Ashes 2023 | Twitter in splits as English crowd gets behind Starc's mock appeal after hitting 'bullseye'
The Ashes crowds in England are renowned for their ability to create hostile atmospheres for the opposition, but they experienced a brief change of heart on Saturday. They roared in unison when a Mitchell Starc delivery struck Jonny Bairstow's nethers, drawing a hilarious appeal from the pacer.
England seized control of proceedings on Day 3 of the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval as some fluent batting saw them tally a lead of over 350 runs with three wickets still in hand. The Australians had little cause for celebration across the three sessions of play but Mitchell Starc did manage to find a spark of joy late in the day even as a stoic Jonny Bairstow looked on without much amusement.
The left-arm quick was bowling the 73rd over and on the second ball, he had a DRS review for an LBW appeal return negative results as the replays showed Bairstow had edged the Dukes onto his pads, leading to a loud cheer from the crowd. Starc ran in undeterred on the next delivery and this time banged the ball in a bit shorter, eliciting a pull from the batter. However, Bairstow missed the red cherry all hands up and the ball struck him right in between the seam of the points, making an impact with his guard box.
Even though Bairstow showed no reaction, the sheer accuracy with which the ball hit the 'target' led to another huge roar from the crowd, only this time they were the ones appealing. Starc's face eventually broke out into a wide grin as he raised both his arms in mock appeal along with the crowd, leading to a hilarious moment. Incidentally, the 33-year-old had Bairstow caught behind the very next ball for a stellar 78, provoking Twitterati to go into overdrive.
What an appeal!
— Hitler Mishra (@HitlerMish5814) July 29, 2023
Owned him
Starc owned Bairstow in that over
— momo_addict (@momoaddict1) July 29, 2023
Great
Starc eats Bairstow for buffet ffs.. Great knock though YJB sir, very healthy lead in England's favor
— Hazza (@AzzurriLFC) July 29, 2023
LOL
Starc hits bairstow's balls and appeals for a wicket 🤣
— Anonymous (@theboiywholived) July 29, 2023
Beauty of cricket
Starc to Bairstow: Probably the oddest 3 ball passage of play I've ever seen.
— Mihindu Samarasinghe (@mihindu710) July 29, 2023
⚫ LBW appeal > Not out > Reviewed > Still not out
⚫ Crowd appeals for LBW sarcastically
⚫ Caught behind
Test cricket 🤌🏽😂
Superb
Absolutely superb psychological warfare from Starc. Totally disrupting Bairstow’s concentration then getting him to chase a wide one: brilliant.
— tommy (@Tomtheleedstim) July 29, 2023
Perfect
Damm English crowd!! Was teasing Hazelwood, appealed for Starc and next ball full silence for Bairstow wicket 😂😂
— 🎰 (@bottom_hand) July 29, 2023
Dominant
Didn't get to see today's game but did catch a chance to see the score. England were looking so dominant when Root and Bairstow where there, but 3 quick wickets and Australia have pulled things back again. This series 🔥🔥 #Ashes #ENGvAUS
— Gaurav Jindal (@gj100596) July 29, 2023
About time
Time for the Mark Wood cameo I’ve been crying out for since Bairstow came in! #Ashes
— Dan (@dan_batemannn) July 29, 2023
Lazy
Lazy shots Bairstow & Woakes.. gonna neee 400+
— Marc Trainis (@MarcSpurs) July 29, 2023