3 times a poor wicketkeeping performance cost England an Ashes Test
England find themselves 0-2 down in the high-pressure Ashes, with the must-win third Test delicately poised after two absorbing days at Headingley.
While several reasons have plagued the hosts during the debacle, including the Bazball approach in batting and the diminishing returns of veteran James Anderson, substantial blame has also fallen at the feet of wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow.
His shoddy wicketkeeping display, with dropped catches and fumbles, has come under heavy scrutiny amongst experts and fans. The 33-year-old has already put down a couple of chances in the ongoing Test and had several blemishes in the opening two games that proved costly.
A lot of it has also been a lack of mobility due to his returning from a leg injury suffered late last year.
However, in a high-octane series where the stakes are at their highest, even the slightest of errors get picked to pieces. The difference in keeping between Bairstow and Alex Carey has further accentuated the poor showing of the Englishman. Many critics have pleaded for the hosts to draft Surrey keeper Ben Foakes in the Test side instead of Bairstow.
Despite being held as a scapegoat for England's disappointing results thus far in the Ashes, Jonny Bairstow isn't the first English keeper to suffer the harsh criticism that comes with the territory.
Here, we look at three instances a poor wicketkeeping performance cost England an Ashes Test.
#1 Jos Buttler, 2nd Test at Adelaide, 2021
England white-ball skipper Jos Buttler has, unfortunately, shelled his share of catches in the red-ball format. However, the 2020/21 Ashes was arguably the tipping point for the 32-year-old as he put down several chances through the series that proved costly.
After a poor keeping display in the first game at Brisbane, Buttler made amends immediately at the start of the second Test at Adelaide. The gloveman took a brilliant catch off the bowling of Stuart Broad in the eighth over of the first day to send Marcus Harris back to the pavilion.
Sadly for Buttler, those memories were short-lived as he dropped star batter Marnus Labuschagne twice on 21 and 95, respectively. Both the chances were as straightforward as they come. Labuschagne ensued to make England pay by scoring a brilliant 103 in Australia's formidable first-innings score of 473/9 declared.
With the pressure already mounting on Buttler after his first innings mishaps, he compounded matters further by shelling another simple chance of Steve Smith off his first delivery in Australia's second essay. The dashing batter's disastrous outing with the glove resulted in England going down by 275 runs and falling to an 0-2 hole.
In 57 Tests, Buttler has kept wickets in 37 of those yet averages lesser with the bat than the games as a non-keeper.
#2 Matt Prior, 3rd Test at Perth, 2013/14
England entered the third Test at Perth under immense pressure after being at the receiving end of maulings in the first two matches. The game also marked a unique instance of being the 100th Test for both captains, Michael Clarke and Alistair Cook.
Before the start of this must-win game for the visitors, wicketkeeper Matt Prior was already in the midst of a torrid series with both bat and gloves. The first innings saw the Aussies capture a solid lead of 134 on the back of a second Test century by Steve Smith.
However, Prior's horror show started in the second innings of England's bowling innings, as he missed two regulation stumpings off the bowling of Graeme Swann. The batter in question on both occasions was David Warner, who scored a match-winning century.
Trailing by 134 and looking for some inspiration, Cook turned to spin in just the ninth over of the innings. The move immediately paid dividends, with Swann inducing a reckless slog from Warner only for Prior to fluff the stumping.
The southpaw, who was on 13, added another 76 runs to make England pay before there was an action replay of the first missed opportunity.
Once again, Warner stepped out to Graeme Swann, and Matt Prior allowed the ball to slip under his legs, missing another stumping chance to provide the batter with his second reprieve. The opener cashed in with a sparkling 112 off 140 deliveries, leading Australia to 369/6 declared in their second innings.
Faced with an improbable target of 504, a demoralized English team were bowled out for 353 despite Ben Stokes scoring his maiden Test century.
Considering the final margin of defeat being 153 runs, the missed opportunities to get David Warner out proved costly as England went down 0-3 to surrender the Ashes.
Despite being among England's most accomplished wicketkeeper batters, with 3,920 Test runs at an average of 40.83, Prior's batting and wicketkeeping woes in the Ashes series led to his Test career ending in mid-2014.
#3 Geraint Jones, 1st Test at Lord's, 2005
The highly-anticipated 2005 Ashes series began at the Mecca of Cricket on a terrifying pitch, with batters on both sides hopping all over the place. After the teams battled through a low-scoring first innings, Australia began their second essay with a slender lead of 35 runs.
However, a shoddy fielding display by the hosts, including two regulation drops by wicketkeeper Geraint Jones late in the innings, allowed Australia to pile up a formidable total of 384. In response, England surrendered meekly to implode for 180 and lose by 239 runs.
Having made his Test debut for England only a year back, Jones came under heavy scrutiny for his wicketkeeping display, with many calling for the inclusion of Chris Read.
After the match, Geraint Jones even spoke about the disappointment of the dropped chances.
"It still hurts. I was disappointed to miss those two chances but the rest of the summer I've been keeping as well as I ever have. To miss those two chances did hurt a lot, but that's part of the game. When you think you've got everything under control, cricket bites you hard," said Jones.
Fortunately for Gareint Jones, England pulled off a remarkable win in the second Test by two runs, with the wicketkeeper himself pulling off the game-clinching catch of Micheal Kasprowicz.