Captain Ben Stokes has responded to an Australian newspaper that branded his England side "crybabies" following the controversial dismissal of Jonny Bairstow in the second Ashes Test at Lord's.
Bairstow was stumped by Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey having ducked a short ball and marked his guard before walking down the pitch to greet Stokes at the other end. The England star presumed that the ball was dead, but Carey had gathered the ball and under-armed it towards the stumps.
Bairstow was in his crease when Carey threw the ball, but a long way down the pitch when it hit the stumps and he was given out stumped by the umpires. England were furious that Australia did not withdraw their appeal, with the Lord's crowd erupting into boos before chanting: "Same old Aussies, always cheating."
Stuart Broad, who was the next man in after Bairstow, was caught on the stump mic telling Carey "that's all you'll ever be remembered for" and asking Australia captain Pat Cummins "do you think that's out?" after he dropped a difficult caught and bowled chance off Stokes.
Following the match, which Australia won by 43 runs to go 2-0 up in the series, Stokes said he would have withdrawn his appeal had England taken a wicket in a similar manner. "When is it justified that the umpires have called over?" he said on BBC Test Match Special.
"Is the on-field umpires making movement, is that signifying over? I'm not sure. Jonny was in his crease then out of his crease. I am not disputing the fact it is out because it is out.
"If the shoe was on the other foot I would have put more pressure on the umpires and asked whether they had called over and had a deep think about the whole spirit of the game and would I want to do something like that. For Australia it was the match-winning moment. Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no."
The incident has prompted much debate and Perth newspaper The West Australian ran with the headline "crybabies" on their front page, depicting Stokes as a baby next to the Ashes urn and a cricket ball while proclaiming: "Poms take whingeing to new level with 'cheating' drivel."
Stokes has poked fun at the front page, quipping in response: "That's definitely not me, since when did I bowl with the new ball."
Cummins, however, felt the dismissal was "totally fair play".
"I think Carey saw it happen a few balls previously, three or four balls previously, and there's no pause, catch it, straightaway and throw at the stumps," he said during the post-match presentation.
"I thought it was totally fair play. That's how the rule is. Some people might disagree. That's how I saw it."
