'Was Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal at Lord's a breach of the Spirit of Cricket?' - Simon Taufel responds to Ashes cricket's ongoing contentious debate

Simon Taufel is considered as one of the greatest umpires of all time. During his umpiring career, the Australian impressed fans and experts with his ability to give correct decisions more often than not and that too under searing pressure. He recently gave his take on the controversy surrounding Jonny Bairstow's controversial dismissal at Lord's on Day 5 of the second Ashes Test.

For the unversed, Bairstow was stumped by Alex Carey off the bowling of Cameron Green when the English wicketkeeper walked out of his crease before 'over' was called by the umpires.

Taufel, 52, shared a lengthy post on LinkedIn where he questioned the 'spirit of cricket' side of the debate regarding Jonny Bairstow's dismissal.

"Was there a complaint from anyone when Bairstow tried to stump Marnus exactly the same way in the first innings?"

Taufel was referring to a stumping attempt from Bairstow on Day 3 when Marnus Labuschagne was almost caught short of his crease. The attempted dismissal had an uncanny similarity with how Bairstow was sent packing on Day 5.

The former member of the ICC Elite umpires panel questioned whether a batter's negligence can save him from being dismissed, even if the fielding side has played by the rules. 

"Should a batter be immune from dismissal as per the Laws by simply being negligent (and leaving his ground too early)?"

Did England retire Ben Duckett?

Ben Duckett managed to uppercut a bouncer in the closing stages of Day 4 of the Lord's Test of the ongoing Ashes but the ball went straight into the hands of Mitchell Starc. The England opener had started his walk towards the pavilion as he felt his innings was over.

However, the umpires deemed that the ball had touched the ground while Starc wasn't in full control of the catch. Duckett was recalled to the crease and he resumed batting till he was eventually dismissed for 83. Taufel asked why England didn't retire the batter after the controversy regarding Starc's catch.

"Did England retire Ben Duckett when they disagreed with the Starc catch decision as per the Laws and umpires’ decision?"

England batter Joe Root said in a press conference that the focus should shift to the third Test that begins on Thursday, but the debate regarding Bairstow's stumping just doesn't seem to have a climax at the moment.