Bairstow Must Take Blame For This Act Of 'Stupidity'

Bairstow Must Take Blame For This Act Of 'Stupidity'

- Peter Hayter

One hesitates to be too critical of Jonny Bairstow for going out to face the last ten minutes or so of the first day of the final Ashes Test in Sydney.

But that doesn’t mean the England wicketkeeper-batsman should be allowed to get off Scott-free for his part in a decision that, had circumstances been as different as they dared to hope for at the start of the series, might have resulted in a more significant outcome.

When, with the shadows lengthening across the SCG at around 6.52pm local time, Bairstow walked past the outgoing Joe Root to join Dawid Malan at the crease with his side on 228-4, the look on the faces of the Australian fielders showed what they thought of England’s call not to send in a nightwatchman.

Their best batsman had just gifted his prized wicket to Mitchell Starc with a fuzzy leg-side flick, brilliantly held by Mitchell Marsh at square leg, thus loosening the grip on the game he and the increasingly impressive Malan were starting to exert as their excellent 133-run partnership developed.

With a maximum 15 deliveries still to be bowled in tricky twilight and the new ball in the hands of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, former England skipper Michael Vaughan, commentating for BT Sport, was so taken aback when Bairstow appeared that he actually had to correct his announcement that a nightwatchman was on his way out there.

Quite what England or Bairstow thought they had to gain by him taking the gamble is unclear.