His 100th and last Test appearance for England was against India in March 2024.
The last time Jonny Bairstow donned the national whites was during India tour in March 2024. After winning the first match, England lost four on the trot. In 10 innings, he managed 238 runs at an average of 23.80, almost 500 runs behind the leading scorer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, with 712 runs. The last match of that series in Dharamshala also marked Bairstow’s 100th Test appearance.
Later last year, Baristow had another underwhelming run of form in the T20 World Cup 2024. He returned with 110 runs in six innings at a similar average. It also marked the last time Bairstow represented England. His ODI match dates back even further, to the ODI World Cup in 2023. However, the keeper-batter still has his hopes high to play international cricket and feels he’d be foolish not to.
Bairstow said during Yorkshire’s pre-season media day, “Yes, because I’m still contracted. I’d be stupid not to. The whole purpose of everything is to try and play for England, and that will be the challenge for the whole group. Everyone wants to go on and do that. As an ‘exile’ and someone who hasn’t played for however long, it’s something that of course you want to get back to. And that comes by scoring runs.”
Overlooking Bairstow, England employed several glovemen. None of them were able to play for long due to various reasons. Jamie Smith had to miss the New Zealand tour due to the birth of his first child. Jordan Cox broke his thumb at the worst time possible while Ollie Pope took up the role.
While Phil Salt took over, Smith was the designated keeper for the recently concluded 50-over Champions Trophy. While the England Cricket Board (ECB) kept tossing around the responsibility, Bairstow was constantly ignored.
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Bairstow’s contract with the board will remain active till October this year. England are eyeing a major Test series against India in June ahead of The Ashes in November. The 35-year-old has been taking every league and county opportunity on his platter to prepare for a strong national comeback. However, the batter chose not to reveal whether head coach Brendon McCullum or men’s managing director Rob Key had provided him with any clarity on his selection.
“[It’s] Not my fault I got given a two-year contract, just to stay at the periphery. I was in at Yorkshire doing everything I can pre-season-wise, I went on pre-seaon with Yorkshire, starting the summer with Yorkshire, putting my best foot forward for the guys in the dressing room and seeing what the best for us as a group is. That bit is completely out of my control. It’s not my choice. I can load the gun, but I won’t be the one pulling the trigger. We’ll wait and see on that,” he added.
Before his leg injury in 2023, Bairstow was an integral part of the team. He comes on the back of 12 hundreds and 26 half-centuries in his Test career so far. However, a few low scores changed his fate. But he remains positive about boarding the flight soon.
“It was just mentioned around form, really. “That’s obviously subjective, people’s opinions and what have you – and that’s fine. This is obviously a big summer with India, then Australia coming up. My numbers against those two teams, especially in England and Australia, have been good on the last couple of tours to Australia. The last time India toured here, I was not too bad. We’ll wait and see what happens,” he said.
Nonetheless, Bairstow remains focused on playing for Yorkshire in the County Championship Division One 2025, starting on April 4.
“First and foremost my job is to concentrate on Yorkshire, and making sure we get off to a good start to the year. I’ll let the rest take of itself,” he concluded.
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