Bairstow challenge
JOE ROOT has tinkered once more and told Jonny Bairstow to make himself England’s long-term No3 batsman on the team’s journey to No1.
Bairstow returns to the side for the third Test after an ankle injury and will replace the injured Sam Curran tomorrow here in Colombo, while Stuart Broad is also back in the team in a straight swap for the rested James Anderson on the same ground where he made his debut 11 years ago.
It will mean the fifth No3 for England in five Tests and Root admits he is more than happy to be English cricket’s tinkerman if it keeps bringing the success he craves as captain, after winning four on the bounce and moving to second place in the world rankings.
“It’s a really good opportunity for Jonny to take his batting to another level,” said Root. “In the last couple of years he has been statistically one of the top-10 batters in the world in Test cricket.
“It would be nice to see him grab No3 by the scruff of the neck and use it as an opportunity to start really consistently scoring big runs in this format. You’d like to think he has got everything there to make No3 a long-term option for him.
“He’s more than capable of doing it. One thing we all know about Jonny is, whenever he’s got a point to prove or up against it, he generally comes out and does something pretty special.”
Bairstow replaces Ben Stokes at first-drop after the all-rounder enjoyed just one innings in the position in Pallekele, with a second attempt negated when Keaton Jennings slipped down a spot as nightwatchman Jack Leach opened in the second innings.
Before those two former Durham team-mates, it was Moeen Ali who came in at No3, but two poor innings in Galle following on from knocks of 50 and 20 at the Oval against India saw him move back down the order.
Root was another to have a crack in the position last summer, but the skipper remains adamant that No4 is his best position.
Moeen will bat at No7 to provide another counterattacking weapon ahead of Ben Foakes, who has been the revelation of a tour he attended only due to Bairstow’s injury.
Foakes’ work with both bat and gloves has been more than enough for Root to stick with the Surrey man, and despite Bairstow’s insistence he wants the job back at some point, he simply has to wait.
Root said: “Ben deserves his opportunity. He has come into the side and batted magnificently well.
“We all know how good a wicketkeeper he is. He has probably exceeded expectations in that department as well.
“It’s part and parcel of international sport. Jonny has not done anything wrong, he had a freak injury and is going to have to continue to work hard at his keeping and quietly wait for an opportunity if it comes.”