Refreshed Bairstow believes peak performances ahead
IT is a comment to excite every English cricket supporter.
“I reckon in the next two years there’s potential for me to come into my prime,” said the Yorkshire and England star Jonny Bairstow.
That the best, in other words, is yet to come?
“Hopefully,” he added. “That’s what I think, anyway. You’ve done all your stuff and you kind of know your game. I’d like to think that potential is there.”
Bairstow turned 30 last September.
It seems only five minutes ago that he announced his talent with 82 not out on debut for Yorkshire against Somerset at Headingley in 2009; ditto when he showcased it in spades with a long-awaited maiden century against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 2011, which he turned into a double just for good measure.
Since then, the Bairstow CV – despite some interesting treatment from England, it has to be said – has contained more honours, runs, catches and stumpings than you could shake a wicketkeeping glove at.
He said farewell to his 20s by helping England win the World Cup in last year’s summer of summers and, if his best is yet to come, it is a salivating prospect for his legion of fans.
As with all top players on the international treadmill, which rarely, if ever stops for breath, the temporary suspension of cricket due to coronavirus has given Bairstow an opportunity to pause, refresh and take stock of his career.
“It’s been a nice break in a way,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed spending a bit of time at home – it’s the longest I’ve spent at home in over 10 years. That’s the way you’ve got to look at it, by taking positives out of what has been a pretty negative situation for the country as a whole. I’ve been able to step back and refresh and now we go again.”
Bairstow returned to training on Monday as England prepare for their international summer. They are due to play a behindclosed-doors Test series against the West Indies starting next month, followed by games against Pakistan, Ireland and Australia subject to all of the pieces of the jigsaw falling into place.
Bairstow is working three times a week at Headingley with Yorkshire first-team coach Andrew Gale while continuing to pursue a vigorous fitness regime. He has slipped back smoothly in the saddle after four months without a bat in his hand, Gale remarking that, come the end of his first session, Bairstow “looked as if he could walk straight out and play a Test match”.
Bairstow said: “It’s been the first time I’ve had a bat in a while and it’s gone well. As a starting point of where to be, for my first hit back I was very pleased.
Throughout the last few months I’ve been running and cycling, running and cycling, and basically trying to keep myself fit. Since golf ’s come back, I’ve played a lot of golf, too, so it’s all good.”
As an all-format player of the highest pedigree, Bairstow hopes to feature heavily in the fixtures ahead. It remains to be seen how England will manage their bountiful resources – their back-totraining group of 55 players covered almost more eventualities than there are possibilities.
“It’s all going to be different, isn’t it?” said Bairstow of the biosecure games. “We don’t know the full ins-and-outs of it just yet, what exactly is going to be happening. We know that we’re potentially going down to Southampton for the biosecure environment (ahead of the Test series), and that’s kind of where we’ve got to. The situation is constantly evolving.”
One aspect Bairstow is potentially looking forward to is the chance to give a cricket-starved public a much-needed lift. He appreciates his privileged position in that regard.
“It’s exactly that,” he said. “You get to be able to put a smile on people’s faces by doing what you’re doing, and, hopefully, get people back to enjoying themselves by you enjoying what you do, if that makes sense.
“I think with so much stuff that you potentially have going on (in and around sport) that you can sometimes lose sight of that (as a sportsman). Because you put pressure on yourself and there’s external pressures that sometimes build up, and you’re wanting to always do better, always do this, always do that, you can almost start to put too much pressure on and get away from remembering that by you enjoying yourself is giving a lot of other people a lot of enjoyment.”
The thought of Bairstow lighting up the international summer is one to put a smile on everyone’s face – apart, of course, from those of his opponents.