Rishi Sunak has backed up England skipper Ben Stokes’ post-match comments, agreeing that Australia's match winning moment was within the laws but not the spirit of the game.
Mulling over the moment that has left a bitter taste in England fans’ mouths, Ben Stokes said: “The first thing that needs to be said is that it is out.
“But would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no. If the shoe was on the other foot, I would have a deep think about the whole spirit of the game.
“If I was fielding captain at the time I would have put a lot more pressure on the umpires to ask them what their decision was around the (end of the) over.
Steve Smith, David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne celebrate the controversial wicket as Bairstow looks to the umpire in disbelief
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“Jonny was in his crease, then left his crease to come out and have the conversation between overs like every batsman does.
“For Australia it was the match winning moment.”
Asked whether he agreed with Stokes’ sentiment, Sunak’s spokesperson said: “The PM agrees with Ben Stokes - he said he simply wouldn’t want to win a game in the manner Australia did.
“But the game did provide an opportunity to see Ben Stokes at his best and it was an incredible test match.
“He has confidence that England will bounce back at Headingley (in the Third Test starting on Thursday).”
Ben Stokes and Australian captain Pat Cummins face each other down in the most tempestuous Ashes contest in recent memory
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Stokes scored a magnificent 155, teeing off in the latter stages to rack up nine fours and nine sixes.
The controversy stemmed from a moment on the fifth and final day of the Ashes second test at Lord’s cricket ground.
Australian wicketkeeper, Alex Carey, stumped Jonny Bairstow from distance after the England batsman had ducked a Cameron Green bouncer and sauntered out of his crease to chat with Stokes between overs.
Bairstow felt as though all would be under the impression that the over had been completed after the ball whistled by over his head, as he had given no indication that he intended to run.
The ball was not in fact dead, and Carey’s intervention was deemed within the laws of the game, yet the act has been widely condemned as unsporting.
Ben Stokes hit the record number of sixes in an Ashes innings in what was a spectacular knock
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Next batsmen in, Stuart Broad, made a theatrical display of checking with Carey if he could leave his crease at the end of each over, much to the delight of nearly 32,000 baying fans in the stands.
Tempers boiled over when the Australian team retired to the Pavilion for lunch, as seething Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) members exchanged angry words with the Aussies in the Long Room.
The MCC later suspended the membership of three individuals pending an investigation.
Conservative MP for Harrow East and senior member of the Lords and Commons cricket team, Bob Blackman, told The Standard: “They have been found guilty of cheating in the past.
“This further tarnishes the reputation of the Australian cricket team.”
Sunak at Lord's with Prince William and Prince George
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English cricketing legend, Sir Geoffrey Boycott, has goaded Australia to issue a public apology “if they are man enough.”
Sir Geoffrey reasoned in The Telegraph: “If you want to win at all costs then cricket should not be for you.
“We want people to play hard and fair but surely there are standards to uphold?
“When batsmen are not trying to take an advantage then you should not follow the letter of the law. Apply some common sense.”
Earlier on in the game, Mitchell Starc was controversially deemed to have dropped Ben Duckett after the England batsmen top edged a Cameron Green bouncer.
Sunak with members of the Test Match Special commentary team, Michael Vaughan (Left) and Phil Tufnell (right)
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It appeared as though Starc had taken the catch cleanly with two hands before planting his hand ball side down on the grass to break his fall.
Of the decision, former Australian fast bowler, Glenn McGrath, said: “That is the biggest load of rubbish I’ve ever seen.
“He has got that ball under control. If that is not out, then every other catch that’s ever been taken should not be out. That is a disgrace.”
Some fans have drawn attention to a moment earlier in the test match when Bairstow, as England wicketkeeper, attempted the very same move as Carey but failed to hit Marnus Labuschagne’s stumps.
However, the moment occurred mid over when Australia were 79-1 off 30.2 overs.
