Nathan Lyon Drops the Ball Near Bairstow's Stumps

During the 1st Ashes Test at Edgbaston in 2019, Australian spinner Nathan Lyon was involved in a controversial act that angered English fans and media. After Jonny Bairstow was beaten by a delivery and ended up on the ground near his crease, Lyon collected the ball and appeared to deliberately drop it close to the stumps right beside where Bairstow was lying.

The act was widely interpreted as an attempt to provoke Bairstow or as gamesmanship — trying to get him stumped or run out while he was down. While it was within the laws of the game, many felt it crossed the line of sportsmanship. The incident became a talking point throughout the series.

It foreshadowed the later and far more controversial Bairstow stumping incident in the 2023 Ashes at Lord's, where Alex Carey stumped Bairstow as he wandered out of his crease assuming the ball was dead. The Lyon incident was seen by some as part of a pattern of Australian teams exploiting the letter of the law at the expense of the spirit of cricket, while Australians argued they were simply playing within the rules.