The Jonny Bairstow thread

[James]

JB on his decision to skip The Hundred:

"I'm really disappointed I won’t be part of The Hundred this year. I loved it last year, but I’ve had a hectic few months with the schedule as it is and I really need to take a breather before the South Africa Test series. All the best to the Welsh Fire Men and Women - I'll be cheering you on."

==

So OK to skip your country's comp but if this was IPL...

The Hundred clearly is not a priority for senior England players. Which incidentally I am fine with, but they should just be honest when ruling themselves out instead of making things up.

 

[shaz619]

JB on his decision to skip The Hundred:

"I'm really disappointed I won’t be part of The Hundred this year. I loved it last year, but I’ve had a hectic few months with the schedule as it is and I really need to take a breather before the South Africa Test series. All the best to the Welsh Fire Men and Women - I'll be cheering you on."

==

So OK to skip your country's comp but if this was IPL...

Poor stuff, the hundred needs stars. But at the same time, it’s a good decision to take a break.

 

[shaz619]

The Hundred clearly is not a priority for senior England players. Which incidentally I am fine with, but they should just be honest when ruling themselves out instead of making things up.

They will prioritise it once the moolah starts coming in

 

[MenInG]

Jonny Bairstow exclusive: ‘I heard my leg snap. Then I was screaming uncontrollably’

At the peak of his form in an incredible summer, the England batsman suffered a freak injury that sparked much feverish, risible speculation

The irony was not lost on Jonny Bairstow. At the precise moment Rob Key, England's managing director, was proclaiming him as the opening batsman for England's T20 World Cup campaign, Bairstow was in the back of a car in Yorkshire, his shattered leg propped up on the rear passenger seat, in desperate search of a hospital.

It was Friday, September 2, and Bairstow had just suffered the kind of freak injury that every sportsperson must dread – a badly broken leg and dislocated ankle. To compound his misery, it had been sustained not on the cricket field, but during a gentle game of golf with two friends.

“I wasn’t even going to play that morning,” says Bairstow, who had learned of his place in England's World Cup squad the day before through phone calls with white-ball coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler.

The circumstances of the injury have been the subject of much feverish speculation – the most outlandish suggesting Bairstow had been slide-tackled by his Test captain Ben Stokes in a bid to avoid losing a £10,000 wager. A WhatsApp voice note purporting to describe the incident quickly circulated online; such was its reach, even Bairstow's mum, Janet, had heard it.

At this, he can manage a grim laugh. “I’d never played Ganton [the golf club near Scarborough mentioned in the voice note], I hadn’t seen Stokesy since the previous Test match and no Yorkshireman has ever played for 10 grand! Fair play to the lad [who created the voice note], he’s got a good imagination on him.”

England's Jonny Bairstow celebrates his century on Day 5 of the fifth cricket Test match between England and India at Edgbaston
Bairstow celebrates the second of twin centuries against India at Edgbaston in July CREDIT: Geoff Caddick/AFP
The facts – as outlined to Telegraph Sport over lunch in Leeds – are rather more prosaic, even if the injury itself and the journey to seek treatment were not. Bairstow had, in fact, just played the third hole at Pannal Golf Club near Harrogate when he walked off the side of the green.

“There’s a fairly steep slope that goes down to the next tee box,” he says. “I’ve played that course many times and because we were playing early morning, whether the course had been watered or it was dew, it was slippy.

"Normally when you slip you fall on your bum, which would have been fine as there’s plenty of cushion in there. Except this time I tried to regain my balance, my left ankle turned right, dislocated and my weight went through my left lower leg. I heard it snap straight away.

“I took a couple of steps down then slipped. By the time I crumpled into a heap, I was three-quarters of the way down. It’s all a blur, it happened so quickly.

“I yelped. Uncontrollable screams, the sort you hear on a rugby field. The adrenaline kicked in, and I knew I needed an ambulance. We rang the head physio at England straight away and asked where I needed to go and what I needed to do. The next three hours without painkillers were not too fun."

With no hope of being able to walk the 500 yards back to the clubhouse, Bairstow was lifted gingerly on to the back of a golf cart, his mangled foot raised on the back seat, and driven back to the car park.

"I was trying to be incognito and pretending it was OK" he recalled. "I got into my mate’s car and went to the hospital, 20 minutes away. I was on autopilot trying not to move it. I hopped from car to A&E and gave my name, but there was a long wait to see anyone so we made the decision to go to a bigger hospital in York, where the wait was shorter.”

