Jonny Bairstow set to play for Yorkshire in the County Championship to fuel England comeback 

England wicket-keeper batter Jonny Bairstow will turn up for Yorkshire in the upcoming set of County Championship matches as red-ball domestic cricket returns after a six-week break. Bairstow lost his place in England's red-ball setup after playing his 100th Test during the tour of India as Jamie Smith is viewed as the new long-term wicket-keeper by the management.

After poor performances in the tour of India and the Ashes, where Bairstow scored three fifties in 19 innings and failed to record double figures four times, he was not selected for England's home season. Even his white-ball credentials have taken a hit in recent times, and he has gradually slid down the pecking order.

Bairstow's stint in the middle-order in the T20I setup has been a hit-and-miss experiment and he also had a forgettable Hundred 2024 campaign with only one fifty in seven outings while playing for Welsh Fire.

In desperate need of a reset, the wicket-keeper is set to feature for Yorkshire in the upcoming Division Two clash against Sussex, and potentially until the end of the season.

"I spoke to Jonny, and he still has ambitions of getting back into the England team. When he was coming back from his injury last year, our medical team and coaches - everybody associated with the club - helped him get back into the England fold," Yorkshire head coach Ottis Gibson said.

"If it's that we need to do that again with him, give him some love and get him into a position where he puts good performances in, everybody benefits from that. Jonny Bairstow is a serious cricketer anyway, but when he has a point to prove, he's even more dangerous. Hopefully, we can take advantage of that," he added.

Having recently recovered from a shoulder niggle, Bairstow is available for Yorkshire's upcoming clash, which begins on Thursday, August 22, onwards. However, his availability for the final four matches of the season is yet to be confirmed.

"All I want to do is play for England" - Jonny Bairstow

The wicket-keeper faces an uphill battle to reclaim his spot across formats in the near future. With the likes of Phil Salt and Will Jacks flourishing in white-ball cricket, Bairstow needs to be at the top of his game to topple his juniors.

In the red-ball circuit, Harry Brook has cemented his place as the No.5 batter while Jamie Smith has made a formidable start to his Test career.

"Well, you don't need to ask me that, do you? I think you know me well enough, and you've known me for long enough to know that all I want to do is play for England," Bairstow told Vaughan on the sidelines of The Hundred 2024.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) managing director Rob Key had stated that Bairstow needed to be the version of himself that he was a couple of years back to earn a comeback.