Australia captain Pat Cummins fired back at Lord’s members following the controversy surrounding the stumping of Jonny Bairstow during the fourth innings of the second Ashes Test.
“Maybe I’ve become immune to it,” Cummins remarked in an interview with The West Australian. “The longer they went on, the more I realized it didn’t matter because they all looked like pork chops.”
The dismissal of Bairstow, who was given out by the umpire after wicketkeeper Alex Carey appealed for a stumping, was highly controversial. Some pundits argued that Bairstow had not actually grounded his bat behind the crease. Others said that the stumping was legitimate.
The incident sparked a verbal war between the Australia players and the members at Lord’s. David Warner and Usman Khawaja were also involved in the exchanges. The crowd also booed the visiting side throughout the day.
Despite the controversy, Cummins said that he didn’t see anything wrong with the dismissal, and that the Australia team had conducted themselves “very well”.
“I didn’t feel like it was too difficult,” he explained. “It was pretty clear that it was out, and we handled ourselves extremely well.” I watched a lot of people continuing to get stirred up, but when I looked at our team, I thought everyone was bright, calm, and calculated. I was happy to be a part on our team. And I was comfortable with our position.”
Cummins’ comments have been met with mixed reactions. Some have praised him for standing up to the members, while others have criticized him for his choice of words.
“I’m not going to back down from what I said. “I think it’s important to stand up for what you believe in, even if it’s not popular,” he concluded.