After Jonny Bairstow's contentious dismissal on day 5 of the Lord's Test on Sunday in the Ashes 2023 series, the Victoria Police made fun of him. The incident was used by Victoria Police's Twitter account to warn people about the risks involved with crossing streets while walking, and it was connected to stepping out of the crease.
When the keeper-batter left the crease after ducking Cameron Green's bouncer, believing the ball was dead and the over was done, Bairtsow and the England team were left stumped in the 52nd over of the innings. Bairstow would be rendered speechless as Alex Carey would throw the ball at the stumps on impulse.
Because the ball was not dead and the England wicketkeeper needed to leave after 10 off 22 balls, the third umpire chose to dismiss Bairstow. The hosts' captain Ben Stokes made a brave effort to get them close to the target, but Australia ultimately won the game by 43 runs.
With the cricketing world polarized over the dismissal form, the Victoria Police saw the funny side of it and posted the following on Twitter:
Their caption was even more hilarious as they stated:
"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. Check out our road safety tips https://police.vic.gov.au/road-safety then tag a grumpy Englishman (we'll go first @metpoliceuk)."
Brendon McCullum criticises Australia for going against the spirit of the game:
Following the 43-run loss at Lord's that saw Australia go 2-0 up, England coach Brendon McCullum said he doesn't see them having a strong bond with their arch-rivals moving forward. The former New Zealand captain revealed that he might have done things differently in that situation.
"I can't imagine we'll be having a beer with them any time soon. We have three tests to land some blows and try to win the Ashes. That is where our focus will be. In the end you've got to live with the decisions you make, and that's life. But I feel from our point of view, if we were in the same situation, we might've made a different decision," he told BBC.
The third Ashes Test starts at Headingley on July 6th.
