3 times England apparently breached the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ ft. Stuart Broad

England cricketers, fans and experts are not happy with the way Australia went against the 'Spirit of Cricket' and dismissed Jonny Bairstow in the recently concluded Lord's Test match of Ashes 2023.

During England's second innings, Jonny Bairstow was batting on 10 runs off 21 deliveries when he ducked a delivery from Cameron Green. It was the last ball of the over, and since the ends were supposed to change after the over, Bairstow came out of his crease for a discussion with his batting partner Ben Stokes.

While Jonny Bairstow casually came out of his crease, Australian wicket-keeper Alex Carey stumped him. Carey collected the ball and threw it towards the stumps to dismiss Bairstow. The England camp was not happy with Australia's gesture, stating they went against the 'Spirit of Cricket'.

It is well-known that England always start the 'Spirit of Cricket' debate when an opponent takes advantage of the rules against them. However, here's a list of three such instances when the English players themselves breached the spirit of the game for their advantage.

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#1 Stuart Broad does not walk back to the dressing room after being caught out

During the Trent Bridge Test match of the 2013 Ashes series, England fast bowler Stuart Broad edged a delivery from Ashton Agar. The ball ricocheted off wicketkeeper Brad Haddin's gloves and went straight to first slip fielder Michael Clarke.

While the Australians began celebrating the wicket, Broad was unmoved. Much to the surprise of the Aussies, umpire Aleem Dar thought it was not out as well. Many batters have walked back to the dressing room without the umpire's signal when they nicked a delivery behind the stumps, but Broad did not go back.

Commenting on that controversy, Broad said earlier this year:

"I wouldn't change it for anything. I was thinking, 'We need more runs here, we're 230 ahead. If I get out, we lose the game.' So I'm never just going to walk off and accept a loss. I looked up at Aleem and he said not out."

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#2 England dismiss Grant Elliott via a controversial run-out in an intense match

During the fourth ODI of the England vs New Zealand series in 2008, Grant Elliott of the Blackcaps collided with England's bowler Ryan Sidebottom while on his way to complete a run. Elliott fell on the ground because of the collision and could not reach the crease.

Ian Bell threw the ball to Kevin Pietersen, who took the bails off the stumps. England appealed for a run-out and dismissed Elliott. Umpire Mark Benson asked England captain Paul Collingwood twice if he wanted to withdraw the appeal. Collingwood went against the 'Spirit of Cricket' and accepted the wicket. England lost that game by one wicket.

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#3 England accepted a catch deflected off non-striker's bat

During the 2022 English summer, New Zealand visited the United Kingdom for a three-match series. In the final match of the series, the Blackcaps batted first and were 123/4 when Henry Nicholls tried to score a boundary off spinner Jack Leach's bowling.

Nicholls danced down the track and whacked the ball towards the straight boundary. Unfortunately, the ball hit non-striker Daryl Mitchell's bat and went straight to mid-off fielder Alex Lees. England celebrated the catch as Nicholls walked back to the dressing room.

Fans on social media have opined that England would have started 'Spirit of Cricket debates once again had this thing happened to one of their batters.

Apart from the above-mentioned three incidents, England also breached the 'Spirit of Cricket' when Ben Stokes accepted four overthrows after a deflection off his bat in the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand. Also, England won the World Cup via a boundary count in the final.