Legendary cricketer Brian Lara gives his 'Hand of God' take on Jonny Bairstow's dismissal in Lord's Test

England and Australia will lock horns on Thursday, July 6, in the third Ashes Test at Headingley. The hosts are trailing 0-2 in the series and will need to win all three remaining games to get the prestigious urn back in their possession. Pat Cummins, on the other hand, is on the brink of making history as a win at Headingley will ensure that he becomes the first Australian captain to win the Ashes in England in 22 years.

With so much at stake, it seems natural that the strengths and weaknesses of both teams will be discussed in the buildup to the third Test. However, that hasn't been the case as Jonny Bairstow's controversial stumping on Day 5 of the Lord's Test has taken the spotlight. Alex Carey stumped his opposite number off the bowling of Cameron Green in the first session when the game was in a very delicate situation. Bairstow left his crease after ducking a bouncer, thinking that the ball was no longer in play. The Aussie wicketkeeper hit the stumps and third umpire Marais Erasmus ruled the batter stumped out.

The bizarre dismissal angered a section of cricket fans as they felt that it wasn't aligned with the spirit of the game. However, others were of the opinion that Bairstow could have been more aware of the situation and that the Australians didn't do anything outside the rulebook.

Former West Indian cricketer Brian Lara reacted to the incident with an Instagram post. The stylish left-handed batter shared a couple of videos. The first video was of Bairstow's stumping while the second was from a match between West Indies and England in 1997 when Alec Stewart stumped the legendary cricketer after waiting for the southpaw to lift his foot in the air.

"There is no problem here with the spirit of the game! Well done Alec Stewart! (1997) Well done @alexcarey_5! (2023). Both your intentions were to execute a stumping/run out the minute the ball was in your gloves. #nodelay #nodummying If the batter was paying attention he would’ve stayed in his crease," Lara wrote on his Instagram handle.

"We have seen “The hand of god” from the #goat and so many other incidents in all sports let’s move on to the next Test. West Indies playing Oman today," Lara added.

England drop James Anderson for the third Ashes Test

Experienced campaigner James Anderson looked a pale shadow of his former self during the first couple of Ashes Tests. He managed to pick up just three wickets, averaging 75.33.

Moeen Ali returns to the side after missing the second Test owing to a finger injury. Chris Woakes and Mark Wood too make their comeback into the England Test side. However, in a huge setback, the hosts have lost Ollie Pope as he has got ruled out from the rest of the series due to a shoulder injury. Meanwhile, Australia are leading the ongoing Ashes 2023 series by 2-0. It will be interesting to see if the hosts will be able to clinch a win to remain alive in the series.