Watch: Australia captain Pat Cummins responds hilariously when asked about possibility of bowling underarm in next Ashes Test

On Sunday, the second Test of the ongoing Ashes series at Lord’s witnessed one of the most dramatic final days of a Test match. There was an uproar that emerged at the venue and on social media over the controversial dismissal of England batter Jonny Bairstow. The right-handed batter wandered out of his crease under the assumption that the over was finished and the ball was dead. However, Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey struck the stumps with an underarm throw as soon as he collected the ball in an attempt to stump the Englishman. Consequently, the 33-year-old Bairstow was declared out by the third umpire.

When asked by a journalist if Australia considered bowling underarm or attempting non-striker run-out, skipper Pat Cummins jokingly remarked that if England maintained flat wickets during the remaining three Ashes Tests in 2023, his side might consider attempting them.

It might be an option to turn to: Cummins

“Are we in danger of seeing Mankads or under-arm bowling later in this series?” asked a journalist during a press conference after the second Test. “Ah… I mean, depends on how flat the wickets get. It might be an option to turn to,” replied Cummins causing laughter in the room.

Watch the video here:

https://twitter.com/sleepyJAK/status/1675616715823276033

Notably, Bairstow’s dismissal occurred in the 52nd over of the fourth innings while England were chasing a stiff target of 371. The home side were virtually out of the game at the start of the day being four wickets down and needing 257 runs. However, England captain Ben Stokes pulled the strings and played one of the bravest innings in a Test match. He scored a valiant knock of 155 runs off 214 balls with nine fours and as many sixes, putting England back in contention from the jaws of defeat.

However, with no substantial support from the other end, a lot was asked out of the star allrounder, before eventually falling to pacer Josh Hazlewood in the 73rd over. He was the seventh batter to fall with the Three Lions needing another 70 runs. With not much batting to come after that point, Australia mopped up the tail before eventually winning by 43 runs.