Exactly a year on from the infamous Ashes run out of Jonny Bairstow, England star Joe Root has conceded his teammate should have stayed in his crease.
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For the first time, England players have backed down on the hardline stance they took 12 months ago when Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey threw down Bairstow's stumps, prompting a fierce response from the usually gentile Lord's crowd.
The dismissal of Bairstow blew up an already gripping Ashes series as Australia left Lord's with a 2-0 lead.
Prolific England batter Root admitted he was "quite angry" at the time, but has reflected differently.
"Id like to say I would have dealt with it differently (than Australia), but I could very easily have done the same thing," Root said in a new documentary produced by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
"At the end of the day it's within the laws of the game.
"You should be aware as a player.
"Jonny will hate me saying this, but if you stay in your crease you can't get given out can you?"
Bairstow is interviewed in the series - 'The Ashes 2023 - Our Take' - but fails to give an opinion on the incident.
Retired fast-bowling great Stuart Broad went hard at Australia's ethics when he arrived at the crease to bat following the stumping.
Broad even remarked to Carey "that's all you'll ever be remembered for".
But like Root, England's Ashes hero also looked back on the incident differently a year later.
"It was genuine anger and red mist for about 10 minutes," Broad said in the documentary.
"I can't really remember what I was saying, I had lost the plot a little bit.
"I kept up this sort of pantomime performance for about three hours.
"I carried on doing my petulant nonsense.
"(It) ignited the series. This is what we wanted; the fans are properly with us here."
England captain Ben Stokes was at the other end when Bairstow was stumped, with the star batter doing his best to lift his team to an improbable victory.
"Broady did say 'am I going a bit too far here?' and I said 'nah, keep it up, it's class'," Stokes said in the documentary.
"It was some good spectating but I chose to stay out of it and just concentrate on what I needed to do."
One member of the prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club was slapped with a life ban following ugly scenes as the Australian team left the field for lunch after the stumping.
Another two members of the MCC were handed suspensions after being found guilty of "abusive, offensive or inappropriate behaviour or language".
Australian Associated Press
