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The Jonny Bairstow thread

Robert said:
Bairstow is a tragedy at test level. He should have been England’s #5 for the last seven years and not kept wicket. He has always had the ability to average a hard-hitting 45 in tests. I saw that in the match where he got 50 and 95 against Steyn and Philander.
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He did well in tests in India as well, batted at 6/7 but was the best batsman from Eng in that tour
 
English player, so will end up as an "if only".

If he has the voice, he might find more success in the Sky commentary box like others before him.
 
Very fine ODI player though and key to the WC win.
 
Not the same kind of IPL this year in the UAE is it
 
Talented batter but his method of batting in Tests screams inadequate. He pushes his at everything instead of playing with soft hands.
Will remain in LOI team for a few years though and is a real good player in shorter formats.
Foakes is a better keeper and a decent batter. Buttler will be replaced in Tests in a year probably.
 
50 in IPL today for Hyderabad vs Punjab,
 
Bairstow returned to the Test team for the first time in over a year in this series in Sri Lanka, however he has now been rested again from the squad for the first 2 Tests vs India.

He did navigate that 4th innings minefield in Galle pretty well I thought, but not enough to convince the selectors I suppose. Will be interesting if he puts up a big score in this 2nd Test vs Sri Lanka
 
Bairstow was a decent player at best with a pretty poor technic. The more he played white ball cricket the more he was exposed when in red ball cricket as his technic got worse.

Should never have been recalled to test side. If some is getting bowled and lbw all time at this level then thats a sign a player isnt good enough any more at test level.
 
His Test technique has completely disintegrated after playing so much white ball cricket.

No Test #3 should be getting bowled and LBW as often as him. Leaves a big gap between bat and pad making him vulnerable to incoming deliveries. Seems unable to knuckle down and maximise his stay at the crease.

That should be his final Test match in an England shirt.
 
His test career should be done. He has had enough chances and doesn't seem to have learned how to bat at test level. Fabulous LO player though.
 
Who do England have up in the cupboard to replace him?
 
In his most recent 9 Test innings against India, Jonny Bairstow has been dismissed for 6 ducks, has a top score of 28 and averages 5.77.
 
King_Kohli said:
In his most recent 9 Test innings against India, Jonny Bairstow has been dismissed for 6 ducks, has a top score of 28 and averages 5.77.
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Should retire from test and set up a duck farm with asad shafiq.
 
103* (140) at the Sydney Cricket Ground! Well done Jonny Bairstow. Finally something for us to get excited about and be proud of.
 
A puncher. Should not be batting in the 3-4-5. Better suited at no. 7 or as an opener (even in tests)

Showed that the demons haven't been in the pitches but in their minds.

England have played way too defensively throughout the Ashes (again)
 
people getting over excited after a soft 100 in a dead rubber game, pretty much failed again and again over last 3 years.

most mediocre failures will eventually get 1 decent score in 40 inns if keep persisting with them.
 
Jonny Bairstow, speaking on BT Sport...

"Extremely proud. It's been tough, you've got to dig deep, I'm sure you guys and everyone else will have mentioned the scheduling and how much red-ball cricket people are playing leading into massive series like this - and it's not just this series.

"You've got to delve very, very deep into stuff that you've worked on over a number of years. Your technique changes over those years and you've got to pick parts of it and sometimes go back to bits you looked at a couple of years ago - and that's exactly what I did this morning with James Foster."

"I tried not to be too rigid. You can look at technique a lot and some things work but other times you've got to be natural about the way that you're moving otherwise you become a bit clunky and too rigid. That's where I felt I'd got to, I was trying to be something that, potentially, I'm not. One of my strengths is putting the pressure back on bowlers and running between the wickets. That also comes with spending time out in the middle consistently.

"The thumb is starting to get a bit more now that we've come off the field. I was hurting but you're playing in a New Year's Test match in Sydney, on the pink day, it's going to take a heck of a lot to get you off the field.

"Unbelievable [feeling to reach a century]. absolutely unbelievable. I was ecstatic, extremely proud and there is a lot of hard work gone into that one."
 
Think Jonny’s Test career was very close to the final curtain until this knock. He may have bought himself a very late reprieve.
 
