Amid the uproar in the England cricketing spectrum over the controversial dismissal of Ben Stokes on Day 5 of the Lord's Test, there are many who have called out the team's "hypocrisy". As a number of fans share video evidence of occasions where Englan players had themselves inflicted dubious dismissals, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has also joined the bandwagon. Chopra reacting to a video from 2022, highlighted how England have themselves failed to lift the 'spirit of the game' themselves.
On Tuesday, a fan shared the video of a Jack Leach delivery where the England spinner got New Zealand's Henry Nicholls caught after his shot hit the bat of non-striker Dary Mitchell. Further sharing the video, Chopra wrote if England truly wanted to withhold the spirit of the game, they would've withdrawn the appeal in Leach's case.
"Ouch. You can even see the torchbearer of 'The Spirit of the Game' shrugging his shoulders instead of initiating the process to withdraw the appeal. After all, you wouldn't want to be remembered for things like these.
"Also, there are multiple videos circulating calling out their hypocrisy...including some involving the current players. English cricket's hypocrisy and the sense of entitlement is something else," Chopra wrote on Twitter.
After Australia wicket-keeper Alex Carey stumped Jonny Bairstow on the final day of the second Ashes Test, there's been a huge cry of injustice from English supporters. Even England captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum said that what happened was against the 'spirit of the game'.
Australia skipper Pat Cummins, on the other hand, was quick to highlight how Bairstow himself had tried to dismiss people in similar manners before.
With a positive result in Lord's, Australia have taken a 2-0 lead in the 5-match series. Both the Lord's and Edgbaston Tests have finished in thrilling manners, with only narrow margins defining the winner. England would need to pull up their socks and produce a better show in the next three games.