Ravichandran Ashwin backs Alex Carey over Jonny Bairstow’s controversial dismissal; praises wicketkeeper’s smart game
The Alex Carey-Jonny Bairstow dismissal saga has fueled the 2023 Ashes with debates about the ‘spirit of the game’ being widely discussed in the cricket fraternity. While many have criticised the Australian wicketkeeper for his act, only a few have come out in his support, one of them being veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Chasing 371 in the final innings of the second Ashes Test, England needed 257 runs and Australia needed six wickets to win on Day 5. After losing Ben Duckett early on, Bairstow was the only recognised bater left in the team to join captain Ben Stokes at the crease. Carey’s immense presence of mind gave them a much-needed breakthrough, but it sparked controversy.
Assuming that the over had finished, Bairstow stepped out of the crease, but the Aussie wicketkeeper, who had collected the ball behind the stumps made a direct hit with an underarm throw. Australia upheld the decision and the umpire eventually ruled the batter out. England eventually bowled out for 327 runs despite Stokes hitting a blistering century.
The keeper would never have a dip at the stumps from that far out: Ravichandran Ashwin
However, India off-spinner Ashwin said Carey played a clever piece of cricket. The 36-year-old, who was heavily criticised for dismissing Jos Buttler at the non-strikers’ end in the IPL, said Carey knew the batter would leave the crease and that’s why he immediately threw at the stumps.
“We must get one fact loud and clear. The keeper would never have a dip at the stumps from that far out in a test match unless he or his team have noticed a pattern of the batter leaving his crease after leaving a ball like Bairstow did. We must applaud the game smarts of the individual rather than skewing it towards unfair play or spirit of the game,” Ashwin tweeted.
The all-rounder said that he cannot understand criticising the spirit of the game when such events occur, which are clearly defined in the rules and involve the great presence of mind.
“Whenever there is a run-out in non-striker end or Carey-Bairstow incident, there is a new name that has arrived ‘Spirit of cricket’ – but you don’t feel for Carey who is 20 meters away from Stumps, to hit the stumps by making the plan and you say Spirit of cricket, I don’t get it (smiles),” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
