Broad doubles down, Ponting declares England quick is ‘no angel’
Taking umbrage to Alex Carey’s headline-grabbing dismissal of Jonny Bairstow on day five at Lord’s, Broad, in the throes of Ashes battle, fuelled the fire during play by confronting a number of Australian players in his stay at the crease.
After the 43-run defeat that handed the tourists a 2-0 lead and a golden opportunity to win their first away Test series between the teams since 2001, Broad then doubled down on his “spirit of cricket” sentiments via a Daily Mail column.
The fast bowler re-told part of the day five story picked up on the stump microphone during play, having been captured saying to Alex Carey: “This is what you’ll be remembered for, and that’s such a shame,” after he threw the stumps down to catch Bairstow wandering out of his ground.”
“I was angered by Australia’s decision,” Broad continued when he put pen to paper.
“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.”
Ricky Ponting weighs in on the Spirit of Cricket debate at the Ashes | ICC Review
Ricky Ponting weighs in on the Spirit of Cricket debate at the Ashes and the reaction of the two captains on the Jonny Bairstow dismissal.
When asked about the incident by Sanjana Ganesan on *The ICC Review,*Ponting quashed any idea that Carey’s legacy will centre on the incident.
“I'm not sure it's all he'll be remembered for,” Ponting began, with Carey having already played an invaluable role in the series thus far with important runs on top of 15 dismissals.
“At the end of the day, it wasn't Carey's decision either (to press on with the appeal). It was his decision to throw the ball. He's not the umpire and he's not the one that had the chance to overturn the decision. So I don't understand where a lot of this negativity can come back onto Carey.”
“He was the one responsible for the act of making the stumping. It’s his job.”
Broad was the man to walk out to bat after Bairstow’s dismissal, hanging around for more than 20 overs as a strong support for Ben Stokes who made a blazing 155 to give his side and the boisterous Lord’s crowd hope of a miraculous English victory.
On top of his comments to Carey, Broad’s conduct came into question a number of times during his innings, later admitting via the column he “picked a fight with the whole (Australian) team.”
With a “red mist” over him, Broad explained his actions were in support of captain Stokes out in the middle.
“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.”
“It may have been a bit silly, but I also shouted ‘in’ every time I crossed the line,” Broad added as a sarcastic retort to the Australian fielders out in the middle.
“It annoyed the Australians for maybe half-an-hour, although after two-and-a-half hours, they were probably a bit bored of it.”
Ricky Ponting gives his thoughts on Jonny Bairstow's dismissal | ICC Review
Ricky Ponting on Jonny Bairstow's run-out dismissal in the second Ashes Test that ignited a debate in the cricketing fraternity.
On top of his actions at Lord’s, Broad has history of causing controversy of his own, famously not walking after edging an Ashton Agar delivery to Michael Clarke at first slip back in the 2013 series.
Ponting believes there is a sanctimony in Broad’s conduct and comment, particularly given the fast bowler’s reputation.
“Stuart Broad has also got a pretty short memory. He's not lived the life of an angel every time he's walked onto the cricket field either.
“If you look at some of the stuff that he was carrying on with (on day five) on the field, I think you'd probably suggest that that was outside the spirit of cricket as well.
“It's a fine line that a lot of these players want to tread when they start talking about things like that being in the spirit of cricket.
“They want to make sure that they've got a pretty squeaky clean record themselves and I'd suggest most guys that have actually played international cricket haven't got squeaky clean records, that's for sure.”
There is little rest for the Ashes drama to simmer, as attention turns to Headingley for the third Test starting on Thursday.