Carey's hard-learned lesson that led to Lord's stumping

The moment Jonny Bairstow began repeatedly if distractedly wandering out of his crease on the last day at Lord's, Alex Carey's mind turned to the first painful lesson he learned in senior cricket.

Carey was aged 15 and playing his maiden match for Glenelg's A-grade outfit in Adelaide Premier Cricket when he allowed a ball to pass through to rival wicketkeeper Josh McLean who, upon noting his young opponent had drifted beyond his ground, gleefully threw down the stumps.

A bewildered Carey initially felt aggrieved and voiced his sense of injustice to his then captain, former SA batter and dual Bradman Medallist Ben Hook, who matter-of-factly told the teenager: "You'll remember to keep your foot behind the line next time".

It's unlikely that sentiment was shared between Bairstow and his current England skipper Ben Stokes when the pair stood together in the middle at Lord's, awaiting the third umpire's verdict on whether Carey had executed precisely the same dismissal albeit in the heightened atmosphere of an Ashes Test.

Image Id: 04089B21D2914F758CA1F2DC0860795F Image Caption: Alex Carey appeals for the stumping of Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s // Getty

But in the Australia keeper's mind, and according to the laws of cricket as prescribed by the Marylebone Cricket Club which owns Lord's, there was nothing to differentiate those two circumstances.

Asked if the Bairstow stumping – which triggered an outpouring of opprobrium across England inversely proportional to the act's mundane legality – was preconceived, Carey confirmed that Bairstow's carelessness had been clocked by Australia fielders in front of the wicket.

"We were switched on to the fact that it was a bouncer plan and it felt like Johnny was … getting out of the way, he wasn't playing any shots," Carey said today, speaking for the first time about the incident that sent the Lord's members and much of England into an undignified frenzy.

"When he ducked, obviously his first movement was pretty much out of his crease so instinctively I grabbed the ball, threw the stumps down and the rest is history.

"He's a fantastic player and obviously a big wicket in that match."

Carey's surprise at the brouhaha Bairstow's dismissal generated on the day, and which has percolated ever since given he's now treated as some sort of manifestation of evil everywhere he goes, is genuine and understandable.

After all, he didn't invoke the seemingly arbitrary 'Spirit of Cricket' defence when he learned a harsh truth on his first day as a senior player 16 years ago.

Nor did he bleat about nuance nor the apparent need to provide a polite warning to an opponent clearly flouting the laws when he was standing at the non-striker's end for South Australia in a 2017 Sheffield Shield game against New South Wales when teammate Tom Cooper was similarly stumped.

Cooper might have felt a stronger sense of grievance than Bairstow given he was attempting to regain his ground but dropped his bat moments before ex-Test keeper Peter Nevill's underarm throw hit the stumps.

Certainly, there were no scenes of rioting at the venerable Adelaide Club following that largely forgotten incident.

But true to his unashamedly phlegmatic nature, Carey claims to see both sides of the polarising moment at Lord's despite the confected outrage stirred up initially by Bairstow's indignant reaction, and then further fanned by unrest that has bordered on unhinged.

"As soon as I got it, (I) threw it straightaway," Carey said, underscoring his actions were wholly in line with the game's laws and wouldn't have rated a second thought had the batter remained in his crease.

"Then, I guess once the bail has come off, it's up to the third umpire to deem it out or not out, or the on-field umpires as well and it was given out.

"To see how much it has played out since then has been a little bit surprising.

"But I guess both sides of the fence is probably the one, isn't it?

"If you're on Australia's side, there's been amazing support and if you're on England's side, it's probably the opposite."

Image Id: 3FBE1E371D034C40B121AC857C366AD3 Image Caption: Carey celebrates with Josh Hazlewood the crucial wicket of Ben Stokes on day five at Lord’s // Getty

Asked if, with the benefit of hindsight, he would employ a similar tactic when presented with the same circumstances, he said: "If there was an opportunity to get a stumping … yeah".

The fact Carey, who was described by a staff member at English county Sussex where he played in 2019 as "perhaps the nicest guy in cricket", is now venomously vilified across the country (both on and off-field) is indicative of the potent tribalism that accompanies the Ashes.

But as tabloid newspapers in the UK continued to portray him as a pantomime bad guy more than a week after the Lord's Test had been decided in Australia's favour, and a day after England had staged a successful run chase at Headingley, it also served to further galvanise the touring party.

Certainly the reception Carey and his teammates received as they walked through the Lord's Long Room soon after Bairstow's dismissal, which subsequently saw three men stripped of their MCC membership and new protocols put in place for players at Lord's, remains clear in many memories.

"We walked off at lunch and we got some pretty instant feedback," Carey said of that shameful episode.

Image Id: 7F651F9FF1934A3CA9B60E39F6E14590 Image Caption: Australia players were abused by some MCC members in the Lord's Long Room // Channel Nine

"We were all out there and we all walked through the Long Room together, and post-match we all discussed it together.

"From our point of view, we've all got each other's backs and we've all supported each other.

"We understand what's important and who matters.

"There's some nasty stuff being said but it is the Ashes, and there was nasty stuff said before that as well.

"I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion and I absolutely respect that, and everyone's entitled to their opinion on the spirit of cricket as well.

"I feel really well supported, and I think the whole group does.

"From Australia, I still think we've got lots of fans and from England … I don't think we've made any, but we probably didn't lose any either.

"It is the Ashes we've got to remember, and we've had some amazing crowds.

"We love coming over here, we love playing the Ashes and my first experience (playing Test cricket) in England has been amazing."

Carey remains bemused at some of the more eccentric English displays of fury, such as communal calls for fans at Test grounds to remove their shoes as a sign of disdain for Australia's mild-mannered wicketkeeper.

He also claims his children (son Louis and daughter Clementine) remained blissfully oblivious to the storm raging around their father given they have been engaged with their mother (Eloise) in activities at creches provided for families at Lord's and Leeds.

Carey admits to humming along with some of the more musical chants emanating from the stands, albeit with a slight twist to the lyrics to ensure they are a little less incendiary.

Image Id: 34DE3A0FD9DE44AD83CCF1C151C14754 Image Caption: Carey with wife Eloise and their children Clementine and Louis after the Lord’s Test // Getty

But the one precinct from where he's not copped any pointed reminders about the moment is from his rival keeper and other England fielders behind the stumps when batting, which seems to suggest something about the way it's been viewed by those who truly understand cricket.

However, the one item that's left the 31-year-old shaking his head was the typically tawdry story that ran in one of the red-top UK tabloids during the Headingley Test erroneously claiming he had absconded without paying after getting a haircut in Leeds pre-match.

The fallacious rumour was initially peddled on BBC radio by former England captain Alastair Cook who has since privately apologised to Carey, although it's unlikely the newspaper that breathlessly repeated and embellished the falsehood has done likewise despite their glaring lack of due diligence.

"I found it a little bit amusing to start off with … wasn't sure if it was fake news or not," Carey said.

"But the hair hasn't been cut since we were down in London (during last month's World Test Championship Final).

"It's definitely due for a trim."

2023 Qantas Ashes Tour of the UK

First Test: Australia won by two wickets

Second Test: Australia won by 43 runs

Third Test: England won by three wickets

Fourth Test: Wednesday July 19-Sunday July 23, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: Thursday July 27-Monday 31, The Oval

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood