WATCH | Anthony Albanese, Rishi Sunak share a joke over Ashes controversy at NATO summit

The Ashes 2023 has been a big topic of debate in the last couple of weeks for more than one reason as England and Australia sharecentre stagein the English summer. While the Aussies lead the Ashes 2-1, both England and Australia have been in hot water recently for a controversy surrounding Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s. The controversy that triggered the feud on Sunday, July 2, was given a hilarious revisit by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak when they met at the NATO summit on Tuesday, July 12 in Vilnius, Lithuania.

What happened on Day 5 of Lord’s Test?

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On the last ball of the 52nd over, Bairstow facing Cameron Green left his crease having thought the dot ball has been called dead, while it was not. The moment was seized by Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey as he threw the ball on the stumps which resulted in Bairstow’s unlikely dismissal. The on-field umpires, Ahsan Raza and Chris Gaffaney went upstairs to the third umpire Marais Erasmus to check whether the ball is dead or not, who confirmed that Baistrow was indeed out, leaving England fans and the team in disbelief as they thought the dismissal was against the spirit of the game.

What happened at the NATO summit?

After the controversy erupted on Day 5 of the Lord’s Test earlier in the month, both PMs, Anthony Albanese and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak, backed their teams. Albanese openly supported his team when the British mediacriticised the Australian side for dismissing Bairstow. Sunak also jumped into the feud and backed his team to bounce back. While there was no love lostbetween the two PMs, Tuesday’s meeting at the NATO summit was the highlight reel for many political and cricket fans.

"I am sorry, I did not bring my sandpaper with me," Sunak told Alabanese on the sidelines of an event sending people in the room into peals of laughter.

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Albanese while smiling was seen sharing a picture of the stat that read 2-1 to Australia, which underlined the dominance of his side in the ongoing Ashes. Sunak also had a smile on his face and shared a picture of his team winning the third Ashes Test in Edgbaston that saw Ben Stokes' men make a remarkable comeback aftertrailingfollowing the first innings. Albanese retorted with another picture where he showed how Jonny Bairstow was careless for not being in the crease when Alex Carey threw the ball to dismiss him.

The brief conversation saw a happy ending as they both smiled and were seen shaking each other’s hand before attending the diplomatic meeting in the Lithuanian capital.

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