In a corner of the Trent Bridge dressing room, Jonny Bairstow stared into a mirror. “Jonathan Marc Bairstow!” yell. “This is your day, your chance to show what you can do.”
The full, undiluted Bazball was about to be released for the first time. The Test against New Zealand in June 2022 was in the balance at tea: England needed 160 from 38 overs with six wickets in hand. Later, as described in the book, he was encouraged by ham and cheese toast and his pep talk. BaseballBairstow scored 93 off the next 44 balls, a blur of power, impeccable timing and a six over fine leg.
It was the start of one of the most remarkable games by an English batsman in Test history. In five consecutive innings in three weeks, Bairstow put up figures of 136, 162, 71 not out, 106 and 114 not out: 589 runs at an average of 196 and a strike rate of 102. Here is the simplest summary of what Bazball can mean. : How can cricketers be freed to explore their full potential by empowering them to play with elan, free from fear of failure? Playing as a specialist batsman at No.5, Bairstow’s message from Brendon McCullum was: “Go out and bat.”
These exciting performances have strengthened England’s faith in Bairstow ever since. Bairstow, who fell on the golf course in September 2022 and broke his leg in three places, feared he would never walk again.
Instead, Bairstow returned for the Ashes series and also took back his wicket-keeping gloves. In English cricket’s eternal debate between prioritizing wicketkeeping or batting, their performances provided ample evidence for both sides. Bairstow averaged 40 with the bat and scored runs at a great pace from No.7. But Bairstow also missed chances to stun or catch six in the first three Tests.
Ben Foakes’ return to India and Harry Brook’s withdrawal from the series meant Bairstow lost the gloves. Our hope was that a return to No.5 could help Bairstow regain his superb form in the summer of 2022; this included two tons against India at Edgbaston. Instead, the sight of Bairstow’s foot falling off before trying to swing his third ball continued his troubled tour on the fourth evening in Rajkot.
To go for the second innings fourth, Bairstow was chasing a duck in the first innings before then playing out. He averaged just 17 in three Tests in that series, extending his woes in India: Bairstow averaged just 25.8 in 11 Tests there; This is quite an impressive comeback for a man who is often hailed as one of England’s best players of spin. His batting pains predate this tour: Bairstow averaged just 23.9 in England’s fierce World Cup defence.
And so questions about Bazball’s first flag bearer became increasingly inevitable.
A 34-year-old three-format player who has kept wicket for most of his professional career, Bairstow’s schedule is one of the busiest in world cricket. Only Bairstow and Joe Root, who is also well below his best, have played every Ashes Test, every match of the World Cup and every Test in India so far. Uniquely among England cricketers this winter, Bairstow heads to India for the World Cup, the five-match Test series and then the Indian Premier League: perhaps the toughest challenges in each of the game’s three main formats. Bairstow will hardly return home from the IPL before the Twenty20 World Cup: a reminder that England should not overburden him. Root and Jos Buttler, two of Bairstow’s contemporaries, are no longer selected for a single international format; Stokes’ schedule is carefully managed outside Tests and World Cups.
England’s reserve batsman in India is Dan Lawrence, whose last Test was just before Stokes and McCullum took over. Lawrence bats with an unorthodox and aggressive stroke that seems a natural fit into the regime and also offers helpful off-spin. Yet Bairstow’s average of 48 under Stokes, his history of frequently being at his best under scrutiny, and the importance of continuity of selection in promoting gritty cricket mean that his failure to retain his place in Ranchi would come as a significant surprise.
But no matter how successful Bairstow was for the remainder of the series, berth 5 was only available for short-term letting until Brook returned. England’s first-choice middle order in the mid-term has been unconventionally determined, with Ollie Pope coming in at No. 3, followed by Joe Root at No. 4 and Ben Stokes at No. 6. There is no room for Bairstow barring any absences.
If all goes well, Bairstow will play his 100th Test in Dharamshala. Yet it would somehow be appropriate for Bairstow to celebrate the milestone amid uncertainty about his role, with the question of whether he should have taken up the gloves in the first place. Bairstow, who has been a Test cricketer for over 12 years, could hardly stay out of this debate; Unusually, he averages more while keeping wicket than a specialist batsman.
For all Foakes’ glory in this series, his Test average has now fallen below 30: an uncomfortable situation for any wicketkeeper since Adam Gilchrist made his debut 25 years ago. So, England are set to begin their next Test summer with the same question as the last. Should it be Foakes or Bairstow behind the stumps?