Ashes cricket 2023 third Test: Ben Horne’s answers questions, Jonny Bairstow wicketkeeping

England are 0-2 down in the Ashes but it wouldn’t have taken much to turn both matches into wins. So has the poor keeping of Jonny Bairstow cost England?

Australia has been warned to expect a “feral” reception from the notoriously hostile Headingley crowd, who will be out to fiercely back their boy, Jonny Bairstow.

Born and bred in Leeds and his father David, a Yorkshire icon, Bairstow will be warmly embraced as the heartbroken home town hero just days after finding himself at the centre of one of the biggest Ashes firestorms since Bodyline.

LEAVE YOUR QUESTIONS FOR BEN HORNE BELOW – HE’LL BE HERE TO ANSWER THEM FROM 12PM THURSDAY

On the other side of the coin, Australia is bracing for torrid abuse from Headingley’s uncompromising Western Terrace, with The Australian’s Peter Lalor reporting security will be beefed up for the third Test.

Australian players have been told to embrace the unfriendly reception and let it wash over them.

However, it might be easier said than done given the vitriol that has followed them since Alex Carey’s controversial run-out dismissal of Bairstow at Lord’s.

“It’s just going to be unmissable. They would boo Mother Teresa coming on, never mind Alex and Pat when they turn up to bat,” respected Courier Mail cricket expert Robert Craddock told Code Sports Ashes preview.

“Of course Jonny Bairstow becomes a tragic hero. He has played all his cricket there. His father David of course was an iconic Yorkshire keeper as well. The family history stretches back to the 80s.

“You can imagine the reception. That’s the theatre of it.”

Leeds local s will be out in force to support hometown hero Jonny Bairstow.

STUMPING SAGA DRAGS ON

Meanwhile, former top umpire Simon Taufel has taken to LinkedIn to retort suggestions Australia was in breach of the mysterious ‘Spirit of Cricket’ by whipping off Bairstow’s bails when the batsman thought the over had been completed.

Taufel argued strongly that the Bairstow dismissal was not a Spirit of Cricket issue.

“My experience is when people don’t like a dismissal under the Laws of Cricket, they cite the Spirit of Cricket to support their view,” Taufel posted on social media as one of a series of eight points.

Craddock disagreed with Taufel getting technical to describe something that is not technical at all.

“It’s that simple, simple question (is it in the spirit of the game?). And it’s a heartfelt thing. It’s not a technological questionnaire. And you don’t reference other decisions. That’s my view on it.”

Steve Smith looks at the wicket with coach Andrew McDonald at Headingley

ABOLISH ‘THE SPIRIT OF CRICKET’

One solution might be for the International Cricket Council to bring cricket into the modern age and abolish the Spirit of Cricket notion altogether.

That is, take out any scope for players to play a role in on-field decision-making – and leave the enforcement of every mode of dismissal to the umpires.

Craddock said he would hate to see cricket become just like every other sport.

“Here is the dinosaur in me again. I like the spirt of cricket. I think it makes cricket different from other sports. I like the fact that you have to ask the umpire to make a decision and then you still have some right of referral after that,” Craddock said on the Code Sports Ashes preview.

“It’s part of the magic of the game. And you don’t want to see it completely destroyed.

“I get it that there’s a rule book there and we abide by it. But some of the great moments in sport have been sportsmanship.

“They are the moments when players rise above certain situations and display a certain noble spirit we all admire.

“I still believe there’s a place for the spirit of cricket.”

Originally published as Ashes cricket 2023 third Test: Ben Horne’s answers questions, Jonny Bairstow wicketkeeping