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Australia vs England media war: ‘Pathetic Pat’, ‘Whinging Poms’, Cry Baby Stokes, ‘Dim-bulb snobs picking fights with softly-spoken Muslim’

https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/australia-vs-england-media-war-pathetic-pat-whinging-poms-cry-baby-stokes-dim-bulb-snobs-picking-fights-softly-spoken-muslim-8699522/

Australia vs England media war: ‘Pathetic Pat’, ‘Whinging Poms’, Cry Baby Stokes, ‘Dim-bulb snobs picking fights with softly-spoken Muslim’

The newspapers in both countries delivered spite, anger, juvenilism, and over-the-top reactions to living rooms over the Bairstow stumping episode.


Prior to the last day of the Lord’s Test, the usual war of words that
one associates with the Ashes series was largely absent. But, as Alex
Carey stumped Jonny Bairstow, towards the end of the first session, the atmosphere at the ground as well as outside it changed dramatically.
Ashes series are incomplete until both the English and Australia media
get involved. And understandably both took moral high ground…

How did the English press see the dismissal?

Definitely they didn’t consider it as just another dismissal, bringing
the “Spirit of Cricket” into the discussion.

The Daily Mail

The newspaper fired its guns on Pat Cummins, the Australian captain. Its
writer Oliver Holt labelled Cummins as “pathetic” and claimed that he didn’t “do the right thing”.

Labelling Cummins “Pathetic Pat” he wrote, “Pat Cummins sat in his chair on the dais at the post-match press conference, grinning sheepishly like
a child who has been rumbled for filching a penny from the jar,” Holt
wrote. “The Australia captain did not seem to realise it, but he had won
a Test match and lost his reputation.”

Was he done? No. “Cummins and Australia reworked history this time. They chose underhand instead of underarm,” he wrote in reference to Trevor Chappell’s infamous underarm-ball episode against New Zealand. “He did
not look like a leader. He looked pathetic,” he said of Cummins.

The Telegraph

Oliver Brown said how Australia’s makeover since the Sandpaper
ball-tampering gate has lost all credibility. Brown criticised Australia
for killing “decorum”, as well as “codes of honour and mateship”.

Brown said that Carey might need his own security detail for the rest of
the series. “For while England fans might be able to tolerate defeat,
and the likelihood of a first home Ashes series defeat since 2001, they
cannot forgive anyone they consider a scoundrel,” Brown wrote.

In the same newspaper, Simon Heffer also criticised Australia. “What
happened was not cheating, but it was gamesmanship of a repellent
degree, and entirely unworthy of a great cricketing nation such as Australia,” he wrote.

Elsewhere, The Daily Express’ headline screamed “Spirit of Cricket
Reduced to Ashes”, the Mail has simply gone with ‘Disgrace!’, while The Telegraph printed ‘Ashes battle turns toxic.’

Nasser Hussain, who writes for The Daily Mail, praised Carey for being
alert to the situation. “I’m not one for buying into this whole spirit
of the game thing,” Hussain told the Daily Mail. “Be switched on and don’t leave your crease — it’s a lesson.”

In the Guardian, Jonathan Liew said time has come for reality to set in.
“It is probably necessary to let reality impinge just a little,” he
wrote. England are 2-0 down not because of cheating Aussies or
insufficient ambition, but because they are playing a superior side with superior cricketers, with more tones and shades to their game.

“Australia have batted like adults. England have batted like children. Australia practise their catches. England have largely stopped
practising entirely.”

What newspapers said in Australia

Before we get down to the media, the Victoria Police was the first one
to go after the English. In social media posts, they noted, “We’d like
to thank Jonny Bairstow for reminding everyone about the dangers of
stepping over the crease before you’re given the green light.”

Among the newspapers, The Western Australian front page depicted Ben
Stokes as a cry baby, accusing the “Poms of taking whingeing to new
level with cheating drivel.”

The Sydney Morning Herald said “the final day of the second Ashes Test descended into chaos”. Andrew Webster wrote, “The first rule of MCC
Fight Club is to know the rules of cricket…I would have thought
membership to the most famous club in cricket meant you understood the
laws of the game.”

Writing in the Australian, Gideon Haigh suggested “puce-faced MCC snobs should learn their own rules”. Referring to the confrontation with
opener Usman Khawaja at the lunch interval, he wrote: “What could be a
worse look in the week of the Equity in Cricket report than dim-bulb
snobs picking fights with a placid, softly-spoken Muslim player? Chaps,
pull yourselves together.”

Former Australia bowler Jason Gillespie stressed the need to ditch the confusing ‘spirit of cricket’ mantra and let the laws do the job they
are designed to do. “I like the fact that the laws of the game were applied,” Gillespie said. “It’s never sat well with me that we have a ‘spirit of cricket’ philosophy that is interpreted differently from
country to country. For example, next time you see an Indian player bat, observe what they do when the ball goes through to the wicketkeeper –
they always look behind and to the square leg umpire to get the nod to
leave the crease.

“My belief is that by playing within the laws of the game you are
playing within the spirit of the game.”

There were dissenting voices among the Australia press too with the
Daily Telegraph saying that “Australia forever taints famous Ashes win”. Phil Rothfield wrote, “The greatest moments in Australian sport are
often not about winning, but great acts of sportsmanship. This Ashes win
will be remembered, but not for the right reasons.”

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