The extent of the injury soon became clear. Bairstow had multiple fractures in his left fibula, which required a five-inch plate – leaving significant scars – when he was operated on in London a few days later. He also dislocated his ankle, with some damage to both the syndesmosis and lateral ligaments. It was not set at a nasty angle, because the dislocation had popped out, then in again.

Weeks later, he is still having to manage swelling. There is no set return date, but it will not be until spring at the earliest, ruling him out of not just the World Cup, but also the one-dayers against Australia and South Africa, and the three-Test series in Pakistan.

“Everything should heal, but it will take time,” Bairstow says. “Naturally I am desperately disappointed. I have been quite upbeat for the last month, because it is such a freakish thing that’s happened, it’s difficult to get angry about. It’s such a freakish thing that’s occurred.”

In Sri Lanka in 2018, Bairstow missed two Test matches due to an injury suffered playing football, and has now gone down playing golf. “I’m looking forward to touch rugby being brought back so I can complete the set,” he laughs.

Already, Bairstow is settled into a new, and much restricted, way of living. “Having slept in an Aircast boot, I wake, take a lot of supplements, calcium, fish oils, stuff like that. That's fantastic,” he says with a grimace.

Then it is into his exercises, using the GameReady recovery tools, icing, compressing and trying to coax some movement from his ankle, using towels or belts. Rinse, repeat.

To get about, he has a knee rover, which is like a scooter with one knee raised, and a pair of 'Cool Crutches', a brand created by a friend that has helped prevent bruising and blistering of the hands for crutch users. Getting out, though, has been rare so far, with a trip to watch Leeds in the Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford a rare chink of light.

“For someone who is pretty active and social, sitting on your bum doing nothing isn’t necessarily the easiest thing to do,” he says.

The other bitter twist in this tale is that, prior to his injury, Bairstow was having the year of his life. He had doubled his tally of Test centuries, to 12, with four of them coming in five remarkable innings as England swept to four giddy wins at the start of the Stokes-Brendon McCullum era. With 589 runs from 578 balls, at an average of 196, Bairstow’s must rank among the most extraordinary spells of form in England's recent Test history.

Each of those six centuries was special in its own way, and began with England in a spot of bother. In Sydney, the first Test of the year, he came in at 36 for four in response to 416 and helped avert an Ashes whitewash. In Antigua, England were 48 for four on the first morning of a much-discussed – and swiftly-shelved – red-ball reset. At Trent Bridge, they were 56 for three chasing 299, and at Headingley, they were 17 for three (then 55 for six) in response to 329. Edgbaston, where he made twin tons for the first time, saw him come at 44 for three in response to 416, then 109 for three chasing 378.

The partnership that carried England to victory over India at Edgbaston, with Joe Root, is one of the moments Bairstow picks out as highlights of the summer. Others include running towards his family and friends to celebrate his hundred at Headingley, and the barbecue he hosted for his team-mates at home before that Test match.

It has been, in Bairstow’s mind, a “transformation” since November 2021, when he arrived in quarantine in Australia from a bubble in Dubai at a low ebb.

“That was horrific,” he says. “That was one of the worst times I’ve had. It was bleak. It put me in a strange place, to be honest. Coming out of the UAE, where we should have done better in the World Cup, then to not play the first Test of the Ashes, and wonder when I would get a game.

“I got recalled for the Boxing Day Test, and I was pleased to be playing. I felt good at the crease. Sydney came around, and since then everything has gone pretty well. I broke my thumb so didn’t play in Hobart, but things have been good from that point on."

When McCullum was appointed, he called Bairstow and told him he would be batting No5. “That was it,” he says. “It was refreshing to be backed by someone without any ifs and buts.”

McCullum added that he felt the IPL [where Bairstow was playing for Punjab Kings] was perfect preparation for the style of cricket he hoped to play, because he was up against the best players in the world. “He told me we were looking to take people on, which we did all summer”.

Bairstow, 33, has benefited from McCullum and Stokes’ straightforward management style. When he woke up from his operation, Stokes had posted about him on Instagram, praising his contribution to the summer, aware that a little pick-me-up might be required. At one stage at Headingley, McCullum said to him: "Get your Sudoku book, come and sit next to me and shut up."

