GO JONNY GO... BAIRSTOW AIMS TO LIGHT FIRE WHEN THE HUNDRED KICKS OFF
THERE are few more magnified goldfish bowls than being an international rugby player in Wales. However, cricketers in Yorkshire might argue that point.
Jonny Bairstow is one of Yorkshire’s most celebrated sons. A top-class operator in all three formats of the game and fans in Wales will hope he adds a fourth format to that list when The Hundred comes hurtling into town in July.
Bairstow will return to south Wales this summer a decade on from when he made his England debut there, only this time it will be as a Welsh Fire player.
The eyes of the world will be zeroed in on the inaugural The Hundred competition when it kicks off and the hope is that, for once, cricketers in the Welsh capital will be centre of attention.
It could be a role reversal for some of Wales rugby’s famous faces, some of whom Bairstow knows well, and the Welsh Fire star is keen on garnering their support, on and off the pitch, when the competition kicks off.
“Dan Biggar is a massive cricket fan,” Bairstow said. “Liam Williams, I speak to him a little bit, Jon Davies as well.
“There’s a few of them I keep in touch with, it’s just a good craic, isn’t it?
“It keeps things really relevant when you are able to speak to people from different sports, when you’re going through different but similar things, with everything that’s happened. It’s really refreshing to speak to them. Whether it’s about training or getting a handle on different situations, opening your horizons to different and successful people in different environments is crucial as a person and as a player.”
But, being a big rugby fan who no doubt enjoys the banter of the England-Wales rivalry, Bairstow is clearly wary of the stick he might receive from them if he fails.
“I am a bit worried about the abuse I might cop if I’m batting and don’t do too well!”
He might just escape their sharptongued quips anyway, because those three, of course, will hope to have a Lions series to contend with during that time.
Nevertheless, Bairstow needn’t worry too much, after all, he isn’t ranked as the 10th best one-day batsman and 15th best T20 batsman in the world for nothing.
He will represent the cornerstone of a Welsh Fire batting line-up which is sprinkled with top talent.
The unveiling of the new Welsh Fire squad has seen superstar West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard and lightning-quick Australian paceman Jhye Richardson added to the squad in place of Mitchell Starc and Steve Smith, who have pulled their names out of the hat following last year’s postponement.
And the England star believes Welsh Fire have the makings of a very dangerous squad ahead of the competition.
“Kieron Pollard is an immense striker of the ball and has done it all around the world, no less for Mumbai Indians in the IPL,” he adds.
“His stats and numbers... I think he consistently strikes at more than 200 runs per 100 balls. So, to have someone like him in your side who bats, bowls and is a real athlete in the field, that hits straight down the ground with the short boundaries at Cardiff, is really something that can play into our hands.
“Jhye Richardson bowls 90mph, so having him possibly taking wickets first up is really important.
“Couple that with the experience of the English guys like Liam Plunkett, we saw how good he was during England’s World Cup-winning campaign.
“The wiliness he will be able to bring to go with the youthful exuberance will be really exciting.”
A new addition to this Welsh Fire squad is David Lloyd, the sole Welshman and Glamorgan player who has earned his spot after a consistent few seasons at Sophia Gardens. That, Bairstow says, can only aid the team’s support this summer.
“It’s fantastic to have a local boy in there, it’s great,” Bairstow says.
“Even more reason for the Welsh fans to come down and get behind us!
“It’s quite apt our kit is red, too, isn’t it? I’m not sure it suits the old ginger locks, but I’ll go with it. Look like Po from the Teletubbies, but we can work with that!”
Bairstow was retained by Welsh Fire after last year’s competition was a non-starter and it certainly looks a smart move.
For, on the outside at least, he seems like the perfect fit; fiery, passionate, full-blooded, all qualities that fans in this corner of the world pride themselves on.
And he can certainly see the symmetry between his Yorkshire upbringing and the people of Wales. That’s the beauty of sport.”
All things being well, Welsh Fire’s first game against Northern Superchargers on July 24, up at Bairstow’s usual home ground of Headingley, will see fans in attendance. That will be the case if Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown is adhered to up until that point, where fans will be able to attend sporting events from July 21 onwards.
It’s uncertain as yet how that will look in Wales, but there is hope that Sophia Gardens will be able to house supporters and give this competition a real shot in the arm for its launch.
“It’s huge, it really is, that’s why we play the game,” Bairstow says. “To see the enjoyment on the faces of boys, girls, mums, dads.
“The reason people come to the games is to be entertained. They have been itching to get to games and hopefully by the summer people will be looking forward to coming down to the ground and watching.
“I know for a fact a few of my mates from Leeds will be making the trip down.
“I am really looking forward to getting down there. Our first game is actually at Headingley, against the Northern Superchargers, so that’ll be a first, going back home and being in the away dressing room!
“But I’m looking forward to getting started down there. There will be some Welsh fans that have missed out on going to the Principality who can come and watch us and have a good time.”
Let’s just pray that there will be 15,000 at Sophia Gardens at some point this summer.
WALES will start their 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign against Pool C rivals Fiji in Bordeaux on Sunday, September 10. Wayne Pivac’s side will be eager to better their performance in Japan in 2019, where they were agonisingly knocked out in the semi-finals at the hands of eventual winners South Africa.
They take on Fiji in the pool stages for the fifth consecutive World Cup, and will also lock horns with Australia, a side they’ve similarly come up against in the pool stages in four of the last five tournaments.
They take on the Wallabies in Lyon on Sunday, September 24, eight days after playing a qualifier winner winner in Nice.
They then end the pool stages in Nantes against a Europe 1 side, which is most likely to be Georgia.
France and New Zealand will kick off the tournament when they face each other at the Stade de France on September 8.
Scotland will play defending champions South Africa in their first match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France on September 10.
England’s opening match of the tournament will be against Argentina on the previous day, September 9.
Ireland’s potentially crucial Pool B meeting with Scotland will take place at the 80,000-seater Stade de France on Saturday, October 7.
England’s and Scotland’s opening games will be played in Marseille’s Stade Velodrome on successive days as part of the organisers’ plan of bringing fans together for ‘doubleheader weekends’ in host cities.
Wales and Ireland will both begin their campaigns in Bordeaux on the same weekend.
Should Wales win their pool, they will face the runner-up in Pool D, which would most likely be Argentina or Japan in Marseille on Saturday, October 14, while a quarter-final against England at the same venue the next day is perhaps the most likely outcome if Wales finish their pool in second place.
The two semi-finals will be held at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on October 20 and 21, 2023, with the bronze medal match at the same stadium happening on Friday, October 27.
Saint-Denis will also host the final on Saturday, October 28.
WALES’ 2023 RUGBY WORLD CUP SCHEDULE IN FULL:
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 (BORDEAUX) - Wales v Fiji SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 (NICE) - Wales v Qualifier winner
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 (LYON) - Wales v Australia
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7 (NANTES) - Wales v Europe 1
QUARTER FINAL 1 - Saturday, October 14 (Marseille)
QUARTER FINAL 3 - Sunday, October 15 (Marseille)
SEMI-FINAL 1 - Friday, October 20 (Saint-Denis)
SEMI-FINAL 2
21 (Saint-Denis)
BRONZE FINAL
27 (Saint-Denis)
FINAL - Saturday, October 28 (Saint Denis) - Saturday, October - Friday, October