The Ashes rivalry between Austrlian and England cricket teams have climbed new levels, with the Prime Ministers of the two countries getting involved in banter. The two leaders of their respective countries were involved in a light-hearted crosstalk after the controversial Jonny Bairstow dismissal in the Lord's Test. While most of the banter remained on social media after the conclusion of the Lord's Test, the two political leaders decided to take matters one step ahead as they both met on Tuesday.
In a video shared by the Austrlaian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, he and his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak poked fun at each other as they spoke about the ongoing Ashes.
"I caught up with Prime Minister @RishiSunak to discuss progress with AUKUS, technology transfer, and economic challenges, as well as the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement."
"And of course, we discussed the #Ashes."
In the video shard by Albanese, he could be seen carrying a paper with 2-1 written on it, highlighting the lead that Australia have after the first three Tests. Sunak then pulled out a picture of the Leeds Test win for England, prompting the Austrlaian PM to display a picture of the infamous Bairstow dismissal.
The UK PM was then heard saying, "I am sorry, I didn't bring my sandpaper with me" as the two broke in laughter.
"I'm proud of our men's and women's cricket teams, who have both won their opening two #Ashes matches against England. Same old Aussies - always winning! Australia is right behind @ahealy77, @patcummins30, and their teams and look forward to welcoming them home victorious," Albanese had tweeted after his team's Lord's Test win.
A spokesperson of the UK PM, however, revealed that Sunak wasn't pleased with the manner in which Australia sealed the second Test victory.
"Simply wouldn't want to win a game in the manner Australia did. The prime minister agrees with Ben Stokes. He said he simply wouldn't want to win a game in the manner Australia did," the spokesperson had said.
England did manage to make a comeback in the third Test but need to win the remaining two matches if they are to claim the series. Australia, on the other hand, still remain favourites.