Ashes 2023: Mark Taylor takes a cheeky dig at Jonny Bairstow after a sensational catch on Day 2
Jonny Bairstow is so far enjoying a successful comeback to Test cricket in the ongoing first Ashes 2023 Test at Edgbaston. The wicketkeeper-batter scored a fine half-century to take his team out of trouble and has also been keeping well behind the wickets.
Stuart Broad got Marnus Labuschagne to drive one away from his body and the edge seemed like it would fly wide of Bairstow. However, the wicketkeeper covered decent ground and grabbed a one-handed stunner to send the No.1 ranked Test batter back on a golden duck.
Former Australian captain Mark Taylor was in the commentary box when Jonny Bairstow took the catch and he made a cheeky comment about the latter's injury. Bairstow was more than nine months away from international cricket, but Taylor felt that he was keeping as if he had no injury to his leg and rather he just took a time off as an excuse.
The cheeky comment was rather a testament to Bairstow's fitness while running between the wickets yesterday and motivation he showed to make a quick comeback despite that horrofic and freak injury last year.
Jonny Bairstow defended England's decision to declare
Despite having Joe Root unbeaten on 118* with two wickets to spare, England decided to declare late on Day 1 and have a crack at the Aussies with about four overs to play with in the day's play.
While this decision recieved a bit of criticism from cricket experts, Jonny Bairstow claimed that it wasn't a surprising decision as the hosts had nothing to lose. He stated:
"It was no surprise to us. You'll all be aware that a 20-minute slot for any opening pair is something that's not very nice and can be a bit niggly. It was a decision that Ben and Brendon [McCullum] made in conjunction with the bowlers. It's a shot to nothing, isn't it? You can walk off and there might be an unbelievable ball in there - there might be a loose shot or whatever."
England already have Australia three-down with not even hundred runs on board at the time of writing. They will still need to be careful and not let Travis Head cut loose.