After having some quiet time in the high-octane Ashes 2023, the biggest Test rivalry boiled up in a big way following Jonny Bairstow's controversial dismissal in the second Test at Lord's. With England needing 178 more to win the match on Day 5 of the contest, the Australian wicket-keeper's act threw the spirit of the cricket vs laws debate wide open. After Bairstow's dismissal, Stuart Broad was the one to join England captain Ben Stokes in the middle.
While Broad did some sledging to the Australians, Stokes channelized his anger with a barrage of sixes to take the attack to the Aussies. Now after two days after the Test, Broad has poured his heart out of the Bairstow dismissal and highlighted what he said to the Aussie skipper Pat Cummins.
Broad wrote in his column in Daily Mail that he was angry going onto the middle and said to Cummins that all the boos in the stadium are for Cummins. "The red mist came over me, too, when I arrived at the crease to replace Jonny, and some of what I said was picked up on the stump mics -- which naively, given my experience, I didn't really think about."
"I was angered by Australia's decision, particularly having heard their lines about creating a new legacy as a team, and how they have changed since the tour of South Africa in 2018. I just said to Pat on repeat: 'All these boos are for you, for your decision.' And: 'What a great opportunity you had to think clearly," Broad wrote.
Broad finds Lord's long room incident not unusual
In the aftermath of the Bairstow stumping, not only the England crowd went bonkers to the Australian team but a few MCC members abused the visiting players Usman Khawaja and David Warner on their way to lunch. But Broad has stated that although the act of the members was not right, it was not an unusual thing. "The Lord's crowd are obviously huge cricket lovers and never before have I seen a reaction from them like that. They were so angry. I am not saying that the MCC members shouting at players was right but having toured Australia four times, I certainly do not think hostile behaviour towards away teams is unusual," the pacer wrote.
However, the MCC apologised to the Australian Cricket team and later also suspended three of their members for their actions in the Lord's long room.
Broad's anger was not only limited to Cummins but he commented on Alex Carey too. "To Alex Carey, I said: 'This is what you'll be remembered for, and that's such a shame.' It may have been a bit silly, but I also shouted 'in' every time I crossed the line. It annoyed the Australians for maybe half an hour, although after two-and-a-half hours, they were probably a bit bored of it.
The third Ashes is set to be a high boiling one with England desperately looking for a win to stay alive in the series. The Test will begin on July 6 at Headingley, Leeds.
