Former Australia international Brad Hogg has branded Jonny Bairstow’s controversial stumping at Lord’s a “cheap” move and insisted England were “hard done by”.

Bairstow was dismissed in bizarre circumstances on a tense final day in the second Test, with Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey throwing down the stumps after the batter ducked the final ball of the over and set off to talk to partner Ben Stokes.

The wicket was upheld by TV umpire Marais Erasmus, who judged that the ball was not dead, but Bairstow clearly felt the over had been completed.

England captain Stokes said he would have withdrawn the appeal and suggested it was not in line with the spirit of cricket, and he found an unexpected ally in Hogg.

The 52-year-old, who played seven Tests and 138 limited-overs internationals for Australia, told talkSPORT: “I was disappointed from the start, I thought they should have called Bairstow back.

“He wasn’t taking any advantage. At the end of the day it’s not a good spectacle for Test cricket.

“England, for me, were hard done by. You don’t want to win a Test match by taking cheap wickets like that. It’s not the same as a stumping, not the same as running someone out batting out of their crease. He was in his crease (when facing).

“He did the same act a number of times at the end of the over beforehand, Australia should have warned him if they were going to do this.”

Luton have signed Barnsley captain Mads Andersen for an undisclosed fee.

The 25-year-old Danish central defender spent four years at Oakwell and made 175 appearances for the Tykes.

“I’m so excited. It’s a dream come true,” Anderson told the official Luton website of his move to the Premier League new boys.

“When I made my move in Denmark from Brondby to a lower team in the same division, me and my dad spoke about it and I said, ‘In one and a half years, I’m going to go to the Championship’, and that is exactly what happened.

“During that period I also wrote on a piece of paper ‘Premier League’, and stuck it on the fridge.

“I completely forgot about it, until my family told me, ‘You put that on the fridge’. So it’s a proud moment for them as well.”

Luton boss Rob Edwards said: “I’m really pleased to get Mads on board.

“He has been on our recruitment team’s list for a long time now.

“We watched a lot of him last season and he’s performed really well and consistently for a prolonged period in English football.”

Andersen becomes Luton’s second signing since promotion to the top flight following the arrival of Republic of Ireland striker Chiedozie Ogbene from Rotherham.

Australia spinner Nathan Lyon has been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes series.

Lyon suffered a “significant calf tear” while fielding on day two of the second Test at Lord’s, which his side won in thrilling fashion to open up a 2-0 series lead.

Australia just need to avoid defeat in the third Test at Headingley this week to retain the urn, but must now do it without their 496-wicket spinner.

Eager for runs to add to England’s second-innings chase, Australia sent a stricken Lyon out to bat late on Saturday afternoon, with images of the 35-year-old limping out to the middle sure to go down in Ashes folklore.

As it happened, the 15-run partnership he put together with Mitchell Starc were not needed as Australia won the Test by 43 runs, but the memories of Lyon’s bravery will endure.

Todd Murphy is Australia’s spinning replacement for Lyon, with the 22-year-old working closely with Lyon behind the scenes in readiness for this moment.

“His stock ball is good enough in international cricket. We have seen that in India in arguably the hardest place to bowl spin,” Lyon told Cricket Australia’s official website.

“It will be a different challenge with the England batters. If they do come at him, it provides Todd with a decent challenge. But a chance to leave his footmarks here in England. It is a big Ashes series, he is excited by the opportunity.

“I sat with Todd in the last session there (on day four) and spoke about spin bowling as we do. I have a lot of confidence in Todd. He is a great kid. He is willing to learn along the way,” Lyon said.

“I have told him my phone is always on, it doesn’t matter if I am sitting in the changeroom with him or I am sitting at home watching it in bed.”

Australian newspapers reacted strongly – and rather differently to their English counterparts – after a dramatic final day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.

While several English papers declared the events surrounded Alex Carey’s stumping of Jonny Bairstow as “just not cricket”, there was a rather different view from across the cricketing world.

MCC members came in for a fair amount of stick after the Long Room confrontation between a group of them and Australian players with the Sydney Morning Herald saying “the final day of the second Ashes Test descended into chaos”.

Andrew Webster wrote: “The first rule of MCC Fight Club is know the rules of cricket.

“I would have thought membership to the most famous club in cricket meant you understood the laws of the game.”

It was a theme continued in The Australia with Gideon Haigh suggesting “puce-faced MCC snobs should learn their own rules”.