Congratulations to Bairstow.

Let's see if he can build on this to have a lock-in in the test team.
 
Varun said:
Congratulations to Bairstow.

Let's see if he can build on this to have a lock-in in the test team.
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The next Test series in away in the West Indies which gives him a good chance.
 
Amjid Javed said:
people getting over excited after a soft 100 in a dead rubber game, pretty much failed again and again over last 3 years.

most mediocre failures will eventually get 1 decent score in 40 inns if keep persisting with them.
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That’s pretty negative.

It wasn’t soft, he took a nasty rap to the thumb and battled through, and has England pride to play for, against a very good attack on a sporty wicket.

He has played the role he originally came into the test side to do back in 2012 - hard hitting middle order counterattacker.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A look to the heavens to remember his dad ❤️<br><br>Jonny Bairstow always wears his heart on his sleeve, but this ton was extra special.<br><br>The Test started on the anniversary of David Bairstow's passing. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ashes?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ashes</a> <a href="https://t.co/5B1G2oDzlI">pic.twitter.com/5B1G2oDzlI</a></p>— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/btsportcricket/status/1479402724735213568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Wonder if Jonny can kick on in the morning and get a few more runs!

He might run out of partners though.

Hopefully England can reach 300.
 
Well played Johnny!

A bit too late in the series but nevertheless, a good knock. He has played 80 test matches so a bit more consistency and can get to 100 test matches. That would mean a fairly decent test career.
 
James said:
Wonder if Jonny can kick on in the morning and get a few more runs!

He might run out of partners though.

Hopefully England can reach 300.
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He’ll have to throw the bat. Leach, Broad and Anderson won’t last long n this deck against these bowlers. They could add thirty, maybe more if Broad connects with a few. 300 all out.
 
Ab Fan said:
Well played Johnny!

A bit too late in the series but nevertheless, a good knock. He has played 80 test matches so a bit more consistency and can get to 100 test matches. That would mean a fairly decent test career.
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The amount of test cricket england play these days is crazy that a player like bairstow whos been in and out of the team for years can have so many matches to his name and potentially play a 100 tests and more
 
Zaz said:
The amount of test cricket england play these days is crazy that a player like bairstow whos been in and out of the team for years can have so many matches to his name and potentially play a 100 tests and more
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Jonny has only scored 7 hundreds across those 80 Tests, with a conversion rate of ~25% from his 50+ scores — he should have done better…
 
Mark Wood and <b>Jonny Bairstow</b>, both of whom performed well on England’s recent disastrous Ashes tour, secured big deals on the first day of the IPL mega-auction at a hotel in Bengaluru. The fast bowler Wood was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for 750 lakh rupees (about £735,000) and Bairstow, the explosive top-order batter, went to Punjab Kings for 675 lakh (£655,000).

Neither player is expected to be allowed to stay for the full IPL season, which with its expansion from eight to ten teams will run from April 2 to June 3. Assuming Wood and Bairstow remain involved in England’s Test plans — both have been chosen for the West Indies tour this month — they will be required to return home.

— The Times
 
Century for Bairstow in the 4-day warmup game in Antigua
 
I watched it. Bairstow played superbly.

He seems to be making a bit of a mini comeback, ironically after his Test career was basically written off as done. (also by me.)

Got into a mid-series Ashes lineup through the back door and scored a rock solid ton. Now a lovely innings here as well.

England’s current first choice no.6.
Hopefully he makes it count when the real business of the Test matches start.
 
As above.

He is indeed playing a great hand again.

Bairstow on 95 not out in the first innings of the first Test and he’s barely put a foot wrong so far.
 
Bairstow a beast, ideal middle/lower order batsmen who has the ability to bail his side out.
 
Ends Day 1 on 109*, rescued England brilliantly after coming in at 48/4.
 
Good knock, he still has technical deficiencies which would be more visible against good attacks but this was a quality counter attack knock after the initial collapses by JB.
 
Thanks to Jonny, and also to the support from the Stokes-Foakes-Woakes lower order rhyming triangle, that was an above average day for England in the end.

320 needs to be the minimum total from here; but something like 350-360 would be excellent and would put the West Indies under a lot of pressure.
 
