Jonny Bairstow has a terrific international record: the 33-year-old Yorkshireman has scored over 10,000 runs for England across formats- he’s the 9th leading all-time run-scorer for his country. He’s notched up 23 international centuries.
Jonny Bairstow was the one who answered the call to fill the vacant opening slot when England decided to part ways with Alex Hales on the eve of the tournament following Hales’ second recreational drug test failed, and Bairstow went on to help England lift their maiden ODI World Cup trophy.
He was the driving force in Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullums’ early success of Bazball last year in the home summer.
Despite being one of the all-time best England have had, Jonny Bairstow has throughout his career faced criticism and doubts from fans and ex-cricketers. About his ability against the short balls, his adaptiveness to different conditions, his temperament against certain oppositions.
Most recently, after his gaffe in the first couple of Ashes 2023 Tests, some demanded Jonny Bairstow be dropped for a better wicket-keeper in Ben Foakes, notwithstanding his incredible batting success last summer before he suffered a freak leg-injury. He opted out of the IPL, certainly leaving out a huge amount of money, to focus on his red-ball game and to be fit to keep the gloves for the Ashes.
Darren Gough, the former England pacer and now the MD of cricket at Yorkshire, reckoned that Bairstow enjoys the criticism and doubts and the scathing remarks that are thrown at him, and wants to thrive and shut down all the naysayers. Gough feels Jonny’s “bulldog spirit” comes from his late father David Bairstow, the former England batsman.
“Jonny’s a competitor, Jonny’s a fighter. He loves being ripped to bits really because he’s always wanting to prove people wrong. He’s got a great character; it’s just typical Jonny,” Darren Gough said as quoted by The Yorkshire Post.
“His dad was the same. There’s no difference between his dad, who I played with, and Jonny as far as being a competitor is concerned and that bulldog spirit out on the pitch. It’s just their way.”
Gough opined that Bairstow may lament the criticism in public, but enjoys it in private.
“Personally, I think he enjoys it (the criticism). He moans about it, but he enjoys it really.”
Jonny Bairstow silenced his critics in the last three Ashes Tests
He finished with one of the best-ever Ashes series an England wicket-keeper had had, scoring 322 runs at an average of 40, to go with 23 catches, including a stunning take on the last day of the 5th Oval Test of Marsh.
“I think he got better as the series went on, so huge credit to him. He takes stick for his keeping because (Ben) Foakes is such a brilliant keeper. But we’ve always had that; there’s always going to be controversy around if someone of that quality is not being picked.
“Jonny gets in the team as a batter or a batter/keeper. Jonny plays, no matter what. But people shouldn’t criticise him for his keeping. It’s a team decision – they want to pack their side with batting which enables them to play the way that they play – and he’s still an unbelievable keeper in his own right.
“He had a couple of moments where it didn’t go so well for him (in the Ashes), but he also took some absolute belters,” the former seamer concluded.
