Why Bairstow can lay claim to being the best of the best
His dazzling current run of innings edges out Pietersen as top attacking right-handed batsman in England history
Jonny Bairstow, in his current form, deserves to be acclaimed as the most brilliant attacking right-handed batsman England have had. Some old-timers dazzled, like Walter Hammond and Ted Dexter, while Lord Botham could also play, but even at their peak they batted at a slower, old-time tempo. Bairstow in his past four innings has scored 475 runs off 433 balls.
Only Kevin Pietersen can compete with Bairstow for the crown of England’s most destructive righthander. It makes a fascinating comparison.
Pietersen peaked most often in the first innings of the second Test of a series. Three of his four highest scores were made in such circumstances: his 227 against Australia in Adelaide, 226 against West Indies in Leeds and his 186 against India in Mumbai. Not to mention his 158 in Adelaide, his 151 in Colombo and when he made Dale Steyn resemble a medium-pacer during his 149 against South Africa at Headingley.
Why? Pietersen, as a performer on big stages, hardly bothered with warm-up games on tour. But by the second Test of a series he had his eye in – and England were often 1-0 down and sorely needed him.
His 186 in Mumbai in 2012 was a classic: England rolled over in the first Test on a turner in Ahmedabad, after cunningly picking a third seamer instead of a second spinner; Alastair Cook hanging on at the other end; and Pietersen taking the attack to India’s spinners as no England batsman had attacked them before in India.
Pietersen had to motor again in Colombo, in his second innings of the second Test, to take England over the line and level the 2012 series.
In the first innings of the second Test of a series, Pietersen scored 2,277 runs at 75.9; the rest of the time he made 5,904 runs at 41.3.
Pietersen’s career strike-rate was 61, while, over his past four innings, Bairstow’s now sits at 109.
What the Yorkshireman has done is to scale similar heights in four consecutive innings. He began this summer with three failures against New Zealand, still in Indian Premier League mode, not playing himself in. But he learnt to walk at Trent Bridge on the final day, then he was up and running, then sprinting, as no England right-hander has done before so consistently.
Bairstow’s 136 at Trent Bridge was followed by 162 and 71 not out at Headingley. He has been coming in after three early wickets and at Edgbaston, again, he laid solid foundations, whereas Ben Stokes tried to run – literally run down the pitch – before he had played himself in.
Bairstow on Saturday evening was masterful, not in attack but defence. He has closed the gap between his bat and front pad. Aged 32, burning with slightly less intensity and seemingly secure under the Stokes-mccullum leadership as a man after their own hearts, he is prepared to leave the ball, which the young-buck right-handers, such as Ollie Pope and, especially Zak Crawley, are still too impatient to do.
After 63 balls, Bairstow had scored 13. Like Shane Warne, he needs to fire himself up. He remonstrated with spectators behind the arm, and remonstrated with Virat Kohli when India’s ex-captain chirped.
Thereafter, Bairstow peeled off the most dazzling strokes. He gave himself a better chance of success by keeping his head and eyes still in the crease. Has any England righthander driven over mid-off more powerfully? Pietersen always favoured the leg side.
It was not all force. Bairstow patted to leg a couple of balls that were barely short – but pulled a six off another ball that was shorter still.
Sunday mornings are not normally the most dramatic time of the week, but Birmingham saw two world-class duels simultaneously: Bairstow and Stokes, until he tried another aerial hit, against Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.
From 13 off 63, Bairstow needed only 56 more balls to surge to his 11th Test century.
If Pietersen played the most brilliant Test innings for England, no right-hander has been more consistently brilliant than Bairstow in his past four innings.