It seems that the Ashes row involving Jonny Bairstow, the MCC members reactions, has reached beyond cricket, sport and has now even got political, with PM Rishi Sunak chipping in with his take on it.
For those who don’t know what has happened, England batsman Jonny Bairstow was, technically speaking, out stumped by Alex Carey having ducked a bouncer and then wandered out of his crease.
Jonny Bairstow MCC
He assumed that the ball had gone dead and the over concluded, but it turns out that he was wrong and was dismissed.
32,000 fans in the stands were furious at the perceived lack of sportsmanship.
Then things even took an ugly turn in the usually very very polite confines of the Long Room, where Usman Khawaja and David Warner exchanged words with jeering members.
Marylebone Cricket Club later suspended the membership of three individuals pending an investigation.
The MCC is as far from the ‘Barmy Army,’ cricket fans you can find.
The altercation is so rare that it has caused so much media cover and social media chatter.
However, a recent MCC member story might get more people wondering about the elite cricket society.
Another Recent MCC incident
Well, a MCC member was suspended after accusing Stephen Fry of making ‘racist and sexist jokes,’ reported The Mirror.
The legendary comedian was the subject of accusations following a club dinner in February.
A fellow member submitted a complaint over Fry’s alleged offensive behaviour.
Chris Waterman, 75, said Fry had opened up his address to fellow members, by saying: “I had intended to say ‘Good evening, ladies and gentlemen’ but there are no lady members present. I suppose they are off s***ging’.”
Waterman also accused Fry of being derisory about an amateur club called the Allahakbarries.
Chris accused Fry of joking that the term “Allahu akbar” was traditionally followed by a “loud bang.”
His compliant failed though and the Daily Mail reported that Waterman himself is the one who was hit with disciplinary action.
Political
PM Rishi Sunak backs Ben Stokes in full-blown bust-up with Aussies over Bairstow dismissal. ‘The PM agrees with Ben Stokes when he said he simply wouldn’t want to win a game in the manner Australia did,’ says Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer ducked the question four times over whether the Australian team had conducted themselves rightly at Lord’s within the spirit of the game, reports The Evening Standard.
Racism in game?
English cricket remains plagued by racism, sexism and class-based discrimination, a damning report said.
The ‘Holding Up A Mirror To Cricket’ investigation, commissioned by the ECB in late 2020 and carried out by an Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC), surveyed 4,000 respondents, half of whom reported experiencing discrimination of some form.
The ICEC found that 87 per cent of Pakistani and Bangladeshi respondents, 82 per cent of Indian respondents and 75 per cent of Black respondents experience racism.
It could be argued that the row over someone being stumped has got more media attention than the findings of this troubling report.
Related: ‘That’s not cricket’…well it is – Sport is ‘racist, sexist and elitist’ & Farage is angry
