Jonny is told to rest after just one Test
OUTCRY OVER BAIRSTOW CALL
ENGLAND selection chief Ed Smith has defended resting Jonny Bairstow for the first half of next month’s series in India – despite him having played only oneTest since December 2019.
As the Lord’s think tank fulfilled their promise to protect players from burnout in bio-secure bubbles, Bairstow has had the wind taken from his sails. After sharing a first-innings century partnership with Joe Root in Galle, Bairstow helped England over the line in their seven-wicket win against Sri Lanka last week.
He is expected to be in the team for the second Galle Test starting today but then, having given up a lucrative stint at Australia’s Big Bash tournament to reclaim his place in England’s long-format side, he will be back in limbo as he is rested along with Sam Curran and MarkWood. With big guns Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, plus opening batsman Rory Burns, recalled for the first two Tests against India in Chennai as expected, it was also revealed Jos Buttler will fly home after the first game of the series. At the news that Yorkshire wicketkeeper-batsman Bairstow’s renaissance was to be cut short, former England captain Michael Vaughan led the backlash, tweeting: “Jonny rested !!!!!!!! Why ?????? ” National selector Smith justified the timing of the time-out, despite Bairstow’s match-winning role last week, by pointing out the 31-year-old is a key component of Eoin Morgan’s white-ball team preparing for a T20 World Cup in India later this year. Smith said: “We had signalled that every multi-format player would be rested at some point in the postChristmas schedule.
“We are being pragmatic – if you keep people in a bubble unchanged for three months, and expect them to play every game in every format, they will not be able to perform at their best and England will be damaged as a result. “We’ve discussed it with the players and we have their understanding.
“It felt right for Jonny to take his break now because he’s also a key part of the white-ball set-up.”