Jonny Bairstow says it would be stupid not to push for an England return this summer and is targeting big runs for Yorkshire in a bid to end his international exile.
Thursday will mark exactly nine months since Bairstow’s last appearance in an England shirt, during the T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to India. That summer began with his axing outright from the Test side as part of a revamp of the red-ball side following a 4-1 tour of India, in which Bairstow earned his 100th cap in the fifth and final Test at Dharamshala.
Since then, England have overlooked Bairstow when opportunities have arisen for a wicketkeeper-batter.
While Jamie Smith started the 2024 Test season with the gloves, his absence from the New Zealand tour for the birth of his first child saw Essex’s Jordan Cox brought into the squad. When Cox broke his thumb ahead of the first Test, Durham’s Ollie Robinson was drafted in as a replacement, with Ollie Pope keeping for the series.
Smith was also installed behind the stumps for the Champions Trophy, replacing Phil Salt across the limited-overs formats. Salt himself had taken on the role when former white-ball captain Jos Buttler opted to give up keeping.
Bairstow’s situation is especially complicated because he remains on an ECB central contract, which is only set to expire this October. Speaking at Headingley during Yorkshire’s pre-season media day, the 35-year-old refused to address whether he had received any clarity from head coach Brendon McCullum or men’s managing director Rob Key but is adamant a return is not out of the question.
“Yes, because I’m still contracted,” Bairstow said, when asked if a recall was still realistic. “I’d be stupid not to. The whole purpose of everything is to try and play for England, and that will be the challenge for the whole group. Everyone wants to go on and do that.
“As an ‘exile’ and someone who hasn’t played for however long, it’s something that of course you want to get back to. And that comes by scoring runs.
“[It’s] Not my fault I got given a two-year contract, just to stay at the periphery. I was in at Yorkshire doing everything I can pre-season-wise, I went on pre-seaon with Yorkshire, starting the summer with Yorkshire, putting my best foot forward for the guys in the dressing room and seeing what the best for us as a group is. That bit is completely out of my control.
“It’s not my choice. I can load the gun, but I won’t be the one pulling the trigger. We’ll wait and see on that.”
Bairstow was integral to a remarkable 2022 summer that launched the Bazball project under McCullum and newly installed Test captain Ben Stokes. His four centuries in five innings, which included twin hundreds against India at Headingley, drove a philosophy of unwavering positivity with the bat.
It was a hot streak that was only curtailed by a devastating broken leg, which subsequently kept Bairstow out until the 2023 season, when he returned for the Ashes. As well as ruling him out of the final Test that summer against South Africa, and tours of Pakistan and New Zealand, he missed the opportunity to pick up a second global title as England triumphed in 2022’s T20 World Cup. Previously he had been integral to 2019’s 50-over success as one of the most dominant ODI openers in the format’s history.
Having been told he was left out due to a run of low scores, Bairstow believes he has the capacity to change that opinion. And with India touring for five Tests this summer, and an Ashes to follow in the winter, he feels his record against both opponents should hold him in good stead. Particularly with a hundred on each of his last two tours of Australia.
“It was just mentioned around form, really,” he said of the initial conversation following his axing. “That’s obviously subjective, people’s opinions and what have you – and that’s fine.
“This is obviously a big summer with India, then Australia coming up. My numbers against those two teams, especially in England and Australia, have been good on the last couple of tours to Australia. The last time India toured here, I was not too bad. We’ll wait and see what happens.
“First and foremost my job is to concentrate on Yorkshire, and making sure we get off to a good start to the year. I’ll let the rest take of itself.”
Bairstow will begin the season for Yorkshire following the club’s promotion to Division One, with Joe Root and Harry Brook set to play some part in the first six rounds of the Championship ahead of the summer’s opening Test against Zimbabwe on May 22.
Earlier this week, The Daily Mail reported Bairstow will be handed Yorkshire’s red-ball captaincy, filling the vacancy left by Shan Masood, who