that” as they crossed paths,’ cricket writer Bharat Sundaresan tweeted.
Several members of the England team had similar words for Pat Cummins and his side after the scandal at Lord’s, with skipper Ben Stokes saying he would ‘not want to win that way’ and accusing the visitors of forgetting the ‘spirit of the game’.
Anderson claimed his side would not have appealed for the same sort of stumping against Australia had the chance arisen, and Bairstow sent the tourists a cheeky message with a piece of theatre at the crease while he was batting during the third Test at Headlingley.
English quick James Anderson (pictured) hit the Aussie with a pointed comeback after seeing his exchange with Bairstow
Labuschagne finished on two not out as Australia reached 61-1 in reply to England’s 283
Labuschagne finished the day on two not out as Australia made 61-1 in reply to England’s 283, with David Warner falling cheaply yet again, out for just 24 to the bowling of Chris Woakes.
Mitchell Starc was the pick of the Aussie attack, battling through pain in his injured shoulder to take four wickets, including the all-important scalp of Stokes with a pearler of a ball.
But possibly his biggest impact came when he snared top scorer Harry Brook on 85, with England losing their last seven wickets relatively cheaply after making their way to 184-3.
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