Referring to the confrontation with opener Usman Khawaja at the lunch interval, he wrote: “What could be a worse look in the week of the Equity in Cricket report than dim-bulb snobs picking fights with a placid, softly-spoken Muslim player? Chaps, pull yourselves together.”

The paper did find time to concentrate on the cricket, former England captain Mike Atherton saying the one job Ben Stokes cannot manage is to “mask his team’s failings”.

He asked: “Has there ever been an England player whose competitive instincts have shone as brightly as they do from Ben Stokes?”

The Canberra Times said the stumping incident “exposes cricket’s ugliest debate” between spirit and rules.

But there were dissenting voices among the Australia press, the Daily Telegraph saying that “Australia forever taints famous Ashes win”.

Phil Rothfield wrote: “The greatest moments in Australian sport are often not about winning, but great acts of sportsmanship. This Ashes win will be remembered, but not for the right reasons.”

On this day in 2010 Serena Williams won her fourth Wimbledon title with a 6-3 6-2 win against Vera Zvonareva.

It took just over an hour for the world number one to scoop her 13th grand slam title after sealing victory against the Russian 21st seed.

Zvonareva was appearing in her first grand slam final but had no answer for Williams, who took the first set in 36 minutes.

With Zvonareva 4-1 down in the second, the American showed her ruthless streak to see out victory, taking her past Billie Jean King to sixth in the all-time list of female grand slam singles champions.

“Hey Billie, I got you, it’s number 13 for me,” Williams said after her win.

“It means a lot because it is 13 and that’s kind of cool because I was able to beat Billie. To have four Wimbledon titles is amazing.

“It’s funny, I didn’t think I was playing that well, especially in practice.

“Just wasn’t hitting the ball that cleanly, but when I got on the court, it was good.

“I served really well and to win the tournament without losing a set is pretty cool.”

Now 41, Williams has won a mammoth 23 grand slams, more than any other player in the Open era, and is one behind Margaret Court.

Her last Wimbledon singles title came in 2016, beating Angelique Kerber 7-5 6-3.

Ozzie Albies hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the fifth inning to back 6 2/3 sharp innings from Spencer Strider as the Atlanta Braves earned a 6-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Sunday to extend their winning streak to eight games.

Albies' 20th homer of the season gave Atlanta a 4-2 lead that Strider made hold up as the red-hot Braves completed a three-game series sweep over their closest National League East competitors. Atlanta has now won 16 of 17 to extend its lead over the second-place Marlins to nine games.

The Braves have also won 10 in a row at home and outscored Miami 29-7 for the series.

Strider, named to his first All-Star Game on Sunday, was touched for two runs in the second inning and an unearned run in the seventh, but got enough support via homers by Albies, Travis d'Arnaud and Orlando Arcia to win a fourth consecutive start. The hard-throwing right-hander recorded nine strikeouts to push his major league-leading total to 155.

Albies was also named an NL reserve for next week's All-Star Game, one of a league-high eight selections for Atlanta.

2022 NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara struggled again for Miami, allowing four runs in five innings to raise his season earned run average to 4.93.

Marlins All-Star Luis Arraez finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs to raise his MLB-leading batting average to .389.

 

Ohtani, Trout homers help Angels down Diamondbacks

American League All-Stars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout had two of the Los Angeles Angels' three home runs in a 5-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks that prevented a sweep of the three-game series.

Mickey Moniak's three-run blast off Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen in the second inning put Los Angeles up 4-2 and helped the Angels snap a season-high four-game losing streak. Ohtani later launched a 454-foot drive into the right field seats in the eighth for his MLB-leading 31st homer of the season and sixth in seven games.

Angels starter Reid Detmers surrendered a two-run homer to Carson Kelly in the second, but held Arizona scoreless for the remainder of his six-inning stint and finished with nine strikeouts.

Gallen, named to his first All-Star Game for the NL squad earlier in the day, recorded 12 strikeouts in seven innings but was reached for four runs to fall to 10-3 on the season.

 

Astros hold off Rangers to close gap in AL West

Chas McCormick snapped a tie with a three-run triple in the top of the eighth inning, and the Houston Astros held on for a 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers in a matchup of the top two teams in the AL West.

McCormick's big hit off reliever Josh Sborz with the bases loaded staked Houston to a 4-1 lead, though the Rangers answered with Nathaniel Lowe's two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to pull back within one.

Jose Altuve homered in the top of the ninth to increase the lead to 5-3, however, and Ryan Pressly retired the Rangers in order in the bottom of the frame to notch his 17th save.

