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I am with you Ark....Stokes had done all the hard work, Aust were rattled, Broad was doing his bit....fantastic innings, but as the skipper, Stokes had the responsibility of bringing them home....it was sadly not to be Headingley revisited for Stokes. 

As for Stokes and McCullum taking the moral high ground post match, hilarious to see....as for having a beer with Baz....not sure the Aussie team will be too fussed TBH if that doesn't happen.

Funny with Baz and his stance, yet twice while he was playing he claimed dismissals at the time and said years later if I had my time again I would not have claimed them??????? Yeah Right

As for Foakes I agree they need a proper wick keeper and not a ranger who wears gloves, however I hope the aussies ask him about his stumping he claimed in 2019 against Ireland, batter attempted to sweep, missed and Foakes held onto the ball. About 3 or 4 seconds later as the batter left his ground to stand up Foakes whipped off the bails and the poms claimed the wicket.

This is a a big hoohar because they are trying to convince themselves Bazball is a success. I see Stokes wanted the media to change their attitude when batters threw their wicket away and stop writing that they failed........

PH: Did the umpire call over? Technically, you could have stumped Bairstow even if he had tapped his bat. 
Freezin: Root should announce he will play only for the Yorkies until the regime changes at the top- 'Nasser'; actually calls the leaders of 'baz ball' the 'regime'.

Easy to be wise after the event but I thought England missed a trick by not selecting Woakes for this game. His record at Lords is outstanding and he would have added some depth to the batting at number 8. Jimmy Anderson, although tidy looked out of sorts and was largely ineffective compared with other bowlers in both teams

Be interesting to see if Jimmy backs up for test number 3 on the trot.....I wonder if Broad and Jimmy both get "rested" for Wood and Woakes....

The moral high ground taken by Eng is hilarious....obviously short term and selective memories.....let them waste their energy......Eng failure to acknowledge Bairstow's mounting brain fades with the bat and gloves, have played a huge part in Eng being 2 zip down. Carey on the other hand, has been in exemplary form with both, thus Aust leading the series 2 zip.

The arrogance and ignorance of the English is mind boggling. Though it did concern me listening to Cummins say, Aust had learnt from that Headingley debacle....didnt look like it to me with some of those bowling and fielding misdemeanors. 

I think they are now using this issue to galvanise the country and try to engineer a comeback in the series. A convenient diversion from the shortcomings of the team that would have been beaten by 200 runs if not for Stokes final day masterpiece. Bairstows brain fade seems to epitomise the way England have played the first two tests where they have not been content to consolidate promising positions and exploit favourable conditions. Instead they have thrown away innings with unrealistic batting when on some occasions, patience and defence is the best option even if it does mean that the run rate goes below 4 rpo on occasions.

It feels that this series is not done and dusted yet and the Aussies will need to steel themselves for a hostile environment and a more ruthless approach by England at Headingly. The loss of Lyon is significant and something that the poms will look to exploit for the rest of the series

I find all this spirit of cricket talk funny. In fact, if we’re talking “Spirit of Cricket”, it’s actually the preamble to the laws, which starts:“Respect is central to the Spirit of Cricket.“Respect your captain, teammates, opponents and the authority of the umpires.“Play hard and play fair. Accept the umpire’s decision.”

I don't see anywhere in there where it says give an idiot a second chance

The fact missing in everything the English players and journalists have forgotten in all of this fiasco is quite simply the umpires made a decision and England aren't happy with that decision. 

It has me wondering "Who is actually respecting and acting within the the spirit of cricket and who is not?"

Bring on game 3 on Thursday night - prime time viewing and ill be watching that ahead of the footy this weekend thats for sure.

What is also being missed in all this is that Bairstow was only one of twenty wickets the Poms lost during the game. Yes it was an important wicket at a critical time, but what about their middle order which was appalling and their long tail which didn't tend to hang around too long. A smoke screen to cover up their batting deficiencies in my opinion.

the reaction from England is purely because they find themselves 0-2 down after two tests - in a series most followers saw them dominating with their new cavalier style in their own backyard
of course they'll use a dismissal as motivation they've got little else to do now they have to win 3 in a row to grab urnie

If England comes back from 0-2 to win the series 3-2, it will only be the second time this has happened in Ashes history, after Australia did so in the 1936-37 home series.
However, the Aussies had a certain D.G. Bradman, who'd made only 120 runs in 4 innings (including 2 ducks) in the 2 losses at the Gabba and SCG.
However, "the Don" proceeded to score 13 and 270 (MCG), 26 and 212 (Adelaide Oval), and 169 (MCG).
With all due respect to Joe Root and Ben Stokes, they're not in Bradman's league, so Australia would have to fall over to lose this series, particularly as I expect the fickle English weather to intervene in at least one Test.
It will be interesting to see what changes the Aussie selectors make.
Travis Head is a useful off-spinner, but I'd like to see Todd Murphy replace the injured Nathan Lyon rather than us include a fourth quick.
I'd bring in Scott Boland for Josh Hazlewood, not because Hazlewood is bowling badly but more because he's injury-prone and may break down if he has to back up at Headingley after a three-day break after Lord's.
The big question mark hovers over Cam Green, who, apart from his catching, seems bereft of confidence with both bat (84 runs at 21) and ball (3 wickets at 57).
Some tough decisions for the selectors to make over the next 2 days.