England vs Australia and England vs Newzealand. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Australia have gained a 2-0 lead in Ashes 2023 with a 43-run victory over England in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s. However, their success was marred by controversy surrounding the dismissal of Jonny Bairstow, which also led to plenty of boos from the English fans.
While England did not challenge the legality of the dismissal, they argued that Australia should have withdrawn their appeal since Bairstow had no intention of taking a run when he wandered out of his crease, assuming the ball was dead after leaving it alone.
Amidst the controversy, an old video of Colin de Grandhomme’s dismissal from last year’s Lord’s Test between New Zealand and England has resurfaced on Twitter.
Dozy cricket from Colin De Grandhomme last year. The appeal was not withdrawn by England (video is courtesy of ECB) #Cricket pic.twitter.com/J2t6ELyFFp
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) July 2, 2023
The sequence began with Grandhomme facing a delivery from Stuart Broad that struck him on the pads. While Broad appealed for an LBW, Pope displayed his game awareness by noticing that Grandhomme was attempting a run and had left his crease. Pope’s throw hit the stumps with Grandhomme well outside the crease. The on-field umpires upheld the appeal, and the television umpire confirmed the dismissal through a review.
Fans quickly noticed the dissimilarities between Bairstow’s dismissal and Grandhomme’s run-out. One fan pointed out that Grandhomme was actively trying to take a run, whereas Bairstow was inside the crease and had no intention of going for a run.
Not the same. He was trying to take a run or in the movement of moving forward. Barstow clearly was inside the crease, marked the crease and had no intention of scoring a run.
— Viral Patel (@viralpatel15) July 2, 2023Another fan emphasized two key factors that made Grandhomme’s dismissal fair: his attempt to take a run and the attentiveness of both umpires.
2 big differences here.
1) De Grandhomme attempted to make a run.
2) both umpires were alert and concentrating on play.
— Sammy Janaway (@sammyjanaway) July 2, 2023
Meanwhile, Australia’s victory secured a commanding 2-0 lead in the five-match series. The next clash between the two sides will be held at Headingley in Leeds from July 6.