“Different things make people tick,” says Bairstow. “I don’t like watching too much. I will try to take my mind off and do other bits. I have been trying to find Baz to chew his ear off while doing the sudoku, because he’s generally doing a cryptic crossword that takes him two days to find three answers.

“The clarity around how we are playing our cricket, that suits the way I play, too. I am not worried about hanging around and I have always wanted to put pressure back on the opposition.

“It’s man management, how you get the best out of people. That has been a really encouraging sign this summer. We are starting to get the best out of people, and find out more about each other. On and off the field, tightening as a group, the cohesion we have, scrapping for each other, believing in each other.

“I wish them the best in Pakistan and the World Cup, I am distraught not to be there, and will be watching on the TV when I can. I’ve really enjoyed my Test cricket, after Covid times, which I found tough.”

At a conservative estimate, he had spent less than 80 days in his own bed since the start of 2020, so the injury, Bairstow believes, allows some time to reflect, and take in that extraordinary summer, before returning stronger. With 89 caps in Tests, and 95 in ODIs, a century in each is drifting onto the horizon.

“I will probably write some bits down to digest and take in,” he says. “There are going to be some s--- days when I am missing playing again and you struggle to drag yourself to the gym when it’s cold, dark and miserable. I’m not a massive writer, but I make little notes. I’m not a massive talker about how I’m feeling, so it’s a coping mechanism, if you like."

It would be easy to assume Bairstow's injury would have cast a cloud over him, but it is reassuring to see him so upbeat – he is happy to pose for pictures in his protective boot, and shares snaps taken in his hospital bed, including one of him contemplating The Beano (an in-joke with his friends).

Rather than raging at the injustice of it all, Bairstow is philosophical. "It won’t sink in for a little while but I think you have to look at it [the injury] in a slightly different way," he says. "Yes, this has happened. I am out for a few months, but if that break allows you to play for an extra couple of years at the end, then that’s fantastic.

"My hunger has never diminished, but perhaps this will grow my appetite for the fantastic things we have next year, the Ashes, World Cup, and another T20 World Cup in 2024.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket...sive-heard-leg-snap-screaming-uncontrollably/

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"> IMPORTANT UPDATE <br><br>We regret to inform you that Jonny Bairstow will not be a part of the IPL this season because of his injury. We wish him the best and look forward to seeing him next season.<br><br>We are pleased to welcome Matthew Short as his replacement.<br><br> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PunjabKings?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PunjabKings</a> <a href="https://t.co/NnUMjCe8jV">pic.twitter.com/NnUMjCe8jV</a></p>— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) <a href="https://twitter.com/PunjabKingsIPL/status/1639591912729346048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

Jonny Bairstow will make his comeback from injury for Yorkshire second XI against Nottinghamshire next week and will keep wicket for part of the game.

The England batter, 33, has been out since September with a broken leg.

Harry Brook has been in fine form for England in his absence, so keeping wicket could be his best route back into the team.

"We'll go and have a look at him and see how he goes," said Yorkshire coach Ottis Gibson.

"He's had such a long lay-off, so it's a fitness assessment for him to see what his capacity is and what he can do on the field in terms running around in the outfield or standing behind the stumps.

"He will probably do both to see which one he's most comfortable with."

Last month, Yorkshire director of cricket Darren Gough said Bairstow had indicated a desire to keep wicket when he makes his comeback.

When asked by BBC Sport about his imminent return to action last week, Bairstow said that request to keep wicket was a "non-story".

Bairstow has kept wicket for England in 49 of his 89 Tests, but in none of his past 11 dating back to 2021.

He added that he would "absolutely" be fit for the England's one-off Test against Ireland in .June, with the Ashes series against Australia beginning later that month.

Bairstow was in fine form before his injury, sustained when slipping on a golf course, having scored 1,061 Test runs in 2022, including six centuries.

Yorkshire team-mate Brook has subsequently secured his place in the side with some fine innings of his own, meaning deposing current first-choice wicketkeeper Ben Foakes may be Bairstow's best chance of returning to the side.

