“They're entitled to do what they want”: England coach McCullum addresses Bairstow dismissal
England finds itself with a 2-0 deficit against the best Test cricket side in the world, fierce rivals Australia.
In the best-of-five Ashes series on their home soil, the battle for the urn is intensifying.
By now, you’ve seen the headlines. The ones accusing England coach Brendon McCullum of being a hypocrite when it comes to ‘the spirit of cricket,’ that controversial dismissal of Jonny Bairstow by Alex Carey, plus the unbecoming behaviour of three Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) members in the Lord’s Long Room that has seen them suspended.
Ashes cricket is once again proving why Test cricket is the ultimate form of the game – if not for what happens on the field, but also the drama that follows it after stumps.
McCullum has already said this Australian side isn’t ‘one to have a beer with’ following the events of the second Test at the home of cricket – although the coach admits that comment was in jest, a ‘little bit of banter’ and beers would likely flow at the conclusion of The Ashes.
But for now, Bairstow’s stumping after he avoided a Cameron Green bouncer and left his crease to talk to skipper Ben Stokes when he believed ‘over’ had been called, dominates the narrative.
“They’re (the Australians) entitled to do what they want,” McCullum told Izzy and Kempy on SENZ Breakfast.
“If you look at the situation – there’s going to be 50 per cent of people who’d say it’s the right decision, and 50 per cent would say it’s not. I’ve had the benefit of hindsight because I’ve made some decisions when I was younger around the spirit of the game, which I regret.
“At the time, I probably didn’t understand what it meant. For me it was just about trying to win in the moment, and it wasn’t until I played a bit longer and understood things a bit more that I changed my stance on that, and hence put my hand up and apologised for it.”
Those decisions of a younger McCullum include the 2006 dismissal of Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan, who had stepped out of his crease in celebration of Kumar Sangakkara’s century.
Then in 2009, in an action that mirrors Carey at Lord's, McCullum threw the ball at the stumps once England’s Paul Collingwood left his crease.
A friendly reminder to all England supporters - Brendon McCullum attempted to do the exact same thing to Paul Collingwood back in 2009.
— Will Faulkner (@willzfaulk) July 2, 2023
Funny how these things often come full circle 🤲🏽@wwos #TheAshes #9WWOS #ENGvsAUS pic.twitter.com/RiW9hynaSf
At the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture in 2016, McCullum formally apologised to the Sri Lankans for the actions of his younger self.
Looking to move on from the events of the second Test, 2-0 is a hill that McCullum believes his English side can overcome if they learn to adapt to conditions quicker.
“We knew coming into this series our methods were going to be tested, our morale was going to be tested, and our skills were going to be tested – and we want that,” McCullum added.
“We want to find out where we are as a team, and if we’re not quite there yet, then we’ll strive to get better – but the good thing is, every single time we head into a situation, the guys go in with total clarity and real confidence.”
The third Test gets underway at Headingley on Thursday from 9pm NZST – listen to live ball-by-ball coverage across the SEN and SENZ network.
Listen to the full interview with Brendon McCullum below.