Ashes 2021-22: Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow fume after fan makes body-shaming comments at SCG

The ongoing Ashes 2021-22 has been nothing but forgettable for England so far. Having suffered humiliating defeats in the first three games, the Three Lions have nothing but pride to play for in the remaining fixtures. While the visitors endured a hard time in the ongoing fourth Test as well, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow led England’s fight back with gutsy knocks.

Notably, England were tottering at 36/4 after Australia declared at 416/8 while batting first. While the visitors looked in all sorts of trouble, Stokes and Bairstow put up a batting exhibition at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The duo added 128 runs for the fifth wicket to take their side of the trouble. While several spectators at the SCG lauded the duo, at least one disgruntled fan passed a mean comment against them.

Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow disappointed with fan’s behavior

The unfortunate incident took place when Stokes and Bairstow were heading towards the dressing room after a hard-fought second session on Day 3. “Stokes, you’re fat,” a fan said. “Take your jumper off, Bairstow, lose some weight Bairstow,” the England player was told. Stokes ignored the abuse directed at him but decided to react when his teammate was targeted.

The all-rounder stopped at the stairs as his anger was evident. “Pal, That’s right. Just turn around and walk away. Weak as piss,” said Bairstow to end the spat. Notably, Team director Ashley Giles was also in the stairs when this incident took place. While he didn’t intervene in the spat, he gave Bairstow a pat on his back for his tremendous effort.

pic.twitter.com/xQav9VwUsE

— Diving Slip (@SlipDiving) January 7, 2022

Meanwhile, Stokes fell prey to off-spinner Nathan Lyon shortly after the tea break. The southpaw departed after scoring 66, his highest score in this series. On the other hand, Bairstow, who didn’t feature in the first two games, slammed England’s first century this series. At stumps on Day 3, the Three Lions were 258/7, trailing by 158 runs.

While Australia are undoubtedly ahead in the contest at the moment, Bairstow is still unbeaten and would like to take his side close to Australia’s total. On the other hand, Aussie bowlers would want to take the remaining wickets as quickly as possible.