Ben Stokes has offered a light-hearted reply to an Australian newspaper’s scathing assessment of the England captain.
The front page of The West Australian featured a photoshopped image (pictured below) of a baby with Ben Stokes’ face, a dummy, and an upturned Ashes urn with the headline ‘Crybabies’ and the subhead ‘Poms take whingeing to new level with ‘cheating’ drivel.’
Stokes was cheeky enough to reply, taking to Twitter where he wrote “That’s definitely not me, since when did I bowl with the new ball.”
READ MORE: Williams falls, crashes out of 24th Wimbledon in first round
READ MORE: Dogs finally land a kill with Titans gun on the move
READ MORE: ‘Decorum died’: England declares friendship over
READ MORE: Gus reveals secret warning to Ciraldo over Dogs deal
After a relatively tame start to this year’s Ashes, controversy-wise, it all came to a head on the final day of the second Test at Lord’s when Jonny Bairstow was stumped in bizarre circumstances.
Bairstow repeatedly wandered out of his crease and on the last ball of the over was caught napping by Alex Carey, who threw down the stumps.
The moment proved decisive in England’s second straight loss to Australia, having been well-poised to level the scores with a titanic run chase.
Every ball of the Ashes will be live, free and exclusive on 9Now, and if you miss any of the action you can find full highlights and exclusive replays after every day’s play here
Stokes was particularly frustrated with Australia, raising questions about the spirit of the game.
“I’m not disputing the fact that it is out because it is out. Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no,” said Stokes.
“When is it justified that the umpires have called over? Is the on-field umpires making movement, is that enough to call over? I’m not sure.
“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 I’d have had a deep think about the whole spirit of the game and would I want to do something like that.”
The ball is only considered dead once both teams acknowledge the fact.
Bairstow stunned by Carey’s act
Given Carey stumped Bairstow in one quick movement after the ball had been bowled, it was considered alive.
In fact, Bairstow was still in his crease at the moment Carey released the ball but was out by the time the ball hit the stumps.
Questions have been repeatedly asked of the tactic, which ended England’s last specialist batting partnership before the tail came in.
Appearing on BBC Sport’s Test Match Special, Australia captain Cummins was posed with Stokes’ grievance, to which he replied, ‘Okay’ before a lengthy silence.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
