Keeping on top

England’s Jonny Bairstow has taken satisfaction from silencing his doubters after setting a new record for the most test runs amassed in a calendar year by a wicketkeeper. Bairstow set a new benchmark after overhauling the 1045 runs accrued by Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower in 2000 over the weekend as England defeated Bangladesh in the first test in Chittagong. The 27-year-old has the opportunity to set a total that could prove insurmountable as England still have six tests – one more against Bangladesh followed by a five-match series in India – to play before the end of the year. It is quite a turnaround for Bairstow, who worried he had been written off as an international cricketer after being discarded by England for more than a year and a half following the Ashes whitewash in Australia in early 2014.