Former England captain Michael Vaughan opined on Jonny Bairstow’s wicketkeeping and England’s catching woes in general throughout the Ashes series. Bairstow has dropped several crucial catches through the series and continued his dismal show behind the stumps on Day 1 of the third Test at Headingley. Steve Smith and Travis Head were given lives during their stay by Bairstow as England missed plenty of opportunities, with Joe Root dropping as many as three catches as well.
Speaking to Cricbuzz at the close of play on Day 1, Michael Vaughan said, “I don’t think they’ll tinker, they’ll continue with Jonny (Bairstow). It’s cost England. I was absolutely behind his wicketkeeping before this series but sometimes you have to accept that there’s maybe a better option out there. The Aussies have had 3 chances and taken all 3. It’s obvious for everyone to see the chances England have been missing have cost them hugely and probably down 0-2 because of that. And when the contrast is so different with Australia missing 7 and England 14 so double the amount and there’s another five half chances that a Cameron Green would gobble as well.”
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However, the difference in catching has been further shared seeing the slim margins that have decided each of the first two Tests, with the Aussies topping the chart on both occasions. Micheal Vaughan also believes that England have let themselves down throughout the series in their fielding, resulting in them being down 0-2 in the five-match test series as well.
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“Catching, extras – things you can really control and work on, England haven’t quite got that right,” Michael Vaughan concluded. “And they’re 0-2 down in the series and today because of their ( England) catching, Australia are at parity in terms of levelling this game today. England should be ahead of the game but we arrive on Day 2 with England needing to bat well and not give Australia a 50-60 run lead which will be criminal.”
