Australia's coach is prompted by McCullum's "no-beer" remark; Haddin responds with a "sour grapes" jab to call out hypocrisy
Australia defeated England by 43 runs in the second Ashes Test at Lord's, which featured another entertaining match between the two longtime foes. The victory gave Australia a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, but the "spirit of cricket" argument, which included supporters, players, coaches, and ex-players, overshadowed the outcome.The contentious dismissal of Jonny Bairstow, who was run out by Alex Carey in the Day 5 opening session, started the conversation. The dismissal was legal under the rules of the game, but many felt it went against the spirit of cricket. Ben Stokes, the captain of England, and the team's coach Brendon McCullum agreed.After evading a short delivery from Cameron Green that was caught by Alex Carey, the wicketkeeper in this instance, Bairstow found himself in an awkward predicament as he nonchalantly strolled towards Ben Stokes at the non-striker's end. With Bairstow out of the picture, Carey nevertheless shown good awareness and struck the stumps with a direct throw.As shown in the footage posted on social media, the incident incensed many home supporters, including some MCC members. In a conversation with BBC, McCullum, who was equally unafraid to express his outrage about Carey's behaviour, said: "I can't imagine we'll be having a beer with them any time soon.""In the end, you must live with the choices you make because that is how life is. However, in my opinion, if we had been in your shoes, we might have reached a different conclusion," McCullum continued.
Andrew McDonald, McCullum's Australian counterpart, expressed disappointment after hearing McCullum's comments.
"There is no question that you take advantage of the opportunity when a player leaves their crease or ground at specific times. It was sent upstairs, and the third umpire in charge of calling balls and strikes ultimately rules it out because it complies with the rules of the game. To be quite honest, I don't see too many problems with that, so absolutely," McDonald said during the post-game press conference.
I didn't talk to him. I've never heard that remark before, and I'm a little let down by it," McDonald said in his conclusion.