‘English cricket’s hypocrisy and sense of entitlement is something else’ – Aakash Chopra weighs in on Bairstow-dismissal saga

Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow. (Photo Source : Gettyimages)

Jonny Bairstow’s controversial dismissal in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s has once again sparked a debate around the spirit of cricket. While the England camp has cried foul at Australia’s tactics, several clips of the English team taking part in scandalous actions in the past have been doing the rounds on social media. Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra called out the ‘hypocrisy’ of the English team, highlighting one such video on Twitter.

While England skipper Ben Stokes indirectly questioned the morality of his opposite number Pat Cummins after the Aussie skipper did not withdraw his appeal, a clip of the England skipper celebrating Henry Nicholls’s bizarre dismissal has questioned Stokes’ stance. The incident took place during England and New Zealand’s final Test match of the series at Headingley last year.

Nicholls, who timed a delivery off Jack Leach to perfection, could not believe his eyes after the ball deflected off Daryl Mitchell’s bat at the other end, offering an easy catch to Alex Lees at mid-off. Akash Chopra picked up on the reaction of England skipper Ben Stokes, who did not withdraw the appeal at that time.

Ouch. You can even see the torchbearer of ‘The Spirit of the Game’ shrugging his shoulders instead of initiating the process to withdraw the appeal. After all, you wouldn’t want to be remembered for things like these 🤣🫣🤪
Also, there are multiple videos circulating calling out… https://t.co/yR8Nq2UeVd

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) July 4, 2023

The former Indian opener aimed a jibe at the influential English skipper, labelling him as the ‘torchbearer’ of the spirit of cricket after the latter expressed his displeasure on Bairstow’s mode of dismissal. It is worth noting that several former England captains, including Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain, blamed Bairstow for being ‘dozy’ after his tame dismissal.