Three MCC members are suspended pending an investigation after Australian cricketers Usman Khawaja and David Warner were confronted in the Lord’s Long Room as spectators accused them of cheating following Jonny Bairstow’s controversial stumping
- Australia took a commanding 2-0 lead in the Ashes after controversy at Lord’s
- Jonny Bairstow was controversially stumped by Alex Carey on the fifth morning
- The bizarre dismissal infuriated the Lord’s crowd as they fumed at the Aussies
Three MCC members have been suspended pending an investigation after Australian cricketers Usman Khawaja and David Warner were confronted in the Long Room at Lord’s by angry members on an unprecedented day at the Home of Cricket.
The Australian opening batsmen and their team-mates were accused of cheating by furious MCC members following Jonny Bairstow’s controversial stumping on the final day of the second Ashes Test – which the tourists triumphed in to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Guy Lavender, the chief executive and secretary of the MCC, commended an ‘unforgettable day of Test cricket’ but said it may ‘sadly be remembered for other reasons’.
After Cricket Australia demanded a probe into the heated incident, the MCC said tonight: ‘Further to the earlier statement, MCC can confirm it has suspended three Members identified from earlier today. They will not be permitted back to Lord’s whilst the investigation takes place and were informed of this by MCC Chief Executive, Guy Lavender, this evening.
‘We maintain that the behaviour of a small number of Members was completely unacceptable and whilst there was no suggestion by Pat Cummins in the post-match press conference that there was any physical altercation, it remains wholly unacceptable to behave in such a way, which goes against the values of the Club.
‘MCC condemns the behaviour witnessed and once again we re-iterate our apology to Cricket Australia. We are thoroughly disappointed to be talking about poor behaviour when the Long Room, as stated by Pat Cummins himself, is otherwise renowned for being ‘really welcoming’. It has been a thrilling day to finish off a wonderful five days of Test cricket.’
Amid the hostile atmosphere at Lord’s, another staggering century from England captain Ben Stokes – who accused Australia of forgetting ‘the spirit of the game’ – was not enough to get the hosts over the line as Australia ultimately triumphed and took a commanding series lead.
Controversy erupted late in the morning session when England batsman Bairstow wandered out of his crease at the end of an over – believing the ball was dead – only to be run out by Australia wicket-keeper Alex Carey who under-armed the ball at the stumps.
Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja got into a heated argument with a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club in Lord’s Long Room after Jonny Bairstow’s bizarre dismissal
After the Long Room member exchanged words with Khawaja, David Warner was then confronted before he was pulled away by staff
The confrontation in the Long Room was unprecedented as the Ashes row turned ugly this afternoon
Ben Stokes of England makes his way onto the field for the post match presentations after a heated day five at Lord’s
As Bairstow reluctantly marched off back to the iconic Lord’s pavilion, England fans showered Australia with boos – sparking what turned out to be the most febrile atmosphere the Home of Cricket has likely ever seen.
When both sets of players walked off for Lunch, Khawaja and Warner were filmed arguing with angry members in the famous Long Room as boos rang out and shouts of ‘absolute disgrace’ were heard.
Khawaja could be seen angrily confronting a member before he was pulled away by a team-mate and staff member. Moments later, Warner also had to be held back by the security team as tensions boiled over.
After England were bowled out by the tourists, Stokes claimed he would not have done the same as what Australia did.
‘I am not disputing the fact it is out because it is out,’ said Stokes.
‘If the shoe was on the other foot, I would have put more pressure on the umpires and asked whether they had called over and had a deep think about the whole spirit of the game and whether I would want to do something like that.
‘For Australia, it was the match-winning moment. Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer is no,’ Stokes added.
Australia captain Cummins, on the other hand, was unapologetic and adamant that Australia had made the right call, when asked whether he considered the spirit of cricket.
‘I thought it was fair. You see Jonny do it all the time. He did it on Day One to (David) Warner. He did it in 2019 to Steve (Smith). It’s a really common thing for keepers to do if they see a batter keep on leaving their crease,’ said the Australia captain.
‘Caz (Carey) – full credit to him. He saw the opportunity a few balls beforehand and rolled at the stumps. Jonny left his crease and we’ll leave the rest to the umpires.’
The scenes in the Lord’s pavilion – usually associated with class, etiquette and respect – sparked a heated reaction online, with some fans slamming the Australians for showing such ‘little regard for spirit of the game’, while others blasted the MCC members.
As fans soaked up the fiery atmosphere on a day where tickets were reduced to £25, chants of ‘same old Aussies, always cheating’ were heard throughout the afternoon.
Australia has alleged that some members verbally abused their players, while initially they say others faced physical confrontation – as they made their way through the Long Room. Cummins later said there was no physical contact made.
Mr Lavender addressed the Long Room at lunch and reminded the members to behave themselves and respect the players.
The MCC issued an apology after the security was forced to intervene following a row between players and spectators.
A spokesperson for the club, in a statement, said: ‘The Long Room is unique in world cricket and the great privilege of players passing through the pavilion is very special.
‘After this morning’s play, emotions were running high, and words were unfortunately exchanged with some of the Australian team, by a small number of members.
‘We have unreservedly apologised to the Australian team and will deal with any member who has not maintained the standard we expect through our disciplinary processes.
‘It was not necessary to eject anyone from the ground and I am pleased to say that there was no repeat of this as the players resumed the field for this afternoon’s session.’