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late career revival but he will be exposed again against decent sides as soon as their is swing/seam or spin.
 
Amjid Javed said:
late career revival but he will be exposed again against decent sides as soon as their is swing/seam or spin.
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He scored a century against Australia, in Australia, against quality bowlers; and in amidst pretty much the most difficult circumstances possible, given what was going on internally within the England setup at the time and how poorly the team was performing. Surely that’s got to be good enough for him to have earned a second chance.
 
First 50 of IPL2022 for him - out for 56(40)
 
He made quite a few technical changes back in 2018 which helped him improve his white ball game. But his test technique fell apart and hes extremely vulnerable to the ball that comes back into his stumps.

He's nearly 33. So I doubt there's be a real resurgence in his test career.
 
59* for JB - Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Punjab Kings
 
Wonder how Jonny will perform in the Test whites this English summer.

Is his recent winter resurgence going to be another flash in the pan from him, or has he actually improved to the required level in longer form cricket at last?
 
A great match winning knock from Jonny!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Incredible.<br><br>Scorecard & Videos: <a href="https://t.co/ffFnHnaIPX">https://t.co/ffFnHnaIPX</a> <br><br>🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ENGvNZ?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ENGvNZ</a> 🇳🇿 | <a href="https://twitter.com/IGcom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IGcom</a> <a href="https://t.co/c5yWB9CXw4">pic.twitter.com/c5yWB9CXw4</a></p>— England Cricket (@englandcricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/1536735826075258880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<b>‘Phenomenal, incredible’: Bairstow’s 136 lauded by England captain Stokes</b>

• Bairstow’s 92-ball knock helped seal series against New Zealand

• ‘I’m struggling to find words for what we witnessed out there’

Jonny Bairstow brought New Zealand to their knees and a capacity crowd to their feet with an innings of beautiful brutality to power England to a five‑wicket victory in the second Test at Trent Bridge.

Bairstow produced a 92‑ball 136 that England captain Ben Stokes described as “one of the best things I’ve ever seen”.

Bairstow made a daunting run chase appear trivial. He emerged from the dressing room with England 56 for three in their pursuit of a victory target of 299, and with a shade more than 57 overs remaining.

When he departed they needed 27 with very nearly 27 overs in hand and the rest was a formality, as they went on to take an unassailable 2-0 series lead.

“I’m incredibly proud of the way I went about that innings,” he said. “Because it wasn’t just a case of ‘let’s go gung-ho’. It was pick your times, pick your moments, then try to change the game.”

Tea was taken with England 139 for four and the game still in the balance, but when play resumed Bairstow scored 45 off the next 20 deliveries he faced, responding to a barrage of short balls by repeatedly dumping them into the crowd.

“Ben said: ‘Don’t even think about hitting it down, just plant it in the stands,’” Bairstow said. “I was just trying to do what the captain said.”

In all England scored 59 runs from the first four overs of a dizzying final session dominated by Bairstow and Stokes, who was troubled at times by a longstanding knee injury – “nothing to worry about,” he said later – and hit a comparatively pedestrian 70-ball 75.

“There’s been some tough times over the last couple of years, we’ve all been there and we know the circumstances that they’ve been under,” Bairstow said.

“To entertain a full house at Trent Bridge on day five, to play this cricket, is a credit to the guys in the dressing room. There was never a backward step taken. It’s an exciting start to an exciting journey that we’re all on together.”

Stokes has played a key part in many of England’s most memorable moments of recent years, most notably the 2019 World Cup final and the Ashes Test win in Leeds the following month, but he insisted this victory set a new high-water mark in his career.

“I’m struggling to find words for what we witnessed out there. It was just phenomenal,” he said.

“This blows away Headingley, it blows away Lord’s and the World Cup final. Just emotionally and the enjoyment of every minute I had on that field, it was incredible.

“I can’t quite wrap my head around how we’ve chased 299 with 22 overs left on day five of the Test match when we had to bowl 15 overs this morning. That’s never going to happen again. But if it does, it is probably us who are going to do it.”

At Lord’s last year New Zealand set England a target of 273 to win, at 3.5 runs an over, which they made no attempt to achieve.

