Ashes: Rishi Sunak agrees with Ben Stokes over Bairstow's dismissal, backs England to bounce back in Leeds
Rishi Sunak
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is said to be on the same page with England’s Test captain, Ben Stokes, over Jonny Bairstow's dismissal in the second innings of the Lord’s Test. On day five, Australia keeper Alex Carey stumped out Bairstow from quite a distance after the batter quickly left his crease and walked towards Stokes upon ducking the bouncer off Josh Hazlewood.
Though under the law that’s out, Stokes, after the match, said he would never win the game in that manner – something Rishi Sunak also agreed to. As per reports in the British media, Sunak’s spokesman has conveyed PM’s words on the same, saying,
“The Prime Minister agrees with Ben Stokes. He said he simply wouldn’t want to win a game in the manner Australia did,” Sunak’s sportsman said, as quoted by The Telegraph.
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Sunak, who was present on day four at the Lord’s Cricket Ground, heaped praises on Stokes, who was fighting a lone battle after Bairstow’s wicket, hitting an incredible 155 off 214 balls. Though he kept England in the game during most of his innings, Stokes failed to repeat Leeds’ heroics from last time as England lost the match by 43 runs.
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Per Sunak’s sportsman, he believes England can still make a comeback in the Ashes 2023, with a win in the third Test that begins next Thursday.
“But the game did provide an opportunity to see Ben Stokes at his best, and it was an incredible test match.
“He has confidence that England will bounce back at Headingley (in the Third Test starting on Thursday),” Rishi Sunak’s sportsman added.
The report also mentions that when asked if Australia didn’t keep up with the spirit of the game, Sunak’s sportsman said, ‘Yes’.
Bairstow’s dismissal divides opinion
Discussions, arguments, and verbal volleys were always going to follow after what transpired on the field.
Though the English cricket fans argue that Australia did them dirty by stumping Bairstow in this manner and that it clearly pushed the Spirit of the Game line, the Aussie cricket enthusiasts revert Bairstow should have stood back inside his crease knowing the repercussions of it, and eventually paid the price.
Stokes, who was again the man of the hour for England in the Ashes chase, after the matchsaid, “The first thing that needs to be said is that it is out. But would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no.
“If the shoe was on the other foot, I would have a deep think about the whole spirit of the game. If I was fielding captain at the time, I would have put a lot more pressure on the umpires to ask them what their decision was around the (end of the) over.
“Jonny was in his crease, then left his crease to come out and have the conversation between overs like every batsman does. For Australia, it was the match-winning moment,” Stokes added.
Meanwhile, England have lost the first two Tests and are one loss away from losing the home Ashes for the first time in over two decades.
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