BBC

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jonny Bairstow is back!<br><br>On his return from injury, he struck 97 from 88 balls for the <a href="https://twitter.com/YorkshireCCC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YorkshireCCC</a> 2nd XI <a href="https://t.co/kmzBCzc6Uq">pic.twitter.com/kmzBCzc6Uq</a></p>— LV= Insurance County Championship (@CountyChamp) <a href="https://twitter.com/CountyChamp/status/1650877294578204672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jonny Bairstow is back!<br><br>On his return from injury, he struck 97 from 88 balls for the <a href="https://twitter.com/YorkshireCCC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YorkshireCCC</a> 2nd XI &#55357;&#56384; <a href="https://t.co/kmzBCzc6Uq">pic.twitter.com/kmzBCzc6Uq</a></p>— LV= Insurance County Championship (@CountyChamp) <a href="https://twitter.com/CountyChamp/status/1650877294578204672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Jonny Bairstow scored 97 as he made his return from injury for Yorkshire in a second XI game against Nottinghamshire.

Playing for the first time since breaking his leg in September, the England batter struck 13 fours and two sixes in his 88 balls at Headingley.

He was dropped on 21 off England team-mate Olly Stone and was out when he hit the quick to cover in the 56th over.

The 33-year-old is expected to play for Yorkshire's first XI next week as he attempts to regain his England place.

England play Ireland on 1 June before the men's Ashes series begins against Australia on 16 June.

While it was not vintage Bairstow, it was an encouraging first knock after eight months on the sidelines.

Batting at four, he was troubled by Stone after lunch, offering a straightforward chance to second slip that was nevertheless spilled and playing and missing three more times in the space of four balls.

He nicked between keeper and slip on 55 and played the occasional false shot but otherwise looked in decent touch against a modest, inexperienced attack, Stone aside.

Bairstow's first boundary, a flick off the pads over mid-wicket, came from his 18th ball and he followed that with a pull for four a ball later.

An over before his dismissal the right-hander slog-swept Calvin Harrison for six over mid-wicket and clubbed the leg-spinner over the long-on fence two balls later.

Bairstow was in fine form before his injury, sustained when slipping on a golf course, having scored 1,061 Test runs in 2022, including six centuries.

But his replacement Harry Brook has since secured his position with four hundreds in six Tests at an average of 80.90 during England's winter.

That means deposing current first-choice wicketkeeper Ben Foakes may be Bairstow's best chance of returning to the side and Yorkshire director of cricket Darren Gough said Bairstow had indicated a desire to keep wicket when he makes his first-team comeback.

It is expected he will keep wicket at some point during the four-day second XI match, but also field elsewhere.

Yorkshire were 305-5 from 64 overs at tea.

 

[MenInG]

England star Jonny Bairstow is set to return to international cricket after eight months on the sidelines due to a horrific leg injury.

Jonny Bairstow grabbed all the headlines when England announced their squad for the one-off Test against Ireland, with the wicket-keeper batter returning after an eight-month layoff just in time for the Ashes.

In September 2022, Bairstow suffered a freak leg injury on the golf course and had to undergo surgery to repair a broken leg and dislocated ankle. The England star was on a dream run in Test cricket before the incident, scoring 1061 runs in 10 matches in the calendar year.

Bairstow eventually missed England's victorious T20 World Cup campaign in Australia as a result and the monumental Test series victory against Pakistan.

The journey back to cricket has been trying, as revealed by Bairstow, who recently returned to competitive cricket with Yorkshire in the County Championship.

"You wonder whether or not you'll be able to walk again, jog again, run again, play cricket again," Bairstow said. "Absolutely, those things do go through your mind.

"It depends how long you think about them. There are many different things, until you get back to playing, well… you wonder, is it going to feel the same?"

"It's quite funny, people have said, 'You're limping'. Well, I don't know anyone that's had a major lower leg injury that does walk exactly the same as previously. There are going to be little limps, there are going to be aches, pains, that's part and parcel of it. Whether it's knees, hips, ankles, lower back, whatever it is.

"When there's trauma, there's going to be an adaptation to the way that your body moves or your body walks, that's just part and parcel of it. I'm not going to be running exactly the same as last year, but that's okay."

Bairstow's return comes at the expense of Ben Foakes, who filled in brilliantly in the former's absence but had to miss out on a place in the England squad for the Ireland Test.

"He's been an integral part of the last 12 months and how he's gone about it," Bairstow said.

"It's something which is never easy and I've been on the end of it. So absolutely I've got some sympathies for Ben. I've no doubts he'll be back in the fold at some point soon."

At the same time, it was a very emotional moment to be back in the international setup for Bairstow, who got a call from Test coach Brendon McCullum regarding his inclusion.

