Umpire Simon Taufel shares verdict on Jonny Bairstow’s controversial dismissal during second Ashes test

The second Test of the ongoing Ashes series at Lords was rapped with several controversies after England’s Jonny Bairstow got out in a controversial manner during Day 5 of the Test match. England players and fans have questioned the Aussies for not abiding by the ‘spirit of the game’ and their skipper Ben Stokes also said that he would not have wanted to win the match in a manner that would challenge the spirits.

Notably, shortly ahead of lunch on Day 5 on Sunday, Bairstow, who was England’s one of the last recognised batters, got out after scoring just 10 runs in a most bizarre when he stepped out of the crease after ducking on a bouncer by Cameron Green and Australia’s wicketkeeper Alex Carey under-armed the ball onto the stumps.

Bairstow thought he had secured his ground by tapping two times on the crease but was given out by the umpire. After that, the decision was referred to the third umpire Marais Erasmus who ruled that Bairstwo has been stumped. England were reduced to 193 for 6 chasing a target of 371 runs.

‘Clearly, the fielding side hadn’t’ – Simon Taufel

Legendary umpire Simon Taufel has shared his thoughts on the issue. Taufel believes that the third umpire’s decision to dismiss Bairstow was absolutely correct and England did not like this as turned out to be the turning point of the match.

“Correct decision made. They (England) just didn’t like it. For that ball to be considered dead after the over or even after the delivery, both sides need to disregard it is in play. Clearly, the fielding side hadn’t,” Taufel told ABC Sydney Mornings.

Talking about the match, Australia took a 2-0 lead in a five-match series after winning the Test match on the final day by 43 runs. However, England also gave a tough fight powered by Ben Stokes’ fighting knock of 155 runs off 214 balls. The hosts were bowled out for 327 chasing a total of 371 runs.

England kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 193 for 6. After that, Stokes took the innings further and helped his team to close to the target. However, after his dismissal, Australian bowlers didn’t take much time to wrap off England’s innings.