The contrast with this performance, under the new and remorselessly positive management of Stokes and Brendon McCullum, could not be more stark.

“The message at tea was just run into the fear of where the game was, rather than stand still or back away from it,” Stokes said.

“It was pretty much, ‘We’re either winning this game or losing it.’ But we’re never going to be happy with where we are.

“Now we’re going to Headingley and we’re going to be even more positive. With this group of players the sky’s the limit – but we can probably go further than that.”

As the dust started to settle it was not just Stokes who was struggling to comprehend what he had just witnessed.

New Zealand considered themselves favourites as they arrived at Trent Bridge in the morning, and even at tea believed they had a good chance of snatching victory.

“We tried a few different things after tea but unfortunately whatever we tried they were able to negate,” said Tom Latham, who stood in as captain in the absence of the self‑isolating Kane Williamson.

“We were confident we could get a couple of wickets and then we were into their bowlers, but sometimes you’ve got to take your hat off to the way someone’s played.

“Some other days he might hit one straight to one of the guys, but today was Jonny’s day.”

https://amp.theguardian.com/sport/2...utiful-brutality-lauded-by-captain-ben-stokes
 
Another incredible century by Jonny Bairstow!

His 10th in Test cricket and his 4th in the last six Tests. On a superb run of form.

A proper Lazarus revival for him.
 
James said:
Another incredible century by Jonny Bairstow!

His 10th in Test cricket and his 4th in the last six Tests. On a superb run of form.

A proper Lazarus revival for him.
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He is finally living up to his potential. A player like Baristow should easily average over 40 in tests as a keeper. Anything less than that is a waste of talent.
 
hk031992 said:
He is finally living up to his potential. A player like Baristow should easily average over 40 in tests as a keeper. Anything less than that is a waste of talent.
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Averages 36 as a keeper and a bit less without. But he has corrected his bowledstow problem.

I would never have given him the gloves. He should have been #5 for years, with Foster then Foakes behind the sticks.
 
Robert said:
Averages 36 as a keeper and a bit less without. But he has corrected his bowledstow problem.

I would never have given him the gloves. He should have been #5 for years, with Foster then Foakes behind the sticks.
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Do you see parallels between him and Alec Stewart? Stewart was one of the best players of fast bowling in the 90's and averaged around 38. Should have averaged over 45 without gloves IMO
 
Best keeper ever from England. Even better than prior who is vastly overrated vs pace.
India will have problems but bumrah has bairstows number. Could current bairstow thwart bumrah? I think so.
 
Jonny Bairstow was visibly emotional after a "special" Test hundred at his home ground of Headingley and was singing the praises of an England side that is allowing him to play like "young Jonny" again.

Scoring back-to-back hundreds for the first time in his Test cricket career, Bairstow helped England work back from 55-6 to 264-6, ending the day on 130no in an unbroken 209 partnership with Jamie Overton.

It was the second astonishing display in two weeks from Bairstow after his heroics at Trent Bridge in the second Test and he believes it was another special moment rooted in the positive culture that this England Test side is trying to build, allowing him to play as freely as he did when he was younger.

"Yeah it feels amazing, you know how much this place means to me," said Bairstow to Sky Sports.

"Being a Yorkshire lad scoring a Test hundred at home is pretty special and all my family and mates are here as well.

"Every time that you score a Test hundred it is emotional.

"You know what I am like, it means so much to play for England in Test cricket and that is the kind of guy I am.

"I wear my heart on my sleeve, it is not always everybody's cup of tea but that is part and parcel of the game we play.

"I absolutely love representing this team and I am really excited about the journey we are starting to embark on as a group.

"You want to be turning up in each game and you want to be contributing a lot.

"The way I am striking the ball I couldn't be more pleased with but I think it is also the more relaxed me at the crease, I am not necessarily as tense or whatever it is.

"I have gone back to young Jonny when you are just watching and seeing the ball."

Despite being in fine form, Bairstow admitted he has had to go back to basics and "declutter" his mind to regain his rhythm after a difficult run of Test defeats for England.

He said: "There is sometimes a lot of rubbish that is spoken about a lot of different things and sometimes it gets into your mind and clutters it and then sometimes you have to just flick it.