"I was buzzing. It filled me with a lot of pride again. I've said there's been some dark times this winter and it's been tough so to get that phone call after all the emotions you go through and everything else this winter…there's a huge amount of pride that goes into it. Yes, getting that phone call…it was awesome."

ICC

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"I know that voicenote that was going around about me two-footing him got out there..." <br><br>Ben Stokes says it's great to have Jonny Bairstow back with the England squad <a href="https://t.co/j5bCiUaYt7">pic.twitter.com/j5bCiUaYt7</a></p>— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyCricket/status/1663863002863484930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

JB showing why he is needed in this England line-up - 50* - came in at a tricky time and helped Root build this potentially match changing partnership.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Jonny Bairstow is gone for another duck against India in the 3rd test of the series.

Most ducks vs India in Tests
8 Jonny Bairstow
7 Danish Kaneria/N Lyon
6 S Warne/ M Dillon/ J Anderson

 

[James]

He’s had a couple of good balls in this series, on the first day and today, but five consecutive low scores should be of real concern to Bairstow with Harry Brook due to come back into the side.

 

[BouncerGuy]

"Take Bairstow Out Of Firing Line": Cook Urges England To Bench The Out-Of-Form Batter

Former captain Alastair Cook has urged England to drop wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow from the Ranchi Test against India, to "protect the player" who is having an abysmal series. Bairstow, who is playing as a specialist batter, has endured a woeful run in the ongoing five-match series. He is averaging 17.00 having registered scores of 0, 4, 25, 26, 37 and 10 in six innings. "I'm taking him out of the firing line to protect the player, as I think he's had a tough tour so far and India is a tough place to keep going on the treadmill," Cook told 'TNT Sport'.

"I'm not saying he'll never play Test cricket again, but it's good to have someone who's fresh of all the debris of this series so far," he added.

Cook backed Dan Lawrence to replace Bairstow as the all-rounder will step up out in Ranchi without any baggage.

"When you're not scoring runs, there's a build-up of pressure and momentum from certain bowlers on you, so I'd let Dan Lawrence have a go." However, another former captain Michael Atherton feels the England team management will continue to back Bairstow to come good.

"(Bairstow) has been so central to this project that I don't see them leaving him out now, at a critical juncture," Atherton said on the 'Sky Sports Cricket Podcast'.

England trail the series 1-2.

Rest Anderson and Wood in Ranchi, bring in Robinson and Atkinson

India have decided to rest pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah from the fourth Test and Cook feels the tourists should do the same with their quicks James Anderson and Mark Wood, who have both played two matches each.

The final match is scheduled to be played in Dharamsala, where the conditions at altitude are known to aid pacers.

"I think James Anderson and Mark Wood will be very effective in the cooler conditions of Dharamsala, so I'm taking them out of the attack as they've bowled a lot of overs in a short period," Cook said.

He called for the inclusion of Ollie Robinson and uncapped Gus Atkinson.

"The two people I'm bringing in are Ollie Robinson and Gus Atkinson -- we haven't seen Gus in a Test match before, but everyone I've spoken to about him thinks he could do well.

"We've seen a lot of Ollie Robinson, who has great skill and great control. He'll give the control that Anderson gives, whereas Atkinson gives that freshness. Both will be raring to go." Atherton also felt that England would opt to freshen up their bowling attack by resting 41-year-old Anderson.

"My instincts would say they'll freshen up the bowling, that they may bring in Robinson for Anderson and may think about Atkinson for Wood," Atherton said.

NDTV

 

[FearlessRoar]

"Take Bairstow Out Of Firing Line": Cook Urges England To Bench The Out-Of-Form Batter

Former captain Alastair Cook has urged England to drop wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow from the Ranchi Test against India, to "protect the player" who is having an abysmal series. Bairstow, who is playing as a specialist batter, has endured a woeful run in the ongoing five-match series. He is averaging 17.00 having registered scores of 0, 4, 25, 26, 37 and 10 in six innings. "I'm taking him out of the firing line to protect the player, as I think he's had a tough tour so far and India is a tough place to keep going on the treadmill," Cook told 'TNT Sport'.

"I'm not saying he'll never play Test cricket again, but it's good to have someone who's fresh of all the debris of this series so far," he added.

Cook backed Dan Lawrence to replace Bairstow as the all-rounder will step up out in Ranchi without any baggage.

