02 July 2023 , 19:35
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The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) have suspended three members following an altercation with Australia players during the second Ashes Test at Lord's on Sunday.
The Aussies were criticised by angry MCC members as they made their way through the Long Room at Lord's following Jonny Bairstow's controversial dismissal during England's run chase. Australia's Usman Khawaja claimed the criticism was "disrespectful".
Bairstow was stumped from distance after wicketkeeper Alex Carey threw the ball at the stumps off the bowling of seamer Cameron Green. The England batter was only out of his crease because he thought the ball was dead, leaving fans at Lord's furious.
Australia appealed to the umpires, who were left with no choice but to dismiss Bairstow. Many fans believe Australia were not adhering to the spirit of the game. MCC have apologised to Australia for the unsavoury scenes in the Long Room.
MCC released a statement on Sunday evening. It read: "Further to the earlier statement, MCC can confirm it has suspended three members identified from earlier today. They will not be permitted back to Lord’s whilst the investigation takes place and were informed of this by MCC chief executive, Guy Lavender, this evening.
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"We maintain that the behaviour of a small number of members was completely unacceptable and whilst there was no suggestion by Pat Cummins in the post-match press conference that there was any physical altercation, it remains wholly unacceptable to behave in such a way, which goes against the values of the club.
MCC have apologised to Australia (Getty Images)What did you make of the altercation? Let us know in the comments below!
"MCC condemns the behaviour witnessed and once again we re-iterate our apology to Cricket Australia.
"We are thoroughly disappointed to be talking about poor behaviour when the Long Room, as stated by Pat Cummins himself, is otherwise renowned for being 'really welcoming'. It has been a thrilling day to finish off a wonderful five days of Test cricket."
Australia went on to win the Test and now have a 2-0 lead in the Ashes, with just three matches remaining. Visiting captain Pat Cummins, who was responsible for upholding the appeal for Bairstow's wicket, has defended his team's actions. He said it was "fair play" before adding: "That's the rules. That's how I saw it."
Khawaja and fellow Australia opener David Warner were the two players in the middle of the altercation. Khawaja said: "It was really disappointing. Lord's is one of my favourite places to come. There's always respect shown at Lord's, particularly in the Members Pavilion in the Long Room, but there wasn't today.
"Some of the stuff that was coming out of the members' mouths is really disappointing and I wasn't just going stand by and cop it. So I just talked to a few of them.
"A few of them were throwing out some pretty big allegations and I just called them up on it and they kept going, and I was like, well, this is your membership here. It's pretty disrespectful, to be honest. I just expect a lot better from the members."