England keeper Jonny Bairstow missed a golden chance to get rid of Australia’s Steve Smith as he built a lcrucial stand with Pat Cummins on day two of the fifth Ashes 2023 Test at the Oval on July 28, 2023.
Resuming their innings at 61/1 in reply to England’s 283, Australia found themselves in trouble at 185/7 with only Smith standing tall against England's bowling lineup which was missing the injured Moeen Ali.
And in the 78th over, England had a brilliant chance to get rid of Steve Smith to hurry the end of the Australian innings. Off the bowling of Chris Woakes, Smith nudged the ball towards mid-on and scampered for runs, giving Cummins a call of two.
However, by the time Smith turned for the second run, substitute fielder George Ealham swooped down the ball, picked it in one swift motion, and hurled them at the stumps, where Bairstow was ready to pouch and dislodge the bails.
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And that’s what happened and the matter was referred to the TV umpire Nitin Menon. After watching the replays from multiple angles and split screen, it was clear that Bairstow made the contact with the stumps before the ball had reached him.
And by the time the other bail was removed, Smith’s bat had crossed the crease and Menon declared Smith not out.
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Many compared it with the 2005 Ashes moment when Ricky Ponting, the then captain, was run out at a crunch moment by substitute fielder Gary Pratt in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge.
The dismissal prompted an angry outburst from Ponting, who was seen shouting up at the England balcony towards Duncan Fletcher, unhappy at England's frequent use of substitute fielders during the series.
This was also referenced by Indian spinner R Ashwin, who reacted to the Ealham-Bairstow-Smith incident and lauded Nitin Menon for making the correct decision despite the pressure.
He tweeted: “What’s with the Ashes and substitute fielders. #ashes2023 #ashes2005 #garypratt #georgeeahlam Have to applaud Nitin Menon for making the right decision”
