Stuart Broad has defended Jonny Bairstow after former England captain Michael Vaughan described his dismissal in the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand as "dumb" and "pathetic".
With England chasing 277 runs to win, they were in trouble when Bairstow walked out to bat at 46-3. And he immediately looked to be aggressive, striking three boundaries off an over from Trent Boult.
However, his innings lasted just 15 balls when he fell to Kyle Jamieson off the final delivery of an excellent spell. After almost nicking off the ball before, Bairstow went for another extravagant drive and got bowled through the gate for 16 to leave England 69-4.
And Vaughan was highly critical of Bairstow while on commentary for BBC Test Match Special, questioning why he did not simply look to defend the final ball of Jamieson's spell. "I am sorry but that is dumb," Vaughan said.
"That is pathetic. You know it is going to be Jamieson's last ball of a terrific spell.
"There was a bit of nip. It is an OK delivery. But when you are throwing your hands at a ball with a gap between bat and pad that you and I could swim through...
"You can have all the preparation and team meetings but until you play smart... See him off. Get rid of him. Play a defensive shot. It is just dumb."
However, Broad has defended Bairstow's dismissal, insisting he can be "happy" with the way he batted. In his column for the Daily Mail, Broad wrote: "As Ben Stokes said, he [Brendon McCullum] makes players feel 10ft tall, filling them with confidence but also expects the players to take their own responsibility.
"You could see that in the way that Bairstow batted on Saturday. Sure, he didn't get as many runs as he would have liked but he could be happy that he committed to a certain way of playing and didn't alter that."
