Test match at Lord's

[John Townsend]

Rousing finish to the test match. England have only four wickets standing, but, as I write this, now need only 78 runs to win.

[John Townsend]

Unfortunately, Stokes has just been caught, for 155. Not much hope now.

[Matt Mackenzie]

There's always hope as long as there are wickets left.....

[Nick Ivell]

Angry at the Bairstow dismissal.

Was it out? Yes. But there is such a thing as the spirit of the game!

[Alan Walton]

Angry at the Bairstow dismissal.

Was it out? Yes. But there is such a thing as the spirit of the game!

I hate the spirit of the game saying especially in top professional sport, you play by the laws of the game only

Bairstow was an idiot, he was continually walking out of his crease too early before the incident occurred, Carey threw the ball at the stumps before he moved out of the crease, so the ball is still active, in essence it was just a stumping off a fast bowler, so keep feet or bat in the crease until the umpire says otherwise (that was what I was taught as a kid); perhaps this early movement is due to T20 and the speed of getting the ball back to the bowler?

Also Stokes saying he wouldn't do it, well it is easy to say that when it is on the other foot; but something similar (not identical though) occurred against NZ last year, he wasn't slow to appeal that one was he

[Nick Ivell]

I actually believe Stokes. I think he would have withdrawn the appeal.

No game is played 'by the law only', not really. The reaction of the crowd spoke volumes.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Its borderline IMO, there has certainly been worse stuff in the past.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Just hope that we get equally exciting finishes to the next two Tests, with the opposite result, setting things up perfectly for the finale. The Australia pace attack are good though, and they have some decent batsmen as well! No real need for the extra spice, but it clearly did fire Stokes up. Wonder what the changes will be for the third Test? The fear is that the England team might run out of steam at some point in a hectic schedule.

[MJMcCready]

Both matches have been quite tight so far and on our side Anderson is clearly under performing. We need him back on track and a few less dropped catches too if we are to have any chance of winning the ashes. It's a tall order now.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"The fear is that the England team might run out of steam at some point in a hectic schedule."

But they do have more people to select from... Bairstow was an idiot. You know that Australia (well, most international teams, maybe New Zealand wouldn't) will do that sort of thing, so why give them a chance? I doubt Anderson will play all five, and it's hard work being an opening bowler. At least the games are exciting.

[MJMcCready]

We are not quite at the races, sloppy in too many areas.

[Richard Thursby]

Possibly mildly amusing that Stuart Broad came in as a result, considering what happened at Trent Bridge in 2013.

[Maybe New Zealand wouldn't] do that sort of thing

Like when Brendon McCullum ran out Muttiah Muralitharan in Christchurch in 2006?

The first post in this thread almost qualifies for "commentator's curse"!

Now nobody will remember the controversy of the catch overturned by third umpire Marais Erasmus at the end of day four.

[MJMcCready]

Bairstow's faux par, or loss of concentration, was a major contributing factor to us losing the match. We didn't look like a team chasing the series at any point really.

[Paul McKeown]

When the umpires have started their walk to the other end of the pitch, you wouldn't think that calling over should be relevant any more. I think the umpires got that wrong. They should have called over before they started walking, then these ugly scenes would have not have arisen. The Australian team is always going to take an opportunity like this should it arise; equally should something like this happen to their disadvantage, they will whinge like the proverbial Pom of their folk memory. No point arguing with an Ozzie about it, it's the hard as nails way their team have always played when facing their historical cricketing enemy. Anyway, Bairstow did bring it upon himself, even if the umpires were a bit lackadaisical and the Ozzies were as unsporting as the laws do actually permit.

England's ideal answer should be 790 for 3 declared after Root scores a triple at Headingley and a win by an innings. Fairy tales rarely happen though.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Like when Brendon McCullum ran out Muttiah Muralitharan in Christchurch in 2006?"

I meant the current NZ. Carey threw the ball instantly, it wasn't like the South African wicketkeeper catching the ball half-volley, dropping it, picking it up again and claiming the catch. Starc did not make a clean catch.

The "spirit of cricket" is a myth anyway. Cowdrey used to go on about it, as he always walked when he got a thin edge (when he had scored 50), even if the umpire didn't give him out. When he got a thin edge in single figures, he just stood there and the umpires sometimes thought he couldn't have hit it...

And then there's ECB's wholesale cheating of non-Metropolitan counties.