"Please let that be the end for Bairstow" - Twitter slams England wicketkeeper after tame dismissal on Day 4 of 3rd Ashes Test

England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow's dismal run in the ongoing Ashes continued as he was cleaned up for just five runs on the pivotal Day 4 of the third Test at Headingley.

Coming in at the fall of skipper Ben Stokes, with a further 90 runs required for victory, the 33-year-old was England's last specialist batter. However, Bairstow loosely drove at a wide delivery outside off, only to drag the ball onto his stumps, much to the dismay of head coach Brendon McCullum.

Bairstow has been the center of discussion since Day 5 of the second Test, where he was controversially dismissed by an Alex Carey stumping, raising questions about the spirit of the game.

The white-ball opening batter has had a disastrous series with both bat and the gloves, with dropped catches and fumbles, and has come under heavy scrutiny amongst experts and fans. Bairstow dropped a couple of chances in the first innings of the ongoing Test and had several blemishes in the opening two games that proved costly.

To complicate matters, the Yorkshireman has also been in miserable batting form in the Ashes, scoring 141 runs at a paltry average of 23.50.

The middle-order dasher was in scintillating form in 2022, scoring over 1,000 runs in 10 matches at an average of 66.31. However, a leg injury in September last year seems to have derailed Bairstow's reflexes, with the wicketkeeper not looking as sharp with the gloves and the bat.

This has led to critics pleading to include Surrey wicketkeeper Ben Foakes in the Test side instead of Bairstow. With another failure in the books, the noise only grew louder, with fans on Twitter roasting the wicketkeeper-batter for his performance in the series.

Here are some of the best reactions:

England battle to stay alive in the 2023 Ashes on Day 4

Brook scored a crucial half-century to keep England afloat in their run chase.

Battling to overcome a 0-2 hole and stay alive in the series, England began Day 4 of the third Test at 27/0 in five overs. The hosts lost opener Ben Duckett within the first five overs before a surprise promotion for Moeen Ali to No.3 failed miserably, with the all-rounder getting cleaned up for only five.

Zak Crawley threw away another start to be dismissed for 44 to leave England tottering at 93/3. A solid partnership between veteran Joe Root and young sensation Harry Brook took the home side to a seemingly safe position before Pat Cummins struck before lunch, removing Root for 21.

Still 90 runs adrift, England lost the vital wicket of skipper Ben Stokes strangled down the leg side, followed almost immediately by Jonny Bairstow chopping a delivery onto his stumps. The hosts were 171/6 at this stage, staring down an embarrassing third consecutive defeat.

However, a sensational unbeaten seventh-wicket partnership between Harry Brook and Chris Woakes has England within touching distance of victory at 230/6 in the 48th over. With his fifth half-century in 10 Tests, Brook also completed 1,000 runs in the format.