Ashes 2023: A Sports bar owner in Leeds takes cheeky dig at Australia with unusual plane banner on Day 4 of Second Test

The Ashes 2023 has been an enthralling affair for fans as the series has been full of several memorable and controversial moments. Continuing with the criticism of Australia’s ‘spirit of the game’, a plane was spotted flying over Headingley, Leeds on Day 4 of the Test. The plane contained a banner which had written “Same old Aussies – Taylors Sports Bar” over it.

There’s a plane currently circling above Headingley 😂😂😂#Ashes pic.twitter.com/rPxafQDomx

— England's Barmy Army 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) July 9, 2023

It was a reference to the chant by the English supporters following a controversial dismissal of Jonny Bairstow on Day 5 of the Lord’s Test.

Notably, Bairstow had ducked a bouncer by Cameron Green and left his crease immediately to have a chat with Ben Stokes at the other end. However, Alex Carey and the Australian team had spotted Bairstow do so on quite a few occasions and the wicketkeeper threw the ball at the stumps in a bid to dismiss him. 

Much to Bairstow’s dismay, the ball hit the stumps and he was adjudged out by the third umpire as the ball was still not deemed dead. The dismissal sparked a controversy with several former cricketers bashing Australia for not upholding the spirit of the game. The prime ministers of both countries also spoke about the incident in contrasting tones.

Third Ashes Test at Headingley turns out to be a cliffhanger

Meanwhile, the Day 4 of the third Ashes Test is once again heading towards a thrilling end as Australia are giving their all to defend their lead of 250. The day began with England resuming their innings on 27/0 with openers Ben Duckett (18) and Zak Crawley (9) at the crease.

After the openers added 42 runs for the first wicket, Mitchell Starc brought his team back into the game by dismissing Duckett (23) and Moeen Ali (5). He further got the prized scalps of Bairstow (5) and Ben Stokes (13) to leave England reeling on 171/6 requiring another 80 runs to win.

Meanwhile, Pat Cummins got rid of Joe Root (21) and Mitchell Marsh dismissed Crawley (44). Courtesy of their bowling performances, Australia are four wickets away from winning the first Ashes series in England since 2001. On the other hand, England desperately need to win the Test to keep the Ashes alive.