Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has expressed his disappointment over Brendon McCullum’s comments on Jonny Bairstow's controversial dismissal on Day 5 of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.
Just before the lunch break on Sunday (July 2), Bairstow got out in a bizarre manner. He wandered out of his crease after ducking a bouncer from Cameron Green and Alex Carey stumped him out.
After the game, McCullum – the head coach of the England Test team – said that Carey's act was against the spirit of the game.
"I think it was more about the spirit of the game and when you become older and more mature you realise the game and the spirit of it is something you need to protect. You have to make decisions in the moment and they can have effects on games and people's characters," McCullum told BBC.
"By the letter of the law he is out. Jonny was not trying to take a run and the umpires had called over. It is one of those difficult ones to swallow and you look at the small margins it is incredibly disappointing," he further added.
Addressing the media following the match, McDonald said Carey was well within his rights to break the stumps while also pointing out that Bairstow was repeatedly leaving his crease.
“There’s no doubt when a player is leaving their crease or leaving their ground at certain periods of time that you take that opportunity. It got sent upstairs and ultimately, the officiating third umpire decides it’s out, it’s within the laws of the game. So yeah, I don’t see too many issues with it, to be perfectly honest,” McDonald told in the post-match presser.
“I haven’t spoken to him. I’ve heard that comment for the first time, and I’m somewhat disappointed by that," he concluded.
Coming to the Lord’s Test, Australia won the game by 43 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match Ashes series.
Defending the target of 371 in the final innings, the tourists survived England skipper Ben Stokes’ onslaught (155 off 214) and bundled out the hosts for 327.
The third Test will be held at Headingley from July 6.
