The Ashes just got a whole lot more interesting, the reaction to the stumping of Jonny Bairstow was one of the most hypocritical displays I have ever seen on a cricket field. The remaining three matches are going to be hostile, this is exactly what we want – bring it on. This has pumped new life into a series that at 2-0 was going to meander along, the English crowds will be all worked up and full of life – there will be some passion.

What made me laugh firstly was the MCC response to the Mitchell Starc catch of Ben Duckett in the deep, the catch was ruled as not out and Duckett returned to the crease. Guess who was up the other end, none other than Ben Stokes himself. Stokes did not invoke the spirit of cricket as captain of England and tell Ben Duckett to walk. It was a good catch by Mitchell Starc, but a sloppy slide where he grounded the ball in his slide despite controlling the catch. Mitchell Starc will learn from this and not make that mistake again. The third umpire ruled not out – so we all move along.

I am not disputing the decision, the third umpire made their ruling and that was the end of it, Ben Duckett walked back to face Cameron Green, Ben Stokes did not have a forceful discussion with the umpire about the spirit of cricket. There was no remostration in The Long Room when Ben Duckett finally walked off Lords after being caught by Carey for 83, adding another 34 valuable runs to the score in their run chase. The best part was the MCC deciding to release a statement at the end of day 4 regarding the Starc incident reminding everyone of the rules, they are quick to act when it is in their favour.

What is not in the spirit of cricket is the boorish behaviour exhibited by the MCC members in The Long Room where the players have to walk through to enter and exit the ground. The attempts to manhandle the players along with the boos and abuse cannot be tolerated. This requires a full and transparent investigation by the MCC to identify all members engaging in this low class behaviour. The initial step would be for the MCC to request all members who were in the The Long Room to come forward and self-report. Then we will see how many members with their memberships on the line actually step forward in the spirit of cricket. Interestingly, the spirit of cricket takes on a whole new meaning when you have something of value on the line.

Then Stuart Broad came to the crease and had plenty to say to everyone, I really liked his theatrics, Broad plays a brilliant villain. His comments after the match are pure comedy gold regarding the worst thing he had seen on a cricket field. I would have thought the worst thing Stuart Broad had seen on a cricket field was a thick edge fly off his bat from an Ashton Agar delivery to first slip and not walking because he knew there were no reviews left. Maybe he forgot to mention that one to umpire Ahsan Raza in his selective memory rant. Great bowler, carries on like a flog, but in his defence, his entertainment value is first class.

Let’s not forget Jonny Bairstow in all of this, brilliant at the start where he carried off the field a Stop Oil protester and was unceremoniously dumped over the boundary. Bairstow himself tried to stump Marnus Labuschagne on day two but missed the stumps. What Alex Carey did was not new, this type of stumping had already been attempted in this very match; the difference between himself and Carey was Bairstow missed and Carey hit. So how could a wicketkeeper get caught out like this? One thinks Bairstow needs a little more awareness, I think Bairstow comes across as a pretty good guy, he was just dozing as the ball was released from Carey’s gloves in a single motion as soon as he took the ball.

Mr Bazball himself Brendon McCullum does not miss out either. We all remember McCullum as wicketkeeper running out Muttiah Muralitharan in Christchurch when he left his crease to congratulate Kumar Sangakkara on scoring his century in 2006. Not to be outdone, as wicketkeeper McCullum has stumped players in the same fashion, we haven’t forgotten Mr Bazball stumping English player Paul Collingwood in a one-day match only to have captain Daniel Vettori withdraw the appeal as the umpire had already called over.

This is Ashes cricket, this is the longest and most ferocious sporting rivalry and this adds to Ashes history. Hopefully England rethink the flat lifeless wickets and actually prepare a wicket with movement and bounce instead of the car parks they have prepared for the first two matches in an attempt to counter the Australian bowling attack. I am already sick of the short ball attack and duck approach as this is just dull. England know when they play in Australia in the next series there will be movement and life in those wickets, I suspect the Bazball experiment will be all finished by then.