Jonny Bairstow - Destined for greatness

Jonny Bairstow was one of the few positives for England in the recent series against South Africa.

If you ask me what England’s two biggest gains are, after losing the home Test series to South Africa, I would say:

1) They no longer have to shoulder the burden of having to stay number 1 in the Test rankings and can focus on their performance and 2) Jonny Bairstow.

Heading into the third Test, he was a “Jonny who ?” to most people. After a string of failures against the West Indies and a not-so-impressive One Day showing against India, one would have thought he was lucky to be called in as a replacement for the effervescent Kevin Peterson. England themselves were not expecting too many heroics from him while the Pietersen saga grabbed all the pre-match headlines. Not only did he bat well in the Test match, he made a statement to the selectors that Kevin Pietersen may not be missed after all.

In the first innings, he played a sedate innings of 95, rescuing England from a more than precarious 54-4. Any lingering doubts about his footwork against short pitch bowling were dismissed outright by this innings. It was no surprise to his mentors from Yorkshire, the likes of Michael Vaughan and Geoffrey Boycott, who had seen him rise from the under-15 ranks. The disappointment on their faces was evident when he was out 5 runs short of a century.

As a cricket fan, you couldn’t help empathizing with them, considering the fact that the stage was Lord’s. In the second innings, he again walked in with England reeling and struggling for momentum in the innings. He took the attack to the likes of Steyn, Morkel and Philander and produced a classy, better than run-a-ball 54. The innings provided the impetus and the platform to Broad, Prior and Swann to throw their bats around. England fell short by 50 runs, but the match, which could have been a one-sided victory for South Africa or a meandering draw, had England decided to defend more, turned to be a classic. Two contrasting innings, both classy in terms of technique and temperament, tell me he has a lot to contribute to England particularly with big tours against Australia and India coming up.

England needs a Jonny Bairstow more than a Pietersen. He comes from a family of cricketers (his father, David played for England and his brother Andy played first class cricket). He has risen through the tough ranks of the English domestic cricketing system, the under-15s, under-19s and county cricket with Yorkshire. He is an aggressive batsman and made his debut in the shorter formats. His skills as a wicket-keeper have been utilized in the ODIs and T-20s, but his role in the team at the Test level would be that of a middle order batsman. He has big shoes to fill. Even though he is seen as a replacement to KP, he would bat lower at 5 or 6. England has not found a steady batsman down there. Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara have both been tried in recent times, but they have not delivered. It needs someone like Bairstow who has shown temperament to bat different kinds of innings’ when needed.