BAIRSTOW’S STRUGGLING TO CONVINCE AT No 3

JONNY BAIRSTOW says he wants to bat at No 3 for England in the Ashes. He argues that being shunted around the middle order has affected his performance in Test cricket. And it’s true, Bairstow has been required to bat in every position from three to eight with England. But he’s not alone. Moeen Ali has batted everywhere from opener to No 9, as well as being asked to operate as a front-line spinner. Establishing a settled place in the team can be difficult for England’s versatile players. Yet first bat down has never had a more important role to play for England, with Joe Root in at four. The priority is to protect the captain so that he arrives at an optimum time to score. Bringing him to the crease hurried and early because an opener has fallen, and then the No 3, destroys this game plan. In three of Bairstow’s last four Test innings, his departure brought Root in after 37, three and 29 balls. In those innings, Bairstow survived a combined total of 12 deliveries. So what on earth makes him believe he is a No3?

Bairstow (below) has a Test average of 34.12, which is nowhere near enough, yet at No 3 records only 30.76. He has not gone short of opportunity, either. Across 14 innings at three, he has recorded one century — his first Test innings there, 110 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2018 — and one half century, 52 against West Indies in 2019. There is little in his form or history that suggests this, then, is his position in Test cricket. If he has been moved around the middle order, there is a reason for that.