"When you're not scoring runs, there's a build-up of pressure and momentum from certain bowlers on you, so I'd let Dan Lawrence have a go." However, another former captain Michael Atherton feels the England team management will continue to back Bairstow to come good.

"(Bairstow) has been so central to this project that I don't see them leaving him out now, at a critical juncture," Atherton said on the 'Sky Sports Cricket Podcast'.

England trail the series 1-2.

Rest Anderson and Wood in Ranchi, bring in Robinson and Atkinson

India have decided to rest pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah from the fourth Test and Cook feels the tourists should do the same with their quicks James Anderson and Mark Wood, who have both played two matches each.

The final match is scheduled to be played in Dharamsala, where the conditions at altitude are known to aid pacers.

"I think James Anderson and Mark Wood will be very effective in the cooler conditions of Dharamsala, so I'm taking them out of the attack as they've bowled a lot of overs in a short period," Cook said.

He called for the inclusion of Ollie Robinson and uncapped Gus Atkinson.

"The two people I'm bringing in are Ollie Robinson and Gus Atkinson -- we haven't seen Gus in a Test match before, but everyone I've spoken to about him thinks he could do well.

"We've seen a lot of Ollie Robinson, who has great skill and great control. He'll give the control that Anderson gives, whereas Atkinson gives that freshness. Both will be raring to go." Atherton also felt that England would opt to freshen up their bowling attack by resting 41-year-old Anderson.

"My instincts would say they'll freshen up the bowling, that they may bring in Robinson for Anderson and may think about Atkinson for Wood," Atherton said.

NDTV

England head coach Brendon McCullum is "not blind" to Jonny Bairstow's struggles in the ongoing Test series against India but the former New Zealand captain, the mastermind behind Bazball, is not ready to give up on the big-hitting right-hander who has delivered the goods for three lions consistently in the recent past. "I'm not blind but he's done so well for us. We know that a top-quality Jonny Bairstow is as good as anyone in any conditions, so we've got to keep on giving him confidence and block out a lot of the external noise," McCullum said after England lost the Rajkot Test by a whopping 434 runs.

Hindustan Times

 

[FearlessRoar]

Jonny Bairstow's 100th Test: England team-mate Joe Root on his friend's attributes ahead of milestone game​

Jonny was always the superstar. He had the difficult tag of following in his father's footsteps but he always lived up to it.

He was someone who always excelled and was top of the class as we were coming through at Yorkshire.

He went from strength to strength and it has been great to play alongside him for so long. I have a number of stories we could retell, probably at the end of his career. You could sit down forever.

He was a very talented sportsman growing up - especially if you ask him! He has got a lot of stick this week for playing off too high a handicap as he has been battering everyone on the golf course!

He is also one of those genuinely kind people that wants to do everything for you. It might not always come across like that on the screen but he has a really good heart and is someone that will always have your back and look after you.

You know how much it means to him to play for England and it will be an emotional week for him.

You will see when we huddle and there is that presentation every bit of emotion he will be feeling. It will be nice to be there to share that with him. You couldn't write a better script for Jonny Bairstow.

He likes to wear his emotions on his sleeve which I think makes him what he is. It brings the best out of him.

A good example of that was at the end of one of the seasons at Yorkshire when he had just broken into the first team.

Me and Gary Ballance were coming through in the second team and we were all called into a meeting with the president at the time which was Sir Geoffrey Boycott.

He sat us all down and said to me and Gary, 'you are playing very well in the second team, keep working hard, keep doing certain things right and it won't be long until you get in the first team.'

He then said, 'Jonny, you have had an exceptional year in the second team and come into the first team and got four or five brilliant fifties - but I have got 151 first-class hundreds so if you want to borrow one you can because you have not looked like converting one of those!'

I think one of Jonny's very next games he scored a double hundred. That is one of the examples of him going out and showing everyone how good he is, making a point when needed.

We have had numerous coaches who have wanted to balance the Test side and set up differently. With Jonny, you can play him as a batter, play him as a keeper-batter.

He can offer so much and has such a wide range of skillsets that it can be misinterpreted at times what his best strengths are.

We have seen in his best innings it has not been the same mould in which he has gone out and scored those big runs. His 150 at Cape Town against South Africa was a very different look to the blistering hundred he got at Trent Bridge against New Zealand in 2022.