The win was Houston's fourth in five games and brought the reigning World Series champions within four games of first-place Texas in the division. The four-game Lone Star Series between the in-state rivals concludes Monday.

Texas lost for the sixth time in nine games and wasted a terrific start from Andrew Heaney, who struck out eight and allowed just three hits in five scoreless innings.

Jose Abreu finished 3 for 5 for the Astros, while McCormick and Altuve each collected two hits. 

 

Ben Stokes insists England can still pull off an Ashes victory against the odds, after Jonny Bairstow’s controversial dismissal helped Australia take a 2-0 lead at a furious Lord’s.

In an unforgettable fifth day finish at the home of cricket, the tourists were heckled and booed from the field after wrapping up a 43-run success despite Stokes’ best efforts.

He hit a jaw-dropping 155, whipped into a six-hitting frenzy by Bairstow’s bizarre stumping by Alex Carey, but could not take his side all the way.

Carey threw down his fellow wicketkeeper’s stumps after Bairstow ducked a Cameron Green bouncer, tapped his bat behind the crease and began to walk down the pitch to chat with Stokes.

Bairstow felt the over had been completed, which would have rendered the ball dead, but Carey’s intervention was deemed to be within the laws of the game and the wicket stood.

Nearly 32,000 fans in the stands went apoplectic and things even took an angry turn in the usually polite confines of the Long Room, where Usman Khawaja and David Warner exchanged words with jeering members. Marylebone Cricket Club later suspended the membership of three individuals pending an investigation.

Stokes made it clear the manner of the Bairstow wicket left a bitter taste and suggested he may have withdrawn the appeal in similar circumstances.

“The first thing that needs to be said is that it is out. But would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no,” he said.

“If the shoe was on the other foot, I would have a deep think about the whole spirit of the game. If I was fielding captain at the time I would have put a lot more pressure on the umpires to ask them what their decision was around the (end of the) over.

“Jonny was in his crease, then left his crease to come out and have the conversation between overs like every batsman does. For Australia it was the matchwinning moment.”

With Australia also coming out on top in a tense finish in the series opener at Edgbaston, Stokes’ side now face the prospect of becoming the first England team since 2001 to lose a home Ashes.

To win the urn back they need to win at Headingley when battle resumes on Thursday and then do the same at Old Trafford and The Oval.

“All we’re thinking about is winning the series 3-2,” he said.

“We have to win these three games to get this urn back and we’re a team who are obviously willing to put ourselves out there and do things against the narrative.

“So, these next three games are an even better opportunity for us than we have ever found ourselves in before.”

Anticipating an even more feverish atmosphere in Leeds next week, Stokes added: “I definitely think it’s going to be ramped up.

“When we go to Australia we get lambasted as well – 90,000 Australians at the MCG cursing at you. That’s part of the sport we play, you get thousands of people who want their team to win and they’ll just jump on something.”

Australia captain Pat Cummins was visibly taken aback by the vitriolic reaction he experienced but made no apologies for the Bairstow wicket.

“It’s in the laws, totally fair play. That’s how I saw it,” he said.

“You see Jonny do it all the time, he did it day one to (David) Warner and in 2019 to Steve (Smith). It’s what keepers do if you see an opportunity. All credit to Carey, he rolled it at the stumps, Jonny left his crease and you leave the rest to the umpires.”

More heroics from Ben Stokes were not quite enough to help England pull off a miraculous chase at Lord’s after Australia clinched the second Ashes Test by 43 runs to move 2-0 up in the series.

Stokes blitzed 155 to propel the hosts into a position of strength after Jonny Bairstow’s controversial dismissal but top-edged Josh Hazlewood when England were 70 runs short of a record-breaking 371 target.

It left too many runs for England’s tailenders and Mitchell Starc wrapped up victory for Australia when he sent Josh Tongue’s leg stump cartwheeling away during an extended afternoon session.

There will not be much time to reflect on another adrenaline-fueled Ashes Test, with the third match of the series set to start on Thursday at Headingley.

View from the dressing roomSuperhuman Stokes

 

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Pumped up after Bairstow’s wicket, Stokes switched into six-hitting mode instantly. Cameron Green felt the full force of his destruction with one over going for 24 after three maximums brought up a sensational century.

Stokes went from 62 off 126 balls to a 13th Test hundred 16 deliveries later. Before and after lunch he picked his moments with a succession of pulls for six followed by singles repeatedly turned down with Australia’s field spread trying to protect the boundary rope.

