"Jonny will hate me saying this" - Joe Root gives his verdict on infamous stumping row of 2023 Ashes series

England's ace batter Joe Root asserted that Jonny Bairstow was in the wrong during the stumping row at the Lord's Test of the 2023 Ashes series. The right-handed batter feels Bairstow could hate him for saying it, but reckons that his fellow Yorkshireman wouldn't have been dismissed had he done what was in his control.

With the match at a knife's edge on Day 5 of the 2nd Test as England were chasing 371 for victory, Australia's keeper Alex Carey affected a stumping after Bairstow ducked a bouncer and walked out of the crease casually. The third umpire eventually ruled it out, sparking plenty of boos for the visitors across the stadium. The likes of David Warner and Usman Khawaja were also involved in a scuffle with the members at Lord's.

In the ECB's documentary, The Ashes 2023 | Our Take, Root stated that he wasn't able to think clearly back then in the heat of the moment but now understands it was within the rules.

"Initially I was quite angry, but I think when you're involved in the game it's very difficult to put yourself in the other position. So I'd like to say I would have dealt with it differently (than Australia), but I could very easily have done the same thing. Jonny will hate me saying this, but if you stay in your crease you can't get given out can you? At the end of the day it's within the laws of the game. You should be aware as a player."

Bairstow's wicket was crucial to the outcome of the game, in which Ben Stokes waged a lone war against Australia. However, Stokes' 155 went in vain as the Aussies emerged victorious by 43 runs.

"It was a really powerful moment for us as a team" - Joe Root on Ben Stokes' innings

Root also lauded Stokes for doing his job regardless of the situation. The Yorkshire batter is of the opinion that it boded well for England ahead of the remaining matches. He added:

"It deserved more than for us to come out on the wrong end of that (Lord's) result. For England's captain to show us this is how we play our cricket regardless of the situation, regardless of what people might have said in the first innings, how we got dismissed, reckless, careless, no thought behind it. It was a really powerful moment for us as a team and the rest of the series as well."

The series eventually finished in a 2-2 draw.