Alex Carey gets the better of Jonny Bairstow
Bairstow was absolutely confused over the incident whereas the third umpire ruled him out straightaway after going through the TV replay
Jonny Bairstow lost his wicket in one of the most bizarre ways while batting against Australia on the final day of the 2nd Ashes Test at Lord’s. The wicketkeeper-batter casually walked out after dodging a bouncer from Cameron Green, without paying heed if the ball was dead. On the other hand, a smart Alex Carey dislodged the stumps in time to send Bairstow back into the dressing room with a lot of guilt.
Bairstow walked out to bat after Josh Hazlewood broke England’s 132-run stand for the fifth wicket by getting Ben Duckett caught by Carey. The England stumper had just gotten set when his casual behaviour resulted in his unusual dismissal. The incident happened on the last delivery of the 52nd over when Green bowled a short ball. Bairstow ducked to leave the ball but instantly left his crease and started moving towards Ben Stokes at the non-striker’s end.
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Usually, batters check with the keeper before ambling towards their partners. But Bairstow didn’t pay heed to that. Carey, who probably kept a close eye on his counterpart’s movement, made a direct hit and appealed for a dismissal.
Bairstow was absolutely confused over the incident whereas the third umpire ruled him out straightaway after going through the TV replay.
As per the rules, the batter cannot leave the crease until the ball is dead and in case the batter decides to walk out of his crease for any reason, he/she should check with the keeper/fielder.
Once Bairstow was gone, the England captain decided to shift gear and exhibit what his team is known for. Stokes was on 62 off 126 deliveries when the hosts lost Jonny Bairstow. Right from the next over, the former started taking his chances and smashed every loose ball for a boundary.
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In the next 16 balls, Stokes notched up his 13th Test century, bringing back the memories of Headingly Test from the Ashes 2019. The skipper smashed a hat-trick of sixes to Cameron Green to get to triple figures.
At lunch, England reached 243 for 6 with Stokes unbeaten at 108 and Stuart Broad was not out for 1. The hosts needed 128 more to win and level the 5-match series 1-1.
