GLOVE RIVAL

Bairstow to battle Buttler to reclaim role as Test keeper

JONNY BAIRSTOW has his sights set on reclaiming the Test gloves from Jos Buttler during the build-up to the summer action.

The England star last played for Joe Root’s red-ball side in the first Test in South Africa late last year.

But Bairstow insists lockdown has left him refreshed and ready to rejoin the battle for the wicketkeeper’s role, ahead of England’s three Tests against West Indies.

“Over a period of time,

I’ve been really happy with my keeping,” said Bairstow (right, in a training kickabout with Buttler back in 2018).

“That was the bit at the start of my career that people questioned, but people have stopped speaking about it over the last two years. I’ve looked at the stats and mine are very good. So there’s no reason why that isn’t an area I want to be coming back into.

“I’m not ruling anything out. I want to keep my options very much open.”

Bairstow’s batting record while holding the gloves is better than Buttler’s, with six centuries to none, and a 10-run advantage (37.85 compared to 27.43) on their comparative Test averages in the role.

However, the emergence of Ollie Pope as middle-order batsman saw Bairstow squeezed in the South Africa series with Buttler handed responsibility behind the stumps.

Bairstow has been restricted to throwdowns and the bowling machine at Headingley since returning from lockdown, but revealed he has had several wicketkeeping sessions with England fielding coach Carl Hopkinson.

And the batsman will step up his return with a trip to Durham’s nets today to face some heat from Mark Wood, Ben Stokes and England Lions fast bowler Brydon Carse.

“It will be good to face those guys. With the weather, we’ve done a few sessions inside with the bowling machine. It’s been good to groove your technique in many ways,” said Bairstow.

“On the bowling machine, you are able to set it to do specifics. At 9.30 in the morning, it has been nipping around a bit outside with fairly new balls.

“It’s been good fun, but this is going to be cranking it up.”

His statistics do not bear up to close inspection against the pace bowlers of the West Indies, however, with Kemar Roach having taken his wicket six times in eight

BUTTLER 2,127 BAIRSTOW 4,030

matches, and only Mitchell Starc having a greater hold over the Yorkshireman.

But Bairstow believes his team-mates can get him up to speed on that count when they go head-to-head for places in Southampton before the first Test on July 8.

He added: “The intensity that the guys are going to be bringing to that camp will be as high as Test cricket. We’ve got some guys that can bowl at serious pace, and we’ve got guys that are wanting to be proving themselves.

“So I don’t think the intensity side of things is going to be a problem.”

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