5 Instances when England put ‘Spirit of Cricket’ aside to win matches

After Jonny Bairstow’s controversial dismissal in the second Test of the Ashes 2023, Australia are getting accused of breaching the Spirit of Cricket. Following the wicketkeeper-batter’s stumping, Lord’s crowd came heavily on the Aussie players during lunch on Day 5. The Australian team got booed by the crowd and also faced "cheat” “cheat” chants.

England supporters are accusing Pat Cummins and Co. of destroying the spirit of the game, however, their own team doesn’t have a fine reputation when it comes to maintaining the spirit of cricket. An avid cricket follower can recount several instances when the England cricket team didn’t care about the spirit of cricket.

Here are the five instances when England failed to maintain the spirit of the game

5. England dismisses Henry Nicholls with an unusual catch during the 2022 Test vs NZ

In 2022, England's home season started with hosting New Zealand for three Tests. After the first two matches, the hosts had taken an unassailable 2-0 lead and in the third Test at Headingley, Leeds, they were looking to showcase their best again and whitewash the Kane Williamson-led team.

New Zealand skipper Williamson won the toss in the match and put his team to bat first. The Kiwi team lost their four batters under the score of 100. However, Henry Nicholls and Daryll Mitchell were trying to take their team out of the difficult situation, maintaining a steady 40-run partnership.

At a score of 123, Nicholls stepped out and played a shot towards the straight boundary, but instead of reaching the boundary rope, the ball hit non-striker Daryl Mitchell’s bat and went to Alex Lees, who was deployed at the mid-off. Following Nicholl’s dismissal, fans attacked the England team for accepting the left-handed New Zealand batter’s dismissal in an unusual manner.