Former England captain Michael Vaughan and English cricket supporters have ripped into Jonny Bairstow after he was dismissed for a low score in the final innings of the opening Test match against New Zealand (NZ) at Lord's.

After the Kiwis set a target of 277 for the home team, England found themselves in trouble at 46/3 with openers Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, and No.3 Ollie Pope all back in the pavilion.

Jonny Bairstow arrived in the middle to join ex-captain and England's premier batter Joe Root at that stage and looked in fine form as he smashed three boundaries off Trent Boult in an over.

However, as things were looking good for Jonny Bairstow, he played a loose shot against Kyle Jamieson, only to be castled by the lanky fast bowler.

But it was the manner of his dismissal that came under fire from both the fans and the pundits as he couldn't avoid the temptation of driving the ball through the covers, which cost him dearly.

Strangely, Jonny Bairstow had barely survived the previous delivery as he had almost nicked the ball. But he didn't learn any lesson from his previous mistake as he attempted yet another drive on the up before losing his stumps to Kyle Jamieson.

Bairstow's wicket put the hosts in a deep hole at 69/4.

And Vaughan was livid with Bairstow's shot selection, calling his stroke “pathetic” before declaring the England batter as “dumb”.

“I am sorry but that is dumb. That is pathetic. You know it is going to be Jamieson's last ball of a terrific spell,” Michael Vaughan said while commentating for the BBC.

“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,” he added.

“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,” the ex-England skipper mentioned as he continued with his criticism of Jonny Bairstow.

Meanwhile, the Three Lions' admirers were left equally unimpressed as they labelled him “stupid” and an “idiot”.

“Wow… Bairstow has talent & stupidity in equal measures. What an idiotic shot,” a Twitter user wrote.

“It's crazy how Bairstow bats like he's still finding his feet even after 80 tests,” another added.

“Thumping drives, sprinting between the wickets, a bit of chat, and being bowled through the gate. The Jonny Bairstow Greatest Hits package delivers again,” a third said in a sarcastic tweet.

Jonny Bairstow has made it a habit of getting bowled in international cricket, particularly in the longest format of the game. 26 percent of his overall dismissals in the whites have been through this mode.

In Test cricket's long history, Jonny Bairstow currently holds the third position in the list of players who have been bowled more often (percentage-wise) than him.

Only legendary West Indies quick bowler Courtney Walsh and ex-India batter Gundappa Viswanath have a higher bowled percentage than the Englishman.

Even in the first essay of the ongoing Test at Lord's, he was sent packing by Trent Boult whose delivery crashed into his stumps and it has been a recurring theme in Jonny Bairstow's career which has now moved into an 83rd Test.

Despite Bairstow's early departure, England was in a commanding position at the close of play on Day 3 as Joe Root and captain Ben Stokes resurrected their innings.

While Root was still unbeaten at 77, Stokes fell to Kyle Jamieson for 54. Yet the talismanic all-rounder had nearly done his job as he was involved in a 90-run partnership with Root before getting out at the score of 159.

Root, however, dug his heels there as he was well supported by wicketkeeper Ben Foakes after the departure of their skipper.

Although Foakes didn't score too many as he was still batting at 9 off 48 balls, it was his unbroken 57-run partnership with Root which has put the home team in an advantageous position.

England's score now reads 216/5 with 61 more needed to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Interesting Joe Root who will resume Day 4 at an unbeaten 77, needs 23 more to complete 10,000 runs in Test cricket and looking at the way he batted on Saturday, the feat would be well within his reach on Sunday.

Not only Root was patient in his shot selection but waited for the bad balls as well as he dispatched anything and everything wide outside the off-stump or on the pads.

England may be in control of the situation right now, but their chances of winning this Test match still hinge on Joe Root's stay on the crease.

An early Joe Root dismissal could still open the floodgates for New Zealand to win as was the case in England's first innings when their openers gave them a good start but once they were back in the hut, all the other England batters fell like nine-pins.