Cricket fans fumed as Jonny Bairstow was controversially stumped by Alex Carey at Lord’s
Carey threw the ball back at the stumps when Bairstow had wandered out of his ground
Tempers flared between the teams as Aussie skipper Pat Cummins proceeded with the appeal
Cricket Australia also issued a statement, saying: ‘It is alleged players and staff from the Australian team were verbally abused, with some being physically contacted, as they made their way to lunch through the members area.’
Social media erupted after the dismissal of Bairstow – which many thought was the end of England’s hopes in the Test.
England fast bowler Jofra Archer led the reaction as he simply said: ‘Wow.’
Meanwhile, Piers Morgan added: ‘You cannot be serious??!! Australia, that is pathetic. How can you possibly want to win an Ashes Test match like that?’
Mail Sport’s Paul Newman also said: ‘That’s very, very poor from Australia.’
Several cricket fans outlined their anger and disbelief at the dismissal on social media
However, many also seemed shocked by the members’ treatment of the Aussies.
Former cricketer and Sky Sports presenter Ian Ward said: ‘I have never seen anything like this at the home of cricket.
‘The crowd were right into Australia when they were on the field, that continued as the players when through there long room.’
‘I’ve been here since I was a 13 year old and I’ve never seen scenes like that, particularly in the Long Room never mind all the way around the ground,’ said Eoin Morgan.
‘There was a huge sense of frustration but I can’t understand why. It’s complete naivety around what has happened with Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal.’
The unpleasant scenes marred what was an astonishing day of cricket – which begun with England on 114-14, requiring 371 to win.
After a bright start by Ben Duckett and Stokes, the England opener was eventually dismissed for a well-made 83 as Carey took a sensational one-handed catch down the legside.
Australia’s David Warner reacts towards the crowd on Day Five of the second Ashes Test
Bairstow couldn’t quite believe what had gone on and was clearly not happy as he went off
Usman Khawaja of Australia with Umpires Chris Gaffney and Ahsan Raza (R) at the end of play on Saturday
Broad threw himself into the row immediately, seemingly picked up on stump microphone telling Carey he would be remembered forever for his actions
Just as Bairstow and Stokes were developing a promising partnership, England’s keeper was dismissed in bizarre fashion. Believing the ball was dead, he ducked under Cameron Green’s bouncer and walked down the pitch, only to be run out by a quick-thinking Carey.
New to the crease, Broad threw himself into the row immediately, seemingly picked up on stump microphone telling Carey he would be remembered forever for his actions, and later making an ostentatious show of grounding his bat behind the line at the end of an over.
As tempers flared, Stokes smashed his way to a century batting alongside a courageous Stuart Broad. The pair added 108 together after Bairstow was dismissed.
Stokes went on a six-hitting rampage as he set out for apparent retribution in the aftermath of Carey’s highly divisive stumping of Bairstow, hammering his way to a jaw-dropping hundred with a total of nine sixes – a record for an Ashes innings.
But unfortunately for England, their hopes of chasing Australia’s total came crashing down when Stokes skied one and England’s tail end soon followed as the tourists bowled the hosts out for 327 to give them a 2-0 series lead.
After Stokes’ dismissal to Josh Hazelwood, the tourists efficiently got rid of Ollie Robinson, Broad and James Anderson to rain on England fans’ Sunday at Lord’s.
The Long Room spectacle comes just days after Just Stop Oil protesters as invaded two Ashes matches.
Activists from the eco-campaign group invaded the pitch at Lord’s on Wednesday and threw orange powder across the grass – and Bairstow was seen picking up one of the protesters and carrying them off the pitch.
Ahead of the second over of the morning session at Lord’s, two Just Stop Oil protesters raced onto the pitch and attempted to throw orange paint across the main playing area.
The incident comes days after two Just Stop Oil activists ran onto the field and attempted to throw orange paint across the main playing area during Day One of the Ashes. Jonny Bairstow is seen removing the protester from the pitch
Jonny Bairstow of England removes a ‘Just Stop Oil’ pitch invader during Day One of the LV= Insurance Ashes 2nd Test match
Finlay Andrews tackled a Just Stop Oil protester as a group of them invaded an Ashes cricket match on Wednesday
One of the two activists is tackled to the floor by Mr Andrews (right) and another event marshal
Finlay Andrews (pictured left) tackled Just Stop Oil protesters as they invaded an Ashes cricket match. He has since turned the incident into a job-seeking opportunity on LinkedIn (pictured right)
Bairstow showed officers how to deal with the saboteurs as he took matters into his own hands, to the delight of fans at the ground. Meanwhile England captain Ben Stokes stopped the other protester as he guarded the pitch closely, assisted by other players.
It was the first day of the Ashes 2nd Test match between England and Australia at Lord’s Cricket Ground.
The protesters are believed to have had tickets for the event, and ran onto the pitch from seats in the crowd.
Three people were arrested at the scene on suspicion of aggravated trespass and public nuisance, the Metropolitan Police said.
Steward Finlay Andrews, who has become an internet sensation for tackling the protester, has turned the incident into a job-seeking opportunity on LinkedIn.
In what was described as the ‘best LinkedIn post ever’, Mr Andrews said: ‘I’m pretty sure this wasn’t on the job description when I signed up for a couple of hospitality shifts at The Ashes this summer whilst on the hunt for a different kind of ‘runner’ role.
‘If your team could use someone who isn’t afraid to dive in, I’d absolutely love to connect.’
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