ISLAMABAD
\nThe British and Australian prime ministers have traded verbal bouncers after a controversial Test match between the two sides that has rocked the usually genteel world of cricket.
\nAmid allegations of bad sportsmanship, cheating and verbal abuse after Australia took a 2-0 Ashes series lead on Sunday, political leaders have now waded in.
\nBritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fired first, sending a spokesman out to decry the dismissal of English batsman Jonny Bairstow \u2014 who was stumped during what he appeared to think was a pause in play.
\nBairstow\u2019s dismissal was just not cricket, Sunak\u2019s spokesman suggested. \u201cThe prime minister agrees with (England captain) Ben Stokes who said he simply wouldn\u2019t want to win a game in the manner that Australia did,\u201d the spokesman said.
\nOn Tuesday Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a keen cricket fan, shot back that he was \u201cproud\u201d of Australia\u2019s \u201cmen\u2019s and women\u2019s cricket teams, who have both won their opening two Ashes matches against England.\u201d
\n\u201cSame old Aussies \u2014 always winning!\u201d he added.
\n\u201c(I) look forward to welcoming them home victorious.\u201d
\nSunak \u2014 who is also a cricket fan and watched with Prince William from the Lord\u2019s pavilion on Saturday \u2014 did deplore abuse directed at the Australians by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) members.
\nThree individuals have had their MCC membership suspended pending an investigation.
\n\u201cHe thinks it was right that the MCC have taken swift action to suspend any members accused of poor behaviour,\u201d the spokesman said.
\nSunak, though, has no intention of lodging an official protest with Albanese, to reprise the serious diplomatic strains created by England\u2019s \u201cBodyline\u201d tactics in the infamous 1932-33 Ashes Down Under.
\nWhile there is a \u201cfriendly rivalry\u201d over sport between the two leaders, Sunak does not view cricket as a core diplomatic issue, the spokesman remarked.
\n\u201cThe game did provide an opportunity to see Ben Stokes at his best and it was an incredible Test match \u2014 he has confidence that England will bounce back,\u201d he added after Stokes hit a blazing 155 in his second innings despite his side falling 44 runs short of victory.
\nGalvanised
\nThe third Test gets underway at Headingley on Thursday, with Australia aiming to secure a much coveted Ashes win away from home.
\nBut England coach Brendon McCullum also believes the incident can act as a lightning rod for a fightback in the series.
\n\u201cIn the end, they made a play, they\u2019ve got to live with that. We would have made a different play but that\u2019s life,\u201d said the former New Zealand captain.
\n\u201cIn time, we\u2019ll see, but I get the feeling that it might have an effect on them.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s anger, but our unit is galvanised. There are times as a coach where you\u2019ve got to reduce emotion because it\u2019s going to bubble over and you can make poor decisions, but there\u2019s times when you allow emotion to go because it\u2019s going to galvanise the unit.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s what I felt this emotion did for the side. I looked around the group and the guys were a little upset. If that helps us to win those key moments in the next Test, then I\u2019m all for it.\u201d
\nFormer England captain Geoffrey Boycott has called for Australia to apologise.
\n\u201cAustralia need to have a think about what they did and make a full public apology,\u201d Boycott wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
\n\u201cWe all make mistakes in the heat of the moment. People will think better of the Australians if they put their hands up and say \u201cwe got it wrong\u201d.
\n\u201cThat is the way to go. Let\u2019s see over the next few days if they are man enough to do that. \u201c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The British and Australian prime ministers have traded verbal bouncers after a controversial Test match between the two sides that has rocked the usually genteel world of cricket. Amid allegations of bad sportsmanship, cheating and verbal abuse after Australia took a 2-0 Ashes series lead on Sunday, political leaders have now waded in. British […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341295,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-341276","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n