Ashes 2023: What happened to Jonny Bairstow in England's second innings? Was he right to be dismissed by Australia?

With England chasing Australia's second innings total of 371, many fans were hoping wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow could assist captain Ben Stokes and steer England to victory. 

However, this was not the case after Bairstow was stumped by Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey, albeit in controversial circumstances. 

DAZN explains what happened at the Home of Cricket and whether it was the right decision. 

What happened to Jonny Bairstow in England's second innings? 

With Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes developing a partnership, Australia needed to get either man out if they wanted to seize control of the game. 

This partnership however was broken just before lunch on day five when after attacking a bouncer from Cameron Green, Bairstow decided to wander out his crease thinking the ball was dead and therefore would not be in danger of being dimissed. 

With the umpires not calling the ball dead, Australia's Alex Carey spotted the opportunity and stumped Bairstow, prompting a hostile reception from the Lord's crowd.

This moment is by far one of the most controversial moments during an Ashes series and has resulted in mass debate amongst fans and experts about whether it was the right decision. 

Was Jonny Bairstow's dismissal the right decision? 

When it comes to arguing whether it was the right decision to dismiss England's Jonny Bairstow, there is the debate as to whether it was in the spirit of the game. 

Alex Carey had every right to stump Bairstow according the laws of cricket, but with Bairstow thinking a dead ball had been called, some may see Carey's stumping as unsportsmanlike. 

Some blame also has to be placed on Bairstow whose lapse of concentration and not being alert saw him fail to read the situation and not react accordingly.