The second Test between Australia and England at the home of cricket was very intriguing. At the same time, a lot of moments were totally unexpected and controversial. The on-field action was great to watch. But there were some moments where the fans didn’t behave well. A lot of decisions became controversial. Despite that, the Test provided entertainment to the fans. Here are the Top 3 talking points from the second Test of the series.
1. Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal and spirit of the game argument
It was the last delivery of the over from Cameron Green. The tall bowler dug short and reduced the pace. Bairstow ducked well, as the wicketkeeper Alex Carey collected the ball after a bounce. Assuming the over to be completed, Bairstow left the crease to have a chat with the non-striker. Carey sensed the batter stepping out of the crease and hit the stumps. The decision was taken upstairs and the third umpire declared it out. The English captain Ben Stokes and Bairstow were both surprised with the dismissal. The Australian fielders and the umpires explained the mode of dismissal to the two batters.
A dejected Bairstow walked back to the pavilion. With that, Stokes was enraged. That led to fans booing and abusing the Australian players. While the crowd was hostile to the players, some of the experts, the players themselves, and the fans on social media accused Australian players of playing against the spirit of the game. Some fans condemned Australia for playing poor Cricket. The arguments are still going on regarding Bairstow’s dismissal.
Chasing a mammoth total of 370, England found themselves at 45/4 after 13 overs. In walked Ben Stokes and framed a 132-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Ben Duckett. As England lost Duckett and Bairstow in quick succession, England still needed 179 runs with only 4 wickets in hand. Ben Stokes, who was nudging the ball and rotating the strike with odd boundaries, went berserk against the bowlers.
The English captain attacked all the bowlers and smashed the pacers for maximum. Particularly against Cameron Green, Stokes scored 22 runs in 4 deliveries, including a hat-trick of sixes to reach his 13th Test hundred. The carnage continued despite the defensive field set from Australia. Stokes scored an exceptional 155 in just 214 deliveries, which included 9 boundaries and 9 sixes.
3. Mitchell Starc’s catch getting overturned
On Day 4 of the Test, Australia had an upper hand after getting four batters of England cheaply defending 371. Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes were in the middle. Cameron Green bowled a short delivery to Duckett. The Southpaw attempted to upper cut the ball over the keeper’s head. But the ball traveled to the long leg region where Mitchell Starc was stationed.
As Starc approached the ball, he slipped a bit and then slided towards the point of impact of the ball. Starc claimed the catch comfortably at the start, but then lost control over the ball and had contact with the outfield. The on-field umpire reversed the decision and declared it not-out. The Australian players were surprised at the decision. Starc could do nothing and smiled about it.