The Ashes | Bairstow, Stokes fume after Sydney crowd abuse English players
As Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow survived the second session of Day 3 on Friday, while moving to the dressing room during the Tea break, the crowd gave a standing ovation to their valiant effort.
However, a bloke sitting at the Noble Stand of Sydney Cricket Ground (SG) fired abuse at the English duo. The person in question at first mocked Stokes and then taunted Bairstow, pointing towards their body weights.
"Stokes, you’re fat," the abuser was heard saying, according to New Sydney Herald. "Take your jumper off, Bairstow, lose some weight Bairstow," he added.
Stokes ignored the abuse pitched towards him but stopped on the stairs when the fan mocked the all-rounder's teammate. The words angered Bairstow, who in return gave it back to the fan in his own style.
"Pal, That’s right. Just turn around and walk away. Weak as piss," Bairstow responded.
England director Ashley Giles was seen giving Bairstow a pat on his back as the Englishmen entered the dressing room for Tea. Stokes could not continue for long in the third session of the “moving” day, but Bairstow responded to the abuse by smashing his 7th Test hundred. England have not celebrated much in the ongoing Ashes but Bairstow's century gave their fans a moment to cherish.
Witnesses praised the players for their handling of the whole situation. “It was well handled by Jonny and Stokesy, good on them. He’s batted well, just give them a break. They handled it fine. They [the spectators] were being d***heads," a witness named Xander was quoted as saying.
"He handled it well, stood his ground, showed a bit of fight. He’s representing his country and doing the best he can." Will stated.
Police took control of the situation. Three men were asked to leave the stadium but no charges were charged on them.
This is not the first time such an incident has happened at the SCG. In India's last tour of Australia, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah were racially abused by a few Aussie fans.
