The war of words between England and Australia has intensified ahead of the second Test at Lord's with Jonny Bairstow branded "overweight" following his mistakes at Edgbaston.
There was much scrutiny over the decision to recall Bairstow in favour of specialist keeper Ben Foakes, and despite the Yorkshireman hammering 78 in the first innings, his work with the gloves left a lot to be desired. The 33-year-old botched a number of chances behind the stumps, including one inexplicable missed stumping that let Cameron Green off the hook on the second day.
Bairstow however, will keep his place for the game at the 'home of cricket', which gets underway on Wednesday. And after the controversy over Ollie Robinson's conduct in Birmingham, and Aussie batsman Marnus Labuschagne claiming the tourists won despite being below par, BBC commentator Jim Maxwell has now further fuelled the fire.
BBC Test Match Special veteran Maxwell, 72, told Mail Sport: "The vital thing in that game was the catching," the Test Match Special veteran told the Daily Mail. "England let themselves down. They keep doing this every now and then. I don't understand it. They keep picking a bloke who is not a wicketkeeper.
"I would pick the wicketkeeper first and then pick all the rest of them. You can't have a bloke who is a bit overweight, been out of nick because of his injury, doing the job of a Foakes.
"They've got to get Foakes back in the team because he is their best wicketkeeper and you need a bloke who can turn a half-chance into a wicket. But they are a bit stubborn, the Poms, I'm afraid, and it might cost them at Lord's if they don't lift their game collectively."
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The Sydney based pundit was also confident that Australia can elevate their levels in London, saying he felt they could "improve on that performance and I'm not sure England can." It backs up the jibes of Labuschagne, who claimed his side did not perform well as a unit despite their thrilling two wicket win.
England fast bowler Robinson meanwhile proved a divisive figure in the first half after his foul mouthed “f*** off, you f***ing p***k” send-off after dismissing Usman Khawaja for 141. Despite defiantly defending his actions, his behaviour drew criticism from former Aussie players Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting.
And now another ex-captain in Michael Clarke has weighed in, telling Big Sports Breakfast: “He needs to be quiet. If England were fully fit you wouldn’t even get a game, Ollie. If Jofra Archer was playing, or if [Mark] Wood had been playing and was fully fit, old mate, I don’t know what town he plays for, he’d be back playing clubbies."
