England have retained Jonny Bairstow for the 4th Ashes 2023 Test, which will be played at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester next week. The hosts, who are trailing 2-1 in the series having made a comeback win in Headingley, named their 14-man squad for the 4th Test about a full week before the match.
England have shown faith in Jonny Bairstow as a wicket-keeper and a batsman amid the strong voices among fans and experts including several ex-cricketers asking to include Ben Foakes as the wicket-keeper.
Jonny Bairstow started his Ashes 2023 series, in which he made a comeback from a long-term leg injury suffered last year, with a cracking run-a-ball 78. After that, however, things have gone downhill for Bairstow in the series.
He has dropped a total of 7 catches and missed one stumping – all of whom could have potentially turned the first two Tests England’s way as Australians made use of those chances and won by close margins. His bat has gone silent too – in his last 5 innings since his 78, the Yorkshireman has scored just 63 more runs and is currently averaging 23.50 from six innings. These are numbers way below than those in the bumper summer he had last year – 681 runs at 75.66.
Here’s why England must drop Jonny Bairstow:
Renowned Australian broadcaster Glenn Mitchell put forward a tweet after England retained Jonny Bairstow. In his tweet, Glenn Mitchell pointed out the ineffectiveness of Bairstow behind and in front of the stumps in this series so far, and said he’s puzzled by the exclusion of Ben Foakes, who is hailed as one of the best keeper in the world.
“ENG has retained Jonny Bairstow for the 4th Test
They are surely flirting with danger
11 catches & 1 stumping in six innings
7 dropped catches & 1 missed stumping
141 runs at 23.5
Hard to understand why Ben Foakes is not the preferred keeper”
ENG has retained Jonny Bairstow for the 4th Test
They are surely flirting with danger
11 catches & 1 stumping in six innings
7 dropped catches & 1 missed stumping
141 runs at 23.5
Hard to understand why Ben Foakes is not the preferred keeper
— Glenn Mitchell (@MitchellGlenn) July 11, 2023
Meanwhile, veteran pacer James Anderson threw his weight behind Jonny Bairstow in his column for The Telegraph.
“Jonny Bairstow is someone who wants to contribute to the team all the time,” Anderson wrote in his column in The Telegraph. “There just needs to be a bit of patience from everyone.
“He is working as hard as he can to help the team and if he keeps doing that he will be fine. You are allowed to have a bad game as a player. If he just gets a couple out of the middle of the bat or takes a blinding one-handed catch, it will send his confidence through the roof. He has the support of the lads.
“We will help him as much as we can to keep his spirits up because we know what a devastating player he can be.”
