Jonny Bairstow, The One Who Got Bazball Going

Throughout Jonny Bairstow’s career, controversy and critics were all at him. When he first came into the Test side, he had to face the wrath of Kevin Pieterson fans, with their hero in the middle of a controversy. Jonny Bairstow eventually replaced Kevin Pieterson in the Test side.

With an average of 36, Jonny Bairstow still has questions over his position in the side. Like Ben Stokes, though, Bairstow goes on to show that his impact is more than what the numbers show. His last lean period came back in between 2019 and 2021. The lean period saw him lose his spot in the Test side as well. His struggles coincided with one of England’s worst phases in Test Cricket as they won only one Test in a 17 Test period.

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England though fought back the next summer, and a lot of credit there could go down to Jonny Bairstow. Before Ben Stokes took over as captain, Bairstow came up with some fight. Making his Test comeback at Sydney with the Ashes gone, Bairstow made a counter-attacking century to re-announce himself. He followed his Sydney ton with another in the Caribbean, in what turned out to be Root’s last as captain.

While England still went on to lose both tours, Bairstow sparked a change in mindset. Under Ben Stokes it was he who got the summer moving. Starting with a series against New Zealand, Bairstow led the way to show that no target is too much. He took on the New Zealand bowlers admirably as England chased down significant totals in all three Tests. Bairstow finished with two centuries in that series.

He followed it with two more in a Test against India. Facing a quality bowling attack, Bairstow stood out. In the first innings, he held the innings after a collapse and also had to endure some sledging from Virat Kohli. The second innings had him dominate once more as England made easy work of a target of 378.

From fighting for his spot, Bairstow became England’s most important batter in the summer of 2022. It was possibly the most defining part of his Test career. Throughout his long career which now comes to its 100th stage, Bairstow has had many defining moments.

He juggled with the wicket-keeping gloves as well throughout his career. His performance in 2016-2017 is another which will always be remembered. Coming in at number 7 and playing wicket-keeper as well, Jonny Bairstow was on another level during that season.

Ever since he made his debut, though, Jonny Bairstow has missed 51 Tests. Questions over his keeping, form, and inconsistency have seen him in and out on a number of occasions. Bairstow, though, for all his numbers, has some significant moments. Ben Stokes still acknowledges his partnership with Bairstow as the spark during the epic Ben Stokes chase at Headingley in 2019. The duo added 86 runs after a poor start and gathered momentum, which Ben Stokes went on to capitalize on.

With so many challenges and questions, he now reached a huge milestone. His legacy, like that of Stokes, is beyond numbers, as Bairstow remains an unnoticed star in the Bazball era.