Despite a harsh winter, Jonny Bairstow remains vital to England's hopes of defending their title in 2022
mat roller
Trevor Bayliss refused to give an easy exit when explaining Jonny Bairstow's absence from Punjab Kings' match against Mumbai Indians on Thursday night.
Asked in a pitchside interview whether Bairstow had asked to be taken out of the squad for “a Glenn Maxwell thing”, Bayliss said: “No, that was our decision.” answered clearly. “We just needed to change things up. We needed to do something a little bit better at that time of the tournament… just change things up a little bit to reinvigorate things.”
It was an honest statement in an era when coaches were often complacent in making difficult decisions. Modern players are rarely dropped, but rather managed for rotation, rest, or minor issues. The Kings replaced Bairstow with stand-in captain Sam Curran, who was replaced by Riley Rossow in the side.
Mr Bayliss also revealed that Mr Bairstow was not satisfied with management's decision. “Johnny, looking over my right shoulder here, wishes he had had a little more time… It's a difficult question. We want to give our players as many chances as possible, but we To make a little difference in the situation we are in.”
It's been a long off-season for Bairstow. He first flew to India in late September ahead of the World Cup and will have spent the better part of six months there before returning home after the IPL. He is the only England player to have played in the 50-over World Cup, the Test series earlier this year and the IPL, but has struggled to make an impact in all three.
He has scored 25 runs in three formats for India this winter, but his only hits came in the World Cup against Bangladesh and Pakistan, where he hit two half-centuries. He averaged almost the same in the World Cup (23.88) and the Test series (23.80), and in the IPL he scored 96 runs in six innings at an average of 16.00 and a strike rate of 131.50. Things have become serious.
Bayliss stressed that Bairstow's tournament was not necessarily over, with substitute Rossu scoring 10 runs in the first two innings. “There are some players who missed out on the top of the table in this game, but it's not necessarily the end for them,” Bayliss said. “We know they are quality players.”
However, there is an argument that it would be in Bairstow's, and England's, best interests to return home for a short break before the T20 World Cup. He is likely to be part of the team that faces Pakistan in four T20Is at the end of May, and an early end to the IPL will refresh him mentally and physically for the intense tournament in June. You will get the opportunity.
England's selection committee will meet in the coming days to choose a provisional squad for the World Cup, which is expected to be announced next week ahead of the ICC deadline of May 1. Changes can be made by May 25, but after last year's debacle with the exclusion of Harry Brooke at the start and Jason Roy at the end, clear communication is essential.
There is no sign that Mr Bairstow will be sacked. He has played little T20 cricket since returning from a bad foot injury (just 15 matches in the past 12 months), but was the winner of the series in the most recent T20I against New Zealand in September. – Became a player in the series and reminded us how destructive he can be. When he's close to his best.
England managing director Rob Key, who chaired the selection meeting, told Sky's Cricket Podcast last week: “…we've got young players like Will Jacks and Phil Salt. We need to balance it out. It's important to join in and add a little bit of vibrancy. It doesn't matter.” They're all young. [players], it's about finding a balance. We are watching the T20 World Cup there. ”
With Ben Stokes unavailable, Alex Hales retired from international cricket and Dawid Malan out of favor, England will need Bairstow, a 34-year-old senior player, to achieve that balance. . He is likely to be used as No. 4 in the middle order, where flexibility is required. There has been a shortage of left-handed batsmen in Stokes' absence, but Bairstow's versatility has always been an asset.
England believe the Caribbean T20 rewards power more than touch and will prepare their team accordingly. Ben Duckett was deemed fit after playing one game in the 3-2 series loss to West Indies in December. Bairstow should fit comfortably into a six-batsman line-up alongside Jos Buttler, Salt, Jax, Brook and Liam Livingstone.
Bairstow clearly prefers to bat first, and usually does so in team T20s, but England have always valued his ability to hit sixes with less spin in the middle overs. Since December 2020, the majority of his T20I appearances have been as a middle-order batsman and he can set up matches for Brook and Livingstone as a finisher.
Mr. Key often frames selections as making decisions based on players at their best, rather than their worst. The question now for England is how they can help Bairstow return to his best self. answer? We will bring him back from India and give him a three-week break to help him refresh before playing in the World Cup.
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
