Bairstow blasts back to secure World Cup spot
JONNY BAIRSTOW’S return to form — on the eve of england naming their squad to defend the Twenty20 World Cup — could not have been better timed.
Bairstow is set to feature alongside fast bowler Jofra Archer tomorrow in the 15-man squad chosen to travel to the Caribbean next month, following a blistering 108 not out off 48 balls for Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier league on Friday.
That astonishing blitz against the Kolkata Knight Riders at eden Gardens — nine sixes on his return to the side after being axed a fortnight ago — emphasised the enduring ability of Bairstow to play match-defining innings.
But for Ben Stokes withdrawing his availability, though, the Yorkshireman’s place would have come under scrutiny. despite Bairstow being man of the series in his last T20 series — the victory over New Zealand last September — he is no longer a first- choice opener in the national side.
While Bairstow was resting for the winter Test series in India, Phil Salt established himself as Jos Buttler’s partner by becoming the first player to score two T20 hundreds for england — in back-to-back games on a tour to West Indies that was a dress rehearsal for June’s World Cup. It means Bairstow will now probably slot in at three or four.
england got well accustomed to the conditions they will face in their 3-2 loss to the Windies — not least how crude their batting must be in that part of the world. Caribbean pitches tend to make deliveries stop rather than skip on, and on grounds small enough for mis-hits to go the distance, six-hitting decides matches.
In each of the five contests out there, the team hitting the most sixes won the match and West Indies edged the overall count 64-56. With Will Jacks — who hit a brutal 100 not out for Royal Challengers Bengaluru yesterday, going from 50 to his ton in just 10 scintillating balls — Bairstow, Harry Brook and liam livingstone able to clear the boundary, england are well-stocked in that regard. But a lack of left-handers in their top- six has caused the selectors a headache.
Ben duckett made december’s trip to the Caribbean for his ability to play spin and rotate the strike, but was sacrificed to maximise the big-hitter roster, and england may have to promote Moeen Ali or Sam Curran, their vice-captains in white-ball cricket, if they wish to maintain left-right combinations.
Among the bowlers, Archer’s availability is key to england’s chances of becoming the first country to win three Twenty20 titles. On Caribbean pitches, it is not so much the extreme pace that 2019 World Cup star Archer possesses that makes him such a valuable commodity, but an ability to go down the gears to dupe opponents with deliveries that do not get to them as quickly as they anticipate.
Surrey’s Jamie Overton was one of a number of players under consideration to replace Stokes, as a top-six hitter who could offer additional seam in what is expected to be a spin-dominated tournament, but england are unlikely to take that risk given scans have shown up irritation in the Surrey player’s back post-stress fracture.
Meanwhile, Tom Hartley and fellow left-armer liam dawson offer potential new-ball options as second specialist spinners behind the established Adil Rashid.
PROBABLE SQUAD: J Buttler (capt, wkt), P Salt, W Jacks, J Bairstow, H Brook, L Livingstone, S Curran, M Ali, C Woakes, A Rashid, T Hartley, M Wood, R Topley, J Archer, G Atkinson.