Similarly, the hundred he got on our last tour of Australia had a very different look to the hundred he scored in Sri Lanka at No 3.

He has had to deal with a lot of change and being moved around, whether throughout the order, keeping or playing just as a batter.

That is part and parcel of international cricket. You have to fit into the team and to go on and play 100 Test matches proves that he has been able to do that for long periods of time and offered a huge amount to English cricket.

It also shows the resilience of the player to be able to come back and almost have to remodel yourself into a different role within the team [from wicketkeeper-batter at No 7 to specialist batter in top six] and still have such an impact.

He has played some vital innings since that major leg break he had a couple of years ago. It is amazing for him to come back from that as he has done.

You also have to factor in that for a long time he has been a major part of all three teams - Test, ODI and T20 - and the wear and mental fatigue that can have on players.

Also to be skilful enough to go between the formats very quickly and adapt to that, not that let affect your form or mental state going into each different one.

To continually be consistent is a very hard thing to do and throughout his career, he has always been at the top of at least one or two of those formats. That is an incredible feat.

Jonny Bairstow's 100th Test: England team-mate Joe Root on his friend's attributes ahead of milestone game

Jonny Bairstow set to make 100th Test appearance for England, against India in Dharamsala from Thursday; team-mate Joe Root tells Sky Sports Cricket Podcast about Bairstows resilience and kindness - and shares how a talking to from Sir Geoffrey Boycott inspired an immediate response

www.skysports.com

 

[FearlessRoar]

Jonny Bairstow is about to play his 100th Test, while Mohammad Yousuf only played 90 Tests for Pakistan.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Jonny Bairstow, while speaking to local English media, expressed his emotions on playing his 100th Test:

"When I play, there are times I think about Dad. But I think more about how hard Mum worked to make sure we were OK after everything that happened. To keep us together as a family. That has been my driving force."

"My mum is the embodiment of strength. There was a determination there. She worked three jobs and had two kids that were under 10 at a difficult time. She was taking me to Leeds United (where he played youth football), to Headingley, all sorts of other places."

"It's paying all that back, making sure they are OK, creating a life for my own family as well."

"She had cancer twice. She's a bloody strong woman, to get through that twice, before you even consider anything else she's been through, and it shows the strength and determination of the woman."

"I didn't grow up watching one-day cricket, I grew up watching Test cricket. It was everything to me.I loved [Michael] Vaughan, [Marcus] Trescothick, KP [Kevin Pietersen]."

"I remember going to Headingley, watching England do an indoor net session. They were in the Vodafone blue tracksuits, and I was in awe of it. It inspired me and I was desperate to be a part of it."

"It's going to be an emotional week. I want to enjoy the occasion, and try to put on a show with the lads for the amazing fans that follow us around the world."

"I think making it back from that [the injury] is number one. For the surgeon to say how bad it was after I've made it back, that hit me a lot harder than I expected it to."

"They told me at the time that it was bad, but they didn't tell me that they knew it should have been career-ending."

"To get back from that, to get through six Test matches keeping wicket and batting as I did [last summer], just a few months after that injury. I know people will talk about how I performed, they can do that. But I was so proud to do that. I didn't know if I was going to make it back."

 

[BouncerGuy]

Jonny Bairstow joins the 100-Test club in Dharamsala during the fifth Test against India. He is the 77th player overall to make 100 Test appearances and the 17th player from England to reach this landmark.

 

[Mamoon]

Johnny B is a titan in white ball cricket but him getting to 100 Tests show the talent crisis in England these days as far as Test batsmen are concerned.

A nothing player in this format. A 30-35 Test player at max.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Jonny bairstow made 42(29) against LSG while playing for PBKS. Anoher knock by him that went in vain.

 

[FearlessRoar]

In a Q&A session of a digital sports media, Jonny Bairstow said that his current top three T20 batters are: Suryakumar Yadav, Jos Buttler and Heinrich Klaasen.

Do you agree with him?

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Jonny Bairstow leading the charge for PBKS against KKR in a historic chase of 262 runs in a match today in IPL 2024. Nearing his century, can Bairstow get them over the line?

 

[Rana]

Salt
Butler
Jacks
Jonny
Brook
Livingstone
Moeen


Oh boy the saxons looking serious!

 

[The Bald Eagle]

 

[Cricket Warrior]

For his phenomenal show with the bat in a record chase, Jonny Bairstow bags the Player of the Match Award