MORGAN SNUB FOR BAIRSTOW
One-day skipper rules out in-form Tyke against IPL stars
JONNY BAIRSTOW has had the Champions Trophy door shut on him by oneday skipper Eoin Morgan.
Bairstow is in another rich vein of form with the bat after hitting 72 not out against Ireland at Lord’s. But his hopes of staying in the side when the Indian Premier League trio of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes return have been dashed. The sight of Joe Root bowling 10 overs at HQ might have given Bairstow the notion he could be a specialist batsman at No.7 in place of Moeen Ali. However, Morgan confirmed that his only hope is if there is an injury to one of the top six.
“It is looking like that, which is unfortunate for him,” said Morgan, who was encouraging visually-impaired kids to get involved in cricket yesterday.
“With Ben coming back into the side it allows us to play another all-rounder with Mo at seven. To justify an out-andout batter at seven? I’m not sure you can.
“Bearing in mind the number of balls faced at seven, is he going to face enough to regularly win you a game? Or could your all-rounder get you up to a par score and then contribute more with the ball?
“It is weighing up what is more beneficial. We have a really strong batting line-up, particularly when Stokes, Woakes and Buttler come back in. To have Woakes coming in at eight, it is hard to justify.”
Eoin Morgan helped launch NatWest’s ‘Cricket has no boundaries’ campaign celebrating the sport’s inclusivity. Find out more at