"You have to listen to the people that matter to you more than the rest of the guys and that is the most important bit about it is me being me.

"The way Brendon has been, he just said you have to impose yourself on the game, that is literally all he said.

"It is an exciting way and it is the way I have always played my cricket and sometimes to the detriment of myself.

"It is a simple game that you sometimes overcomplicate so we are just trying to strip that down and allow people to go and play and express themselves in a way that will bring the best out of them as individuals and their personalities.

"And you talk about growing the game, that is how you grow the game by allowing people to connect with personalities and that is what we have been doing over the last few games.

"It is a buy in from everyone, from the head coach, right down to the guys making their debuts, right down to the guys coming into the squad."

Indeed, that player on debut was Overton (89no) with whom Bairstow formed an incredible partnership and England's highest-ever seventh-wicket stand.

Bairstow praised Overton's ability to be as "fearless" with the bat as he was with the ball on day one.

"We were 55-6 there and for Jamie to come in and play the way that he did on his debut under pressure, to have the confidence to come out and play the way that he did against a very, very good New Zealand attack is quite exceptional," added Bairstow.

"It was a new experience out there with him so probably the less said the better.

"But I thought the way in which he played and the way he went around counter-attacking - he is fearless, he is absolutely fearless, he is standing there and absolutely whacking it."

Butcher: England have the balance of courage and skill
Sky Sports' Mark Butcher believes that a "transference of attitude" from the white ball team to the Test team has been the key to allowing England to play in such a courageous manner, the skill of Bairstow then helping to take the team to the next level.


"It is sensational and indescribable in ways," said Butcher.

"England had a battle on their hands this morning getting rid of Daryll Mitchell, Blundell, we had DRS go out and we thought we had witnessed yesterday a return to normality.

"That was absolutely barking at times out there and all the better for it.

"What this England team are doing at the moment is staggering really.

"We know there are a lot of talented boys, we see it in the white-ball game and there has been this transference of attitude from that into the red ball stuff.

"It takes a lot of courage to play in that manner but it also takes a lot of skill.

"Anyone can fling the bat around but you might end up with 10 or 20 against bowling of that quality.

"But to go out there and assault them as Jonny Bairstow has done for the second time in consecutive innings along with a guy on his debut is just astonishing."

SKY
 
Moeey said:
Best keeper ever from England. Even better than prior who is vastly overrated vs pace.
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Ever is a long time. I’d say he was a fairly weak keeper. Alan Knott was the best England keeper I saw, then Bob Taylor a whisker behind, then Jack Russell, then Alec Stewart. Those are just the guys I have seen. When I was a kid, the elders would talk of Godfrey Evans in hushed tones, and LEG Ames before him - he hit a hundred FC hundreds too.
 
The key to Bairstow's success? He was told to bat like it's an ODI. Bairstow struggles a lot when defending, he's at his best when he breaks the shackles
 
hk031992 said:
Do you see parallels between him and Alec Stewart? Stewart was one of the best players of fast bowling in the 90's and averaged around 38. Should have averaged over 45 without gloves IMO
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PP knows my feelings about Stewart. England lost a potentially great opening batsman by making him keep wicket. He was good with the gloves too, though.

Neither Stewart nor Bairstow should ever have been England test keeper IMO, as there were better keeping options available. Both were a sacrifice of strength to plug perceived weakness.
 
Moeey said:
Best keeper ever from England. Even better than prior who is vastly overrated vs pace.
India will have problems but bumrah has bairstows number. Could current bairstow thwart bumrah? I think so.
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Relax, he is okay with gloves. Stewart is in a different league and is rated very highly.

Alan Knott and Stewart are the best keeper batsman to come from England.
 
He has had a successful career in all formats. But won't be termed as great in any format. He has some technical deficiencies in white ball cricket too although on flat tracks he is an out and out match winner. Buttler for example is England's greatest white ball batsman but a failure in test cricket. Bairstow is a successful all format batsman.
 
Bairstow 158*.

3rd 150+ score for him in Tests.

Looking to beat his Test-best of 167.

For now — he marches on.
 
He should open in Tests as well. There is no better option than him right now and he can really set the tone with his aggressive batting.

