Jonny Bairstow controversy exposes brutal Ashes truth for Aussies
Adam Lucius says backlash over the Lord's controversy has been fierce on the Aussie sporting tragic in England.
The beer arrived full of froth and head as the barman handed me my first pint since arriving in the UK a few days ago. "Welcome to England – that's for being an Aussie," he said as he placed the undrinkable vessel in front of me.
He said it with a half smile – and a replacement pint was readily supplied – but there was part of his delivery which suggested Australians are more than a little persona non grata in this part of the world following the furore over the Jonny Bairstow stumping. There is little escaping the Ashes controversy over here.
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Getting on the London underground after Alex Carey's actions did more for the republican movement than a hundred referendums, it was clear the Aussies were as popular as toe jam. City AM, a free giveaway for commuters, normally does staid over rage.
Its front-page pointer shouted: "Well, at least it wasn't sandpaper this time…Aussies in storm again." Everywhere you go – as soon as they detect your accent – it’s on.
Locals demand to know your thoughts on the incident and be prepared for a long argument if you believe Bairstow was a "dozey pillock", as one commentator called him, for strolling out of his crease. They don’t want to hear about it.
The media are happily fuelling the fire, with Pommy big mouth Piers Morgan drawing parallels to the underarm incident and Maradona's 'hand of God' to illustrate his point Australia, while not cheating, played outside the spirit of cricket. He even invoked the memory of the late, great Shane Warne.
"I don’t believe most Australians will be feeling proud of what their team did to Jonny Bairstow," Morgan wrote in The Sun. "My late, great Aussie friend Shane Warne, who played his cricket hard but fair, had a phrase for this kind of sharp practice.
"He’d have called it ‘pretty ordinary'. And for Warnie, there was nothing worse in the world than for sportsmen to show ‘pretty ordinary’ bad sportsmanship."
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The always insufferable Geoff Boycott weighed in, demanding the tourists apologise. We'll apologise, Geoffrey, if you apologise for subjecting us to your batting for 20 years.
The Australian and UK PMs have also been at it, exchanging verbals through their official channels. But the pile-on does have a potentially nasty side effect.
As the Australian team heads to Leeds for the third Test, there are concerns things could get very ugly on and off the field. Compared to Lord's, Headingley is the Bronx.
Officials there have confirmed they are implementing measures to ensure they do "everything within our control to keep everyone safe". The Australian players have reportedly been told to remain extra vigilant when dining out in restaurants or having a quiet drink over the remaining weeks of the Ashes.
I'll be there for the third Test and am weighing up whether to wear my Australian gear or start working on an American accent.
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