Talk of Headingley rumbled on at the home of cricket but Stokes’ superman effort could not get England over the line with a top-edge against Hazlewood presenting Alex Carey with a simple catch – a far less controversial involvement for the Aussie gloveman.

No keepers union here…

England pursuit of 371 took a drastic twist at the end of a 52nd over which proved match-defining. After Bairstow had ducked under Green’s bouncer, he went to meet Stokes in the middle of the wicket but turned around in horror to see Carey’s throw from behind the stumps had dislodged the bails.

Bairstow had been under the impression that the ball was dead only for Carey to have other ideas and after some deliberation between the two umpires and both teams, TV umpire Marais Erasmus had to decide if Bairstow was in or out of his crease.

Television replays showed Bairstow was clearly out of his crease and he was subsequently given out stumped for 10, which sparked boos from a suddenly partisan Lord’s crowd. Tensions spilled over at lunch when MCC members clashed with Australian duo David Warner and Usman Khawaja in the Long Room and three members were subsequently suspended following allegations of “abusive and aggressive” behaviour.

Broad makes his point

Stuart Broad walked out after Bairstow’s dismissal ready for a fight and immediately told Carey he would be “forever remembered” for the stumping. Words followed with Marnus Labuschagne and the pair repeatedly sparred during Broad’s brave 125-minute spell at the crease.

On numerous occasions at the end of an over, Broad would ask Carey and the other Australian fielders in close proximity if he was OK to walk to speak with captain Stokes in the middle of the crease.

Broad also played his part in a 108-run partnership with Stokes, contributing 11 but more significantly wearing a number of bouncers, having taken a nasty blow to the jaw in the first innings. His gutsy batting displays, coupled with his five wickets for the Test, could help him retain his place at Headingley.

Can Ben follow Don’s lead?

Only once before has a team fought back from two down in an Ashes series to win 3-2. Don Bradman’s Australia team achieved the feat on home soil during the 1936-37 series.

After England won the first two Tests emphatically, Bradman almost single-handedly refused to give up on the urn and scores of 270, 212 and 169 inspired the most remarkable of turnarounds with three successive victories.

If anyone can repeat the trick, it is Stokes.

Attention turns to Leeds

England announced their squad for the Headingley Test minutes after defeat was confirmed and Rehan Ahmed and Matthew Potts have been left out of the 15-man squad.

Changes are expected, with James Anderson set to drop out after struggling during the first two matches and Mark Wood should be ready after building up his workload during the past week.

Moeen Ali is also fit again after the burst blister on his right index finger at Edgbaston and it leaves Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum with a decision to make. Vice-captain Ollie Pope must be assessed after he injured his right shoulder at Lord’s.

England head to Leeds with total clarity. It is win or bust.

Reigning men’s champion Novak Djokovic will kick things off on Centre Court as Wimbledon gets under way on Monday.

There will also be an emotional return to the big stage for five-time women’s champion Venus Williams as well as plenty of British players hoping for some home glory.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the opening day of action.

Rivals reunited

Djokovic begins the pursuit of an eighth title – which would draw him level with record-holder Roger Federer – against Pedro Cachin.

But he probably had a bigger test as he resumed rivalries with Andy Murray in practice over the weekend.

The pair enjoyed a competitive encounter out on the Aorangi Park courts on Saturday, almost 10 years to the day from when Murray beat Djokovic to win his first Wimbledon title.

That victory in the 2013 final gives Murray the distinction of being the only player in this year’s draw to have beaten Djokovic at Wimbledon.

Iga to prove herself

 

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World number one Iga Swiatek begins her quest for a first Wimbledon title, fresh from another success at the French Open last month.

 

The Pole, Aryna Sabalenka and defending champion Elena Rybakina are the ‘big three’ in the women’s game at the moment but grass is not the former’s strongest surface.

Swiatek has not made it past the fourth round at SW19 before but should get a nice gentle opening to the tournament as she is first up on Court One against China’s Zhu Lin, who has won just one singles match in four Wimbledon appearances.

Match of the day

 

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Venus Williams returns to SW19 in singles competition for the first time since 2021 and will be looking to add to the five titles she has won here, the last being in 2008.

 

However, that is highly unlikely and, aged 43, this may be more of a swansong, 12 months on from her sister Serena bidding farewell to the championships.

She gets a Centre Court date with Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who is making a good return following the birth of her baby in October.

Brit Watch

Six home players are in action on the opening day and all will have hopes of getting through.

