Jonny Bairstow pulls off a sensational ONE-HANDED catch to clear away world batsman Marnus Labuschagne’s first ball on Day 2 of The Ashes
Jonny Bairstow’s sensational one-handed catch denied ICC No.1-rated batsman Marnus Labuschagne the chance to put a gauntlet on England after the Australian was sent off for a golden duck on second day in Edgbaston.
The wicket-beater keeper is back in the gloves for just the second time since suffering a horrific broken leg which kept him out of Ben Stokes’ Test team as they traveled to Pakistan and faced New Zealand.
But he looked back at his formidable best as he pounced on Labuschagne’s slashed effort to send his opponent back to the clubhouse with nothing to show for his attempts.
Bairstow’s reintroduction to the squad, which saw him chosen for England’s Ashes warm-up against Ireland in May, comes after a stint with Yorkshire to re-acclimate the player following his spell on the sidelines.
Johnny Bairstow (right) sent Marnus Labuschagne packing with a superb one-handed hold
The wicket-beater keeper was quick to leap low and grab the Aussie
England celebrated wildly as the world No 1 was surprised for a golden duck on Saturday
With his role reinstated, Ben Foakes failed to make the squad despite his intimation in Bairstow’s absence.
As a comment, former Australian cricketer Mark Taylor teasedly asked if Bairstow had broken his leg at all, ‘or just taken six months off’ due to his sparkling form on Saturday morning.
Labuschagne’s introduction in the 11th inning of day two of this summer’s first Test of the Ashes series came amid a profitable pass for Stuart Broad with the ball.
Broad sent David Warner packing in Australia’s first dismissal of the series with his previous delivery, after the batsman brought the ball back to his stumps.
The 36-year-old bowler, who wasted no time getting Australia up ahead of the first Test, whipped the boisterous Hollies Stand in a fit of anticipation before supporters in Warner, England, burst into a frenzy following his dismissal.
But Australia is not lacking in batting firepower within its ranks.
Labuschagne was quickly replaced by number 4 in the order, Steve Smith, who sits second in the ICC rankings.
Fifth in the batting order is Travis Head, the ICC’s No. 3 ranked batsman, three places ahead of England’s only player in the world top ten, Joe Root.
Root made a century on Friday in England’s opening innings and hadn’t come out at 118 when Stokes made the bold move to declare at 393/8.
Labuschagne may have gone without a run to his name, but Australia’s batting order is full of quality players to replace him
The 36-year-old made hay with the 11th over, dismissing two of Australia’s opening drives
Just a delivery earlier, Broad had claimed Labuschangne teammate David Warner (centre)
Australia say they weren’t caught off guard by the statement, which sent the batsmen to work for four overs before the stumps on Friday night.
But Bairstow revealed he and a few other squad members had no idea of the playful attack call, adding it was “a stampede to the pads”.
“I’m sure he (Stokes) had a few conversations with Brendon (McCullum) and the bowlers involved, but one of them was in the middle so there can’t be too many who knew that and I I definitely wasn’t one of them, Bairstow shared on Thursday.
“It was a scramble to get the old tape and pads on, but to be fair, when you’re not expecting something, that’s the best form of attack,” Bairstow added.