Ashes cricket is known for providing some of the most iconic moments in cricketing history, more so in the 21st century. These include some classics like the 2005 Test at Edgbaston, Trent Bridge in 2013 and the 2019 game at Headingley. However, the second Test match of the 2023 series at Lord’s will always be remembered for all the wrong reasons. 

After losing the first Test in Birmingham, England were desperate to level the series at Lord’s and were given 371 runs to chase in the fourth innings. The Three Lions were struggling at 193 for 5 after 51 overs, with captain Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow at the crease. 

Controversy would erupt in the 52nd over bowled by Cameron Green. On the final delivery of the over, the Australian all-rounder bowled a short ball which Bairstow ducked and left the crease, assuming that the ball was dead and it was the end of the over.

Wicketkeeper Alex Carey, however, made the most of the situation presented in front of him and quickly under-armed the ball onto the stumps the moment Bairstow left the crease. The Australian players appealed and started celebrating the wicket. Following a lengthy conversation between the two umpires, they asked the TV umpire to make a decision, who indeed declared the Yorkshireman out stumped. The decision did not go down well with the Lord’s crowd when a bewildered-looking Bairstow was forced to leave the field. 

However, that was not the end of the stumping saga. When the two teams left the ground for Lunch, the Australian team received a hostile reception from the crowd and also from the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) members sitting in the Lord’s Long Room. The MCC would later go on to suspend three members after their altercation with Australian batters David Warner and Usman Khawaja. 

England would go on to lose the Test match by 43 runs despite captain Stokes’ heroic 155 in the last innings. The result meant that England would go down 2-0 in the five-match series. They would go on to level the series 2-2 after winning the fifth Test match at the Oval, only for Australia to retain the Ashes for another two years. 

Bairstow, meanwhile, played exactly 100 Test matches for his nation but has not featured for England since their tour to India finished in early 2024.