Ashes: Sky coverage of Jonny Bairstow run out questioned as Carragher called decision a ‘joke’

Sky Sports may have been moved to question their coverage of the controversial Jonny Bairstow dismissal after one of their own branded it ‘a joke’. 

The broadcaster’s football pundit Jamie Carragher summed up the mood of many of those watching when he tweeted his view of the analysis which went against public opinion and gave the Aussies strong backing for their actions. 

The tweet has since been deleted. Amid Sky’s justification, a clip of New Zealand’s Colin de Grandhomme being run out in a Test match last year against England at Lord’s was used. 

De Grandhomme had attempted to play a shot and had then set off down the track amid an lbw appeal from Stuart Broad in what appeared an odd comparison.

Subsequently, amid a growing row and unprecedented scenes in the Long Room, reaction to the incident was cut short during the lunch break to show a pre-programmed documentary on leadership. 

Jonny Bairstow was run out controversially on the fifth day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s 

The England batter was stumped after wandering out of his crease, but was clearly not trying to gain an advantage

Jamie Carragher called the dismissal a ‘joke’ in a since-deleted Tweet, but many of his Sky colleagues felt differently

In Sunday’s case, Bairstow wandered out of his crease assuming the ball was dead and had his stumps thrown down by Australian keeper Alex Carey. The England batter was clearly not gaining an advantage from the movement, but was still given out after Australia appealed.

A fairer comparison may be Ian Bell’s dismissal against India in 2011, where the batter wandered down the pitch assuming the ball had gone for four, only to be run out when the still-live ball came in.

Bell was originally given out, but returned to the crease after India captain MS Dhoni withdrew the appeal. The crowd became riled up after Bairstow’s dismissal at Lords, and booed the tourists at every opportunity.

Australian captain Pat Cummins stood by the decision after his side went on to complete a thrilling 43-run win despite a remarkable hundred from Ben Stokes.

When asked about the stumping he told Sky Sports: ‘I think Carey saw it happening a few balls previously.

‘There’s no pause, you catch it and have a throw. I thought it was totally fair play. That’s how the rule is – I know some people might disagree a lot.

Eoin Morgan, who was at the other end for England during the Bell incident in 2011, added: ‘I don’t see it compromising the spirit of the game. He (Bairstow) was just being naive, it was almost like he was batting in his own bubble.’

Former England captain Andrew Strauss added that he was ‘fairly comfortable’ with the incident, although one of his former teammates was less happy with the decision.

Pat Cummins defended the decision to appeal, while Sky Sports pundits Eoin Morgan and Andrew Strauss felt the right decision was made

Ben Stokes was unconvinced, admitting it was ‘out’ but argued if the roles were reversed he would have considered ‘the spirit of the game’

The England captain went on something of a rampage after Bairstow’s dismissal, scoring 155 as the hosts briefly threatened to pull of an unlikely chase.

Stuart Broad told Carey he would ‘forever be remembered’ for the incident when he came into bat, and brought cheers from the crowd by pointedly placing his bat behind the crease after each delivery.

England captain Stokes was similarly uncomfortable with the decision, as he said: ‘I think there’s quite a lot of factors you’ve got to take into that.

‘At the end of the day it’s out, (but) if the shoe was on the other foot I’d probably just have a little think about the spirit of the game. 

‘It’s happened and we’ve just got to move on with what’s in front of us.’

Australia’s win at Lords gave them a 2-0 lead in the Ashes, meaning England will have to win all of the three remaining games if they are to retain the Ashes.