Bring Buttler back in the middle-order and tell him to bat in ODI mode just like Bairstow is doing right now.

England have yet another opening pair that is not Test standard. It is time for some out of the box thinking.
 
England's best keeper batsman of all time is definitely Les Ames.
In an era filled with specialist keepers he averaged 40 with the bat and hit 100 hundreds in FC.
 
Ab Fan said:
He has had a successful career in all formats. But won't be termed as great in any format. He has some technical deficiencies in white ball cricket too although on flat tracks he is an out and out match winner. Buttler for example is England's greatest white ball batsman but a failure in test cricket. Bairstow is a successful all format batsman.
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I think he will definitely retire as a ODI great, according to me, as of now he is the best ODI player in the world.

Averaging 48 at 105 with 11 hundreds, these numbers suggest that he is great.
 
Foakes back injury —

Bairstow takes the wicketkeeping gloves!
 
Robert said:
Ever is a long time. I’d say he was a fairly weak keeper. Alan Knott was the best England keeper I saw, then Bob Taylor a whisker behind, then Jack Russell, then Alec Stewart. Those are just the guys I have seen. When I was a kid, the elders would talk of Godfrey Evans in hushed tones, and LEG Ames before him - he hit a hundred FC hundreds too.
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agree with alec stewart. he was a class player. alan knott i heard was really good according to my dad. yes their defensive game was better than bairstow but king bairstow's attacking game is aeons ahead of his predecessors. he can single headedly take the game away from opposition. unreal power and precision hitting. effortless 6 hitting. I would only put maybe stewart ahead of him overall from that list.
 
James said:
Foakes back injury —

Bairstow takes the wicketkeeping gloves!
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thats not good for bairstow. he will be fatigued. wicketkeeping is a gruelling job. bairstow is a much better batsman when he doesnt have that extra responsibility.
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
I think he will definitely retire as a ODI great, according to me, as of now he is the best ODI player in the world.

Averaging 48 at 105 with 11 hundreds, these numbers suggest that he is great.
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His stats are better than Rohit's, only issue is sample size.
 
The Indian pace attack had him all figured out. NZ in comparison have been very ordinary. Levels
 
Bairstow in the latter three innings of this series was literally ridiculous, and was apparently batting somewhere in another galaxy.

136, 162, 71*, all under severe pressure, all at well over a run a ball, in Test cricket.

He could have scored more runs at a quicker rate than anyone on either team with a blindfold on.
 
Jonny Bairstow is a freak. He has already redefined what one day cricket means. And now he is redefining what test cricket means too.

Conventional wisdom says that you cannot play test cricket like t20 cricket. Conventional wisdom also says that chasing any total in the 4th innings is hard, particularly a big total. Ask any pundit and they will give you every excuse in the book, including “the best bowlers don’t have limited overs” and “there are no fielding restrictions” etc etc.

Jonny Bairstow has just thrown conventional wisdom squarely in the dustbin. He has shown that if you are good enough, you don’t need to play test cricket in the conventional, timid Timmy way. He has shown that you can destroy the opposition’s spirit and make them fear you.

At 50-5 to come in and play like he did - I have watched test cricket my entire life and I have just never seen anything like this. What impresses me most is that most of Jonny’s shots are not slogs - they are proper shots played to the right balls. In the 4th innings of this match, Southee bowled a slower ball and you could see Jonny lining up for the big shot. Yet when he saw the change of pace, Jonny was clever enough to check his shot - this is why he is so successful - this is controlled hitting and not slogging.

Take a bow Jonny!
 
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Usman said:
Jonny Bairstow is a freak. He has already redefined what one day cricket means. And now he is redefining what test cricket means too.

Conventional wisdom says that you cannot play test cricket like t20 cricket. Conventional wisdom also says that chasing any total in the 4th innings is hard, particularly a big total. Ask any pundit and they will give you every excuse in the book, including “the best bowlers don’t have limited overs” and “there are no fielding restrictions” etc etc.

Jonny Bairstow has just thrown conventional wisdom squarely in the dustbin. He has shown that if you are good enough, you don’t need to play test cricket in the conventional, timid Timmy way. He has shown that you can destroy the opposition’s spirit and make them fear you.

