Sticking with Bairstow is the likely outcome, partly due to his personality, but also because Ben Stokes and McCullum share a certain level of stubbornness. He’s made just 141 runs across six innings so far, and as a result his position in the team has to come into question, especially when England have such a handy replacement in Ben Foakes waiting in the wings.Īny logic would dictate that, after three poor performances, Foakes would come in for Bairstow. We’ve seen too many missed catches and a lack of agility behind the stumps, and Bairstow’s bravery with the bat has been completely absent. He’s been way below par with the gloves, especially when you compare his performances to Alex Carey’s for Australia. The Bairstow issue is one that has lingered for the entire series. Joe Root’s dismissal was naive, Ben Stokes was poor by his own standards and Jonny Bairstow took a giant swing at a Mitchell Starc delivery, diverting the ball onto his own stumps in the process. England 5/4 to win at Old Trafford - Betfred*.The Bairstow stumping: Cricket's grey area.Playing shots you don’t have to is a trademark of Bazball, yet it was this cavalier attitude that got England into danger when they were in a position of total control. Zak Crawley was out having followed up a four with a swipe at a ball that was wide of his off stump. Ben Duckett got out LBW, and the Moeen Ali experiment, chucking him up the order to three didn’t work, as he was bowled for just five.īoth of those dismissals were actually more understandable than the ones that followed. Despite a decent start at the tail end of day three from the openers, England soon fell apart.
That may seem pessimistic after the hosts kept the Ashes alive, but heading into the Fourth Test, another must-win encounter, something has to change. Mother Nature provided the perfect conditions at the perfect time for Brendon McCullum’s outfit, and the Aussies made enough mistakes in the field to see England over the line. England’s narrow Third Test win over Australia felt like it came about more via luck than judgement.
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