Monty Panesar slams ‘desperate’ Australia’s ‘completely unethical’ Ashes tactics
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England icon Monty Panesar says he wasn't surprised by Australia's controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow in the second Ashes test at Lord's.
The cricketing world was whipped into a frenzy over the incident, which saw Bairstow run out by Australian wicket-keeper Alex Carey after he walked away from the crease following what appeared to be end of the over.
England cried unsportsmanlike conduct while the Aussies hailed Carey's quick-thinking, and while cases for both are pretty reasonable, Panesar was under no illusions as to where he stood on the matter.
"I think the incident was completely unethical," he said speaking exclusively to Daily Star Sport, courtesy of OLBG. "Yes, it's in the rules of the game but Australia can win a game of cricket by getting Jonny Bairstow out with a normal dismissal.
READ MORE: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak weighs in on Ashes spat after Jonny Bairstow controversy
"To do it this way just showed how desperate Australia are to win."
The Aussies are no strangers to controversy, from Sandpapergate to accusations of sledging and that underarm delivery, and Panesar says their latest contentious antics were little surprise.
He did, however, concede that a rivalry as intense and historic as England and Australia's is always going to produce controversial moments in one form or another.
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"We've seen the Prime Ministers of both countries have a bit of banter between one another when they recently met," the 41-year-old added. "Rishi Sunak gave a nice reply when he said he forgot to bring some sandpaper.
"At the end of the day, England vs Australia has a great rivalry on the pitch and sometimes things happen that people might not fully agree with.
"Whether it's the sledging, the moments we see at Lords with Bairstow; this only happens because of the rivalry. Off the field they're great friends, I don't think the two teams will be bothered about having a beer together in this moment but maybe afterwards.
"They're just both enjoying the fact that this is such a close Ashes series which we don't often see in test match cricket."
England are 2-1 behind heading into the fourth test at Old Trafford this week. All three matches have more or less gone to the wire and Panesar, who played in three Ashes series, says he expects that to continue.
"We usually see the home team dominate [but] England don't have an advantage in this series like Australia had in the last one, it's just a closely contested affair," he said.
"Because of that entertaining factor and not knowing which team is going to win, then it's making the series even more special. Test cricket in this country is unbelievable and we're seeing two teams so closely matched that it makes every ball entertaining to watch."
- Cricket
- England Cricket Team
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