Broad to Cummins: 'All these boos are for you'

Stuart Broad was "amazed that not one senior player" in the Australian team "questioned what they had done" during or after the hotly-debated dismissal of Jonny Bairstow in the Lord's Test.

Writing in his column for the Daily Mail two days after a heated fifth day at Lord's, where England lost to go 2-0 down in the Ashes, Broad brought up the cultural review Australia had gone through in the aftermath of ball-tampering scandal involving sandpaper in Cape Town in 2018.

"What amazed me, and what I told the Australians I could not believe as we left the field at lunch, was that not one senior player among them -- and I very much understand in the emotion of the game that the bowler and wicketkeeper would have thought 'that's out' -- questioned what they had done.

"Especially given what their team has been through over recent years, with all their cultural change. Not one of them said: 'Hang on, lads. I'm not really sure about this.' Not one of them thought: 'He's gaining no advantage. He's not trying to get a run. It's the end of the over. It's a bit of a random dismissal. We should cancel that appeal.'

"Ultimately, Pat Cummins is a really great guy and I would be amazed, once the emotion settles, if he does not sit back and think, 'I got that one wrong', even though his bottom line at the time was winning a Test match."

The incident occurred when England were five down and needed a further 178 runs to win: Bairstow ducked underneath a short ball from Cameron Green, scratched the crease with his boot and walked down the pitch towards his partner Ben Stokes at the non-striker's end. Before Bairstow had begun to leave his ground, wicketkeeper Alex Carey had gathered the ball on the bounce and, in one motion, under-armed a throw at stumps at the striker's end. The on-field umpires, Ahsan Raza and Chris Gaffaney, referred the decision to TV umpire Marais Erasmus who gave the batter out - and the dismissal was recorded as stumped. Bairstow glared at the Australian huddle as he walked off and boos rang out around Lord's. The crowd - who have been largely subdued throughout the first four days of this Test - then chanted repeatedly: "Same old Aussies, always cheating."

Broad said, for him, the crux of the matter was whether Bairstow was "looking to gain an advantage" and dismissed comparisons to previous incidents where England were the team trying to effect the dismissal.

"Yes, I have seen a clip from earlier in the match when in his guise as wicketkeeper, Jonny himself threw the ball at the stumps. But that was because Marnus Labuschagne was batting outside of his crease -- in doing so, attempting to take the lbw out of the game. In other words, seeking an advantage," Broad wrote. "Clips of Colin de Grandhomme being run out in the Lord's Test last year have done the rounds, too, and that is just the most ludicrous comparison ever, because he got hit on the pad coming down the pitch, was searching for a run and Ollie Pope threw down the stumps from gully. Again, trying to gain an advantage.

"With regards to the Jonny incident, zero advantage was being taken there: he let the ball go, scratched his mark within the crease, and acknowledging it as the end of the over, went to speak to Ben Stokes. And if you look at the footage of when the stumps were broken, one umpire has got the bowler's cap in his hand, the other is head down, walking in from square leg -- actions that suggest they too thought the over had finished.

"So, within the laws of the game, is the ball still live because Alex Carey catches it and throws it? Probably. Is there any advantage being taken by England? No. Does a full stadium of people think that ball has been and gone? Yes. On BBC radio commentary, Jonathan Agnew has already moved on from the calling of the ball."

And while Broad did not condone the abuse the Australian players received from some MCC members as they walked through the long room at Lord's at the lunch interval, he did not think it was unusual. He also elaborated on his prolonged exchange of words with the Australian players after he replaced Bairstow in the middle. "The Lord's crowd are obviously huge cricket lovers and never before have I seen a reaction from them like that. They were so angry. I am not saying that the MCC members shouting at players was right but having toured Australia four times, I certainly do not think hostile behaviour towards away teams is unusual.

"The red mist came over me, too, when I arrived at the crease to replace Jonny, and some of what I said was picked up on the stump mics -- which naively, given my experience, I didn't really think about. I was angered by Australia's decision, particularly having heard their lines about creating a new legacy as a team, and how they have changed since the tour of South Africa in 2018. I just said to Pat on repeat: 'All these boos are for you, for your decision.' And: 'What a great opportunity you had to think clearly.'

"Also, I needed to support Ben Stokes in any way, shape or form I could, and I am always better when I'm in a bit of a battle. I normally try and pick a fight with someone on the opposition but on this occasion I picked a fight with the whole team.

"To Alex Carey, I said: 'This is what you'll be remembered for, and that's such a shame.' It may have been a bit silly, but I also shouted 'in' every time I crossed the line. It annoyed the Australians for maybe half-an-hour, although after two-and-a-half hours, they were probably a bit bored of it.

The third Ashes Test begins on Thursday, and Broad was of the view shared by Stokes, Cummins and Brendon McCullum that it would be fiery. "Headingley is not the quietest place at the best of times but this week we will have to use the atmosphere to our advantage."