Top 5 underrated Test knocks by Jonny Bairstow

Wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow marked his 100th appearance in Test cricket as India and England took the field in Dharamsala for the fifth and final Test of the ongoing series. The visitors are playing for pride, having lost three out of the four concluded games in the series.

Winning the toss, England skipper Ben Stokes opted to bat first. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett started on a high note, but the Indian spinners wreaked havoc to initiate a batting collapse for the opposition on Day 1. Notably, Bairstow was dismissed for an 18-ball 29.

Though the 34-year-old could not make an impact with the bat, he found a small reason to celebrate his 100th Test. Bairstow crossed the 6000-run mark in Test cricket and became the 17th England batter to do so. He also went past former West Indies batter Richie Richardson, who scored 5949 Test runs.

In the 99 Tests before today, Bairstow had scored 5974 runs at an average of 36.42 and a strike rate of 58.68. His personal best, in the traditional format of the sport, came against Sri Lanka in 2016 as he hammered an unbeaten 167 off 251 deliveries to finish with 387 runs in the series.

While his 12 Test centuries are widely acclaimed, there were times when Bairstow's knocks did not get the deserved attention. On that note, let us look at the top five underrated knocks by Jonny Bairstow in Test cricket.

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#5 74 (105) vs Australia, August 2015

England v Australia: 5th Investec Ashes Test - Day Four

England clinched a massive victory in the fourth Test of the five-match Ashes series in 2015. While the game is famous for Joe Root’s knock of 130, Bairstow’s effort with the bat is something that’s not much talked about.

England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and put the opposition to bat first. Stuart Broad stole the show with the ball. He meant business from the very first over and finished with eight wickets as Australia were dismantled for a meager 60 runs in the first innings.

England’s innings was dominated by Joe Root’s 130 (176), but Bairstow, who walked out to bat when the hosts were at 96/3, put up a fantastic 173-run partnership with Root for the fourth wicket. He notched up 74 off 105 and took the team’s score to 269/4 before departing.

Though Root was highly praised for the century, Bairstow too was one of the key reasons behind England scoring 391/9d and winning the match by an innings and 78 runs.

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#4 95 (196) vs South Africa, August 2012

England v South Africa: 3rd Investec Test - Day Five

Bairstow played a composed knock at the home of cricket, Lord’s, in the third Test of South Africa’s tour of England in 2012. Batting first, the Proteas put up a total of 309 runs on the board as the innings saw an equal fight between the bat and the ball.

In response, England struggled initially as they were reduced to 54/4 in 23.2 overs courtesy of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. While Ian Bell stood strong and played a slow knock, it was Bairstow who provided England the much-needed momentum.

Bell and Bairstow joined hands and stitched a 124-run partnership in 234 deliveries, with the latter scoring 64 runs and the former adding 55 runs to the total. Before being dismissed by Morkel, Bairstow notched up 95 off 196 deliveries and pulled his team out of misery.

He scored another half-century in the second innings and played a quick-fire knock of a 47-ball 54, but his efforts went in vain as England ended up losing the game by 51 runs.

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#3 99 (145) vs South Africa, August 2017

England v South Africa - 4th Investec Test: Day Two

During South Africa’s tour of England in 2017, Bairstow played one of the most memorable yet one of the most underrated knocks of his career. Batting first, England put up 362 runs in 108.4, with Bairstow emerging as the highest run-scorer.

The wicketkeeper-batter entered the game when Joe Root lost his wicket to Duanne Olivier in the 68th over and England dropped to 187/5. Bairstow fired with the bat and hit 14 fours and a six, at a strike rate of 68.27.

At a point in time, the middle-order batter was just one run shy of a century, while the Proteas needed just one wicket to put an end to England’s innings. Bairstow was the last batter to be dismissed as he walked back scoring 99 off 145 deliveries, which was also the highest by any batter in that game.

All-rounder Moeen Ali stole the show in the second essay as he played an unbeaten knock of 75 off 66 balls before picking up a brilliant five-wicket haul which helped England clinch a massive 177-run victory. While Moeen’s all-round show is talked about, Bairstow’s 99 did not receive much attention.

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#2 93 (144) vs India, August 2018

England v India: Specsavers 2nd Test - Day Three

India toured England for a multi-format series in 2018, which included three T20Is, as many ODIs, and five Tests. After winning the first Test in Birmingham, England looked to extend their lead when they crossed swords with India in the second Test at Lord’s.

India were off to a poor start while batting first as England’s pace spearhead James Anderson picked up a five-wicket haul, restricting the visitors to a mere 107 runs in their first innings. The game is still remembered for Chris Woakes’ 137*(177) as Bairstow fails to receive credits.

Coming in to bat when his side was at 77/3, Bairstow hammered 93 runs off 144 deliveries as his knock included 12 fours. Though Woakes outplayed Bairstow, the latter provided his team with crucial momentum at a time when they had been struggling.

He shared a 189-run partnership with Woakes, who looked in supreme form and stormed to a magnificent century, and played second fiddle as England took their total to 396/7 before declaring. The hosts restricted India to 130 in the second essay to win the game by an innings and 159 runs.

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#1 52 (95) vs Australia, August 2019

England v Australia - 2nd Specsavers Ashes Test: Day Two

The five-match Ashes series of 2019 was hosted by England, which eventually ended in a 2-2 draw. Australia could have won it 3-2 but Bairstow and Ben Stokes induced a memorable draw in the second Test at Lord’s.

Batting first, Bairstow walked out at No. 7, when England were at 136/5 and struggling to put runs on board. Having seen half of the side walking back to the dugout, Bairstow maintained his calm and composure and batted till the end of the innings.

He kept losing partners on the other end and took the onus of scoring runs, even during the dying stages of the game. Australian bowlers did a great job of picking up wickets at regular intervals, but the wicketkeeper-batter stood strong and scored 52 off 95 deliveries to take his team’s total to a respectable 258.

Bairstow’s wicket put an end to England’s first innings, and their bowlers did a good job of restricting the visitors to 250. With a lead of just eight runs, England put up the same score of 258, this time at the loss of five wickets, before declaring in the second essay.

While Stokes stole the show with a brilliant 165-ball 115*, Bairstow remained unbeaten scoring 30 off 37 deliveries. England managed to induce a draw, with Bairstow playing a key role with the bat in both the innings.