"Every Team In The World Has Tampered With The Ball": Tim Paine Hits Back At Jonny Bairstow And Moeen Ali Over 'Stumping' Remarks

Former Australian Test captain, Tim Paine, has fired back at Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali over comments they made regarding the famous Ashes stumping incident in an upcoming book titled ‘Bazball: The Inside Story of a Test Cricket Revolution’.

Bairstow was quoted in an extract published in part by the UK Telegraph, claiming that the act by Alex Carey ‘wouldn’t come into my mind.’ However, Paine was quick to highlight footage from a County game in 2014, where Bairstow, then the England wicket-keeper, executed a similar stumping on Samit Patel. Paine retorted, “We have seen it happen numerous times. And not only have we seen it happen, Jonny, we’ve seen you do it.”

He went on to explain that the incident involving Bairstow was well-documented on social media. Tim Paine stressed that Bairstow’s actions were within the rules and added, “It’s been going through social media at the moment, the time Samit Patel was batting, the ball went down the legside, Jonny Bairstow was keeping up to the stumps, he wasn’t trying to gain an advantage, he’d started in his crease, he wasn’t leaving, he simply lifted his foot up to balance himself again and mark the centre, like Jonny did, and Jonny whipped off the bails.”

Tim Paine expressed his uncertainty about when Bairstow made his comments but encouraged England to “move on.“He emphasized that the rules were followed, and the decision was fair. Paine added, “Get over it and move on, we’ve spoken about it so much. You can’t have your cake and eat it. You’ve done it yourself in the past, when it happens to you, you’ve got to cop it on the chin.”

Tim Paine Talks About The Sandpapergate Scandal

In another extract from the book, Moeen Ali was quoted as saying he ‘thought it was out’ but criticized Pat Cummins for not calling Bairstow back. Paine responded to Ali’s comments by saying, “If you think it was out, Moeen, it was out. So why would he withdraw his appeal?”

Ali had suggested that it was a ‘great opportunity’ for Cummins to withdraw the appeal, partly to distance Australia from the “Sandpapergate” scandal. Paine vehemently rejected that notion and accused England of similar ball-tampering practices. He stated, “Don’t even start me on the Sandpapergate stuff and that carry-on. As I’ve said, every team in the world has tampered with the ball, including England and including teams he’s played in. So stop it.”

Tim Paine’s response underscores the ongoing scrutiny and debate surrounding the Ashes stumping incident, highlighting the complexities and nuances of cricket’s unwritten rules and ethical considerations. One thing that can be said on all of this is that If it’s in the rulebook of the game then it’s in the spirit of the game.