Dropped catches and batting failure Well played Joe

Neville Cardus would provide a beautifully written, finely argued, explanation. Hiding behind Sky doesn't count. Still waiting.

Go on Neville Cardus, enlighten me.

It was their day without a doubt - but it should never have been. England should have dismissed them for a very low score but poor catching - led by Bairstow again- let us down. They've taken 3 catches from 3 chances offered. I keep saying it but you can't make mistakes against this lot because they punish you. The Bazballers are out, predictably, and Root and Bairstow and Stokes have to play sensibly and not make any silly errors for us to get anywhere near their score.

Root has to get his head down and make a big hundred here. He owes it to England for his dropped catches and giving his wicket away several times in the first 2 Tests.

Phukett, there goes Duckett - and Crawley looks about as solid as a leaf in the wind Carey not following the Bairstow script by taking a good catch. 60-4 at stumps?

Give us a 3-2 win and I'll think about it😀

Well bowled Mark Wood - good to see him fully fit and pitching the ball up instead of banging it in short - he deserved that 5-fer. That afternoon session however involving the slogger Marsh and the dropped catches was poor cricket and hurt us - the total should have been around the 170-180 mark. If England can make 350 - 400 we'll be in with a chance.........

Either the sight lines are bad for fielders at Headingley or England are just playing poor cricket We'll see when England bat. Will the other lot drop 4 catches too? Unlikely

Good old England..... giving up a hard-won advantage through poor basic cricket skills. In each Test we've had been on top at some point but failed to keep hammer home the advantage. This third Test is possibly being lost in this session

Both these batters dropped to straightforward chances Bazball is pointless if you don't do the basics right Should be about 100-6

Bairstow caught one in 3. It's not good enough really. 85-4. England must not let them off the hook from here

Definitely a drop. England won't be batting today if they throw away chances like that. They all have to be taken

Need them out for less than 300 to justify opting to bowl. Good start but long way to go

Dan Lawrence's technique was very questionable last time he was in the England team. Has he improved? If he hasn't, he won't last long in this series. Surely there must be better options - putting Bairstow in at No 3 (too high for him) and bringing in a better wicketkeeper in Foakes is one obvious move. Anything is better than Lawrence.

Sports such as snooker and golf have a very strict etiquette. Crickey used to have such an etiquette - for instance, fast bowlers never, ever used to bowl bouncers at their fellow fast bowlers (the fast bowlers union) but like the genteel crowds that clapped and did not boo, that has gone out of the window. Unfortunately we've adopted many convict habits

Anyone who thinks Australia are in the wrong over this incident should read the convict press. Even their prime minister has joined the attack

They've been booing England teams "down under" ever since we first toured there. In fact they were probably the only cricket crowd in the world to do so until recently. They boo us because they hate the English and our crowds have started booing them because of their perceived cheating. I don't like hearing it at English grounds and I agree we shouldn't resort to their boorish behaviour but the booing is nothing to do with football.

I really wish they wouldn't come out with this sort of stuff and instead do their talking on the cricket pitch https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/other/brendon-mccullum-australia-will-live-to-regret-jonny-bairstow-decision/ar-AA1dnanz?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=ac734b765c5c454eb4dd45cf59b179a8&ei=9 What's he going to say when the other lot win at Headingley to seal the Ashes?

Yes, I'm all in favour of a harder edge. As I've posted many times, a ruthless team doesn't give wickets away with poor shots, doesn't give the opposition a sniff by declaring early, doesn't make reckless decisions in the name of "entertainment" or "exciting cricket". If the Bairstow incident wakes up the England team to what is required - and don't do daft things like wandering out of your crease when you're chasing runs for victory - then we might get somewhere at Headingley

Could the umpires have over-ruled VAR and said they considered the over to be over and the ball dead? I don't know On another note, there's a good piece in the Times today by Simon Wilde IIRC saying the opposition's hard work to restore their reputation since Sandpapergate has been thrown away after yesterday's furore.

Hopefully the Bairstow incident will have hardened England's attitude and they won't give their wickets away so easily. Someone mentioned earlier England bowlers should consider running out the non-striking batsmen when they walk through the crease. It's not something I'd normally advocate but if England did it now the convicts could have no complaints

Bairstow was a fool. He’s played against the other lot enough to know that if you give them half a chance they’ll take it. Same with the declaration in the first Test - we provided them with a way back into match that should have been made safe. This win at all costs “because we don’t do draws” is the reason we’re 2-0 down. And I don’t buy this is some great convict side either - they’re solid and professional and they know how to win games by attacking and defending with the ball and the bat at the right time.

It’s hard to come back from 49-4. Without Stokes my prediction of 150 wouldn’t have been far out I don’t mind the aggressive approach but giving away wickets is unforgivable. So many batsmen have done it. Shot selection is so important and it’s not necessary to chase after every short of pitched up ball The Carey incident yesterday left a bad taste but as coach I’d have been furious with Bairstow for the lack of professionalism in what he did. As a club player I always made sure the ball was dead before I went for a “walk”. england talking today about winning 3-2 but I’m sick of their big talk. We want action not words.

Yep, losing cricket - and one person liked your post. Presumably they enjoy losing