Australia captain Pat Cummins claims in the third season of the documentary The Test that he pushed wicketkeeper Alex Carey to stump the middle-order batter from England.
Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia, has acknowledged his involvement in the contentious outing of England's Jonny Bairstow at Lord's.
Australia captain Pat Cummins claims that he encouraged wicketkeeper Alex Carey to stump the English middle-order batsman in the third season of the documentary The Test.
According to ESPN, Cummins said: "Cam Green was bowling and bowled a bouncer and he (Bairstow) ducked underneath it and then just walked out of his crease."
“So I just said to Kez (Carey) the ball before, I said ‘Kez, just have a throw’.”
After Bairstow left his position at the end of an over, Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey under-armed the ball at stumps with England on 193-5 and chasing a massive score of 371.
After Bairstow stumped him, Carey took a lot of flak from fans and on social media, and the Australian players recalled how the gloveman lost his form and self-assurance.
“I could sense he wasn’t quite right mentally and I can understand it,” noted Steve Smith. “I was worried about him and his well-being.”
Usman Khawaja remarked: “Everyone projected on Kez and didn’t project on anyone else. It was all on Kez. Looking back on it, I just feel so bad for what he went through at the time and what his family would have gone through being there at the time. It would have been so hard.”
Nathan Lyon, an Australian spinner, later disclosed that Bairstow had confronted the Kangaroos in the players' lunchroom. Nevertheless, the situation did not end there.
Speaking on the Willow Talk Cricket Podcast last year, Lyon had noted, “There were a few Australian guys and a few English guys in the lunchroom, and I hobbled up on my crutches and stood in the middle of it and tried to calm things down a little bit,” Lyon laughed. “Jonny had a few words here or there. That’s all part of it, I’m all for it.”
“The emotions in the change room were quite remarkable,” Lyon stated. “Everyone was gobsmacked but found it hilarious because you walk through that Long Room, and you’re more chance of getting sued than punched. So you look at it like that and all these guys abusing you and you’re like, ‘What’s going on here?’ It was quite funny in all respects.”