Gillespie defends Smith on Stokes

Former Test fast bowler Jason Gillespie has leapt to the defence of Steve Smith, saying the Australia skipper was well within his rights to appeal for Ben Stokes’ controversial wicket in the second one-day international at Lord’s.

After New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum penned a column for The Daily Mail saying Smith had "missed a great opportunity to strike a blow for the spirit of cricket" in his handling of the incident on Saturday, Gillespie put together an equally passionate argument in The Guardian.

“Stokes, for me, was out by the letter of the law,” Yorkshire coach Gillespie wrote. 

“I don’t think this was immaturity from Smith, as some have claimed.

“If he was a wise old pro at 36 or starting out as captain at 26, as he is now, I fancy he would have had the same conviction in sticking to the appeal.

“In doing so, Smith believed himself to be going with the decision of the officials and therefore operating within the spirit.”

Stokes out obstructing the field (restrictions apply)

After the match, England captain Eoin Morgan said he would have withdrawn the appeal had the incident had happened the other way around.

“My interpretation of it was that his (Stokes) reaction wasn’t deliberate,” Morgan said.

“I feel that the ball was thrown so fast that you can only react in a way that defends yourself and he put his hand up to protect himself and followed the ball.

“How you can interpret is open but certainly I didn’t think it was deliberate.”

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Gillespie said if nothing else, the incident had shown the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ meant different things to different people.

“You could, for example, argue that the England one-day captain, Eoin Morgan, was contravening it by questioning the decision of the officials and the integrity of his opponent at Lord’s on Saturday evening,” Gillespie said.

The Yorkshire coach said he did not believe any tension from Saturday’s match would carry over into Tuesday’s third ODI in Manchester, a sentiment that has been echoed by England coach Trevor Bayliss.

“Our guys were a bit disappointed at the time but when we left everyone was in good spirits and looking forward to the next match,” Bayliss said.

“We haven't played to our potential in the two games but Australia have played well also and that makes it difficult to play your own game.

“But we have certainly got some areas we need to improve in and we will be looking to turn that around.”

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Bayliss also praised Stokes for his handling of the Lord's dismissal.

“He has got to take it on the chin and get on with it.

"I thought he did that pretty well the other day ... he's certainly making strides in his growing up, not just as a cricketer but as a person."

Bayliss was sympathetic to Stokes' reaction, which England believed to be instinctive, saying he would've thrown "both hands up if someone was throwing near me from 10 yards away".

But he also said "when it gets down to it you can't handle the ball in cricket".