UK PM Rishi Sunak voices his reaction to the spirit of the game controversy, expressing he ‘wouldn’t wish to triumph…’

“The prime minister agrees with Ben Stokes. He said he simply wouldn’t want to win a game in the manner Australia did,” said a spokesperson for PM Rishi Sunak.

When asked if PM Sunak believes Australia’s actions in the Bairstow dismissal were against the spirit of the game, he responded with a definitive yes.

However, PM Sunak also expressed appreciation for the century by the England captain in the second test match and expressed confidence in his team’s comeback in the third test match in Headingley. With England down 2-0 in the five-test series, another loss would prevent them from reclaiming the prestigious Ashes urn.

“But the game did provide an opportunity to see Ben Stokes at his best and it was an incredible test match. He is confident that England will bounce back at Headingley (in the Third Test),” the spokesperson noted.

A huge controversy erupted after Australia’s Alex Carey stumped Bairstow just before lunch on day five of the Test match. Reportedly, Bairstow was not trying to take a run but was moving ahead to have a routine conversation with his partner when he was stumped. While the third umpire gave Bairstow out, cricket fans around the world were left wondering whether the decision was in the spirit of the game.

Skipper Ben Stokes expressed his opinion on the dismissal, stating that he would not have wanted to win the game in that manner. He said, “If the shoe was on the other foot, I would have put more pressure on the umpires and questioned whether they had called over and contemplated the spirit of the game as a whole. Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no.”