At 50-5 to come in and play like he did - I have watched test cricket my entire life and I have just never seen anything like this. What impresses me most is that most of Jonny’s shots are not slogs - they are proper shots played to the right balls. In the 4th innings of this match, Southee bowled a slower ball and you could see Jonny lining up for the big shot. Yet when he saw the change of pace, Jonny was clever enough to check his shot - this is why he is so successful - this is controlled hitting and not slogging.

Take a bow Jonny!
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Absolutely. Phenomenal power hitting. Might impressed but it was vs trundlers. Indian attack is a whole different ball game. Bumrah shami siraj prasidh all will test him hard.

Playing gung ho style t20 cricket in bowling friendly conditions can actually work. A quick fire 50 can be the difference. I really believed on flat pitches you need better temperament but johnny had other ideas. He showed you can play attacking power hitting style cricket even in flat pitches under test conditions where fielders can be spread out wherever the captain decides to field them. Once the ball wears out after 20 odd overs it's so much easier to smash around especially vs slower bowlers.
 
Savak said:
The Indian pace attack had him all figured out. NZ in comparison have been very ordinary. Levels
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I think shaeen can destroy him in pakistan easy. But on flat pitches that we dished out he will be a problem
 
This is Johnny bairstow 2.0 under Brendon McCullum and Ben stokes.
I hope he doesn't change his approach and always try to play aggressive.
He still has so much to offer for England he is only 31 i think.
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
I think he will definitely retire as a ODI great, according to me, as of now he is the best ODI player in the world.

Averaging 48 at 105 with 11 hundreds, these numbers suggest that he is great.
Click to expand...

Small sample size. Buttler is an ODI great, Bairstow has got some distance to cover there. When sample size is small, those averages will change quickly if a couple of bad series happens.

Rohit and Warner are ahead imo.
 
Ab Fan said:
Small sample size. Buttler is an ODI great, Bairstow has got some distance to cover there. When sample size is small, those averages will change quickly if a couple of bad series happens.

Rohit and Warner are ahead imo.
Click to expand...

In ODI's he is way ahead. He wins game in the first 10 overs. Where as Rohit is blocking the first 10 overs to set himself for a hundred.
 
Ab Fan said:
Small sample size. Buttler is an ODI great, Bairstow has got some distance to cover there. When sample size is small, those averages will change quickly if a couple of bad series happens.

Rohit and Warner are ahead imo.
Click to expand...

Sample size is not small at all.

2851 runs as an opener with average of 50 at 109 strike rate comprising 11 centuries is not a small feat. Not every opener in international cricket is striking at 100+ sr and that too with an average of 50.
 
Bairstow is ATG level ODI player as with many current day LOI players the reason why they are world champions.

When it comes to tests its just one good series and I have a feeling teams will find a way to stop him again specially away from home.
 
introvert said:
Sample size is not small at all.

2851 runs as an opener with average of 50 at 109 strike rate comprising 11 centuries is not a small feat. Not every opener in international cricket is striking at 100+ sr and that too with an average of 50.
Click to expand...

Let him get to 5000 runs and if he has that average and strike rate somewhat similar then he is surely up there.
 
Usman said:
Jonny Bairstow is a freak. He has already redefined what one day cricket means. And now he is redefining what test cricket means too.

Conventional wisdom says that you cannot play test cricket like t20 cricket. Conventional wisdom also says that chasing any total in the 4th innings is hard, particularly a big total. Ask any pundit and they will give you every excuse in the book, including “the best bowlers don’t have limited overs” and “there are no fielding restrictions” etc etc.

Jonny Bairstow has just thrown conventional wisdom squarely in the dustbin. He has shown that if you are good enough, you don’t need to play test cricket in the conventional, timid Timmy way. He has shown that you can destroy the opposition’s spirit and make them fear you.
Click to expand...

It won't always work. Botham was able to hammer moderate attacks, but found it harder against WI and Pakistan.

Remember that this Kiwi attack was using the strangely uncooperative current Duke balls, with just one effective bowler due to injuries, loss of form and bad selections.

Good for Bairstow, but let's not get carried away.
 
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