Katie Swan perhaps has the toughest task as she was drawn against 14th seed Belinda Bencic, but she has been playing well this summer.

Dan Evans takes on Frenchman Quentin Halys, Liam Broady is up against Constant Lestienne and Jan Choinski plays Dusan Lajovic.

Jodie Burrage got to the final at Nottingham so will be confident against American Caty McNally while Harriet Dart, who made back-to-back quarter-finals at Nottingham and Birmingham, goes up against Diane Parry.

Order of playWeather

Ten days after being named the American League's starting designated hitter for next week's All-Star Game, Los Angeles Angels sensation Shohei Ohtani was named to the AL's pitching staff.

Major League Baseball revealed all pitchers and reserves on Sunday for the July 11 game in Seattle, three days after starters were announced.

Ohtani was named an All-Star last week, however, as the league's top-vote getter.

This is the third year in a row Ohtani has been selected as a two-way starter for the All-Star Game.

He pitched and hit at the 2021 Midsummer Classic at Denver, though only hit at last year's game at Dodger Stadium.

The 28-year-old phenom from Japan entered play Sunday, ranking second in the AL in strikeouts (127) and eighth in ERA (3.02).

He also leads all of baseball in home runs (30), slugging percentage (.666) and OPS (1.057).

The Atlanta Braves lead MLB with eight players selected to the All-Star Game - the most by any team since the Texas Rangers in 2012 - after pitchers Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder, first baseman Matt Olson, second baseman Ozzie Albies and third baseman Austin Riley joined the club's previously named starters - outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., shortstop Orlando Arcia and catcher Sean Murphy.

The Braves enter Sunday with the majors' best record at 55-27.

 

Lucy Bronze says England have youngsters in their Women’s World Cup squad that are “exciting and fearless”.

The starting line-up for Saturday’s 0-0 warm-up draw with Portugal at Stadium MK included Manchester City 22-year-old Esme Morgan in a central defence missing regular captain Leah Williamson, ruled out of the tournament by an ACL injury, and stand-in skipper Millie Bright as she continues to build her fitness.

There was also a start in attack for Chelsea’s Lauren James, 21, while 20-year-old Brighton forward Katie Robinson came off the bench for the European champions in the second half.

Right-back Bronze said: “The younger players who are the least experienced, Robbo, LJ and Esme, I thought all of them did really well.

“They grew into the game. You don’t see the weight of expectation on their shoulders. You talk about Millie Bright, Leah Williamson, and I thought Esme was very good.

“They are exciting and they don’t have fear. They slot in. They are used to doing it in the league and they do it for us now.”

James initially operated on the right side of a front three before switching to a deeper central position when England boss Sarina Wiegman made changes at the interval.

On her link-up with James, Bronze said: “LJ and I have a good relationship off the pitch as well.

“She’s eager to learn. For a player that’s so young and talented, people forget how much expectation there is on her.

“Because I’m the experienced player, she wants to get me in the game. I’m saying to her ‘you’re the winger, you have it.’ It’s nice that she wants to get me involved. Give her space and she will score us a goal.

“She’s still learning when to be selfish and when not to be and when to make the right decision. I’m just there to help her find her way.”

This summer’s edition in Australia and New Zealand, which gets under way on July 20, will be a third World Cup for Bronze.

“Players look towards the older ones and I’m now one of them,” the 31-year Barcelona star, holder of more than 100 caps, said.

“I’m kind of laid-back and relaxed. They look at me and think it’s going to be OK. If I was maybe to get anxious they’d get worried about it.

“We have players like myself, Millie Bright and Alex (Greenwood) who have been to World Cups and played in the Euros, and we know how to deal with different pressures and adversities on and off the pitch. Maybe the less experienced ones know from that that everything is going to be OK.”

Regarding the 2015 World Cup in Canada that saw her score twice and help England finish third, Bronze added: “I went into it as a young player, not expecting to do much and I ended up playing every single game, scoring goals and forced myself into the spotlight.

“Anything can happen in the World Cup. We saw that last year with Chloe (Kelly) in the Euros, scoring the winner in a tournament that she played very few minutes in. There will be plenty of opportunities for people to shine and have their moments.”

Following Saturday’s send-off game, England are set to depart the country for Australia on Wednesday, and play another warm-up against Canada, behind closed doors, on July 14 before opening their World Cup campaign eight days later against Haiti in Brisbane.

Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from this year’s Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament due to a wrist injury.

The Australian, who was beaten in last year’s final by Novak Djokovic, had earlier conceded there were “some question marks” over his participation.

In a statement posted on his social media accounts, Kyrgios wrote: “I’m really sad to say that I have to withdraw from Wimbledon this year.

“During my comeback, I experienced some pain in my wrist during Mallorca. As a precaution I had it scanned and it came back showing a torn ligament in my wrist.

“I tried everything to be able to play and I am disappointed to say that I just didn’t have enough time to manage it before Wimbledon.”

Kyrgios had been scheduled to begin his campaign against Belgian former quarter-finalist David Goffin on Court One on Monday.

The 28-year-old has been unable to build on his sole grand slam final appearance after withdrawing from the Australian Open in January due to a knee injury which required surgery.

He had played only one match since, a defeat to Wu Yibing in Stuttgart last month, and admitted during his pre-tournament media rounds on Sunday that he was “almost dreading” his return.

“I’m just going to try to do everything I can, prepare, go out there and play some good tennis,” Kyrgios had said. “I feel probably as good as I could feel at the moment.”

The Phoenix Suns have landed one of the most coveted free agents still on the market, signing veteran Eric Gordon to a two-year contract.

The deal, which was reported Sunday, includes a player option, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The 34-year-old Gordon joins a Suns team led by Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Deandre Ayton and the recently acquired Bradley Beal.

Gordon averaged 12.4 points, 2.7 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 69 games last season for the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers.

Acquired by the Clippers at the trade deadline, Gordon averaged 10.2 points in five games in Los Angeles' first-round playoff loss to Phoenix.

He became a free agent last week when the Clippers opted not to guarantee his $21million contract.

With the Suns, he'll likely be asked to come off the bench to lead the second unit and provide another outside shooting threat.

Gordon shot 37.1 per cent from 3-point range last season and since his 2008-09 rookie season, his 1,878 made 3-pointers are the eighth most in the NBA.

 

Three MCC members have been suspended after Australia captain Pat Cummins confirmed his team experienced “aggressive and abusive” behaviour in the Long Room on the last day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.

A flashpoint occurred on the eve of lunch on day five when Jonny Bairstow was dismissed in controversial fashion, after Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey threw the ball at the stumps at the conclusion of Cameron Green’s over.

Bairstow had already left his crease to speak with Ben Stokes, under the impression it was a dead ball with the over finished, but was given out and it saw the Lord’s crowd respond with hostility towards the tourists.

Boos greeted the Australians when they left the pitch at lunch and television cameras picked up an exchange in the Long Room between MCC members and both Usman Khawaja and David Warner with security forced to step in.

“Further to the earlier statement, MCC can confirm it has suspended three Members identified from earlier today,” an MCC statement read.

“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.

“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 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.”

Despite the unsavoury incident ahead of lunch on the final day, Cummins does not want the tradition of walking past the members to end.

“The crowd certainly made themselves known, in the Long Room and also out there,” Cummins reflected after Australia won by 43 runs to move 2-0 up in the series.

“I think they were just quite aggressive and abusive towards some of our players, which I know the MCC were not too happy with.

“Other than that one time, they were fantastic all week. The members here are normally fantastic, really welcoming.

“Something special about playing at Lord’s is you feel like you are at a really special place surrounded by people who have a love for the game. I quite like the tradition.

“I don’t think it hurts any more than normal. I think just standards that are held by the members are maybe a bit different to what you expect from certain members of the crowd at Edgbaston.

“To quote Smithy (Steve Smith), it felt like a normal day.”

Cummins did not see the alleged physical contract which a Cricket Australia spokesperson referenced.

“Australian management has requested the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) investigate several incidents involving spectators in the members’ area during lunch on day five of the Lord’s Test,” the spokesperson said.

“It is alleged players and staff from the Australian team were verbally abused, with some being physically contacted, as they made their way to lunch through the members’ area.”

England captain Stokes was not asked specifically about the exchange in the Long Room, but did enjoy hearing the Lord’s crowd, known as one of the most politest sporting venues in the world, boo the tourists’ for most of day five.

He admitted: “It was pretty mad, wasn’t it? It wasn’t until I got out and went on the balcony to watch the remaining half-an-hour, I thought I had never heard Lord’s like this.

“At the back end of the Test match it reminded me of the World Cup final in 2019.

“It was good to see Lord’s, a ground that has not got a reputation for atmosphere or noise, like that. Today was one of the days where Lord’s showed up.”

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