Sportskeeda Cricket Awards 2016: Test batsman of the year

#5 Jonny Bairstow

2016 was a sparkling year for Jonny Bairstow

The England wicket-keeper batsman had a dream year and emerged as one of the leading wicket-keeper batsmen currently in Tests. The Yorkshire man was one of the most prolific run scorers for his team and churned out many match-winning performances.

Bairstow tweaked his technique and has a more pronounced backlift and this helped him immensely right throughout the year. He was prolific both against pace and spin and bailed out England from many tricky situations on many occasions. The biggest improvement in his game has been his defensive game, and this has helped him to soak up the pressure which then allows him to dictate terms as he gets used to the surface and conditions.

Matches	Innings	Runs	Highest Score	Average	50s	100s	NOs
17	29	1470	167*	58.80	8	3	4

A big positive for England going into the new year, especially as Alastair Cook could well step down as the captain, and these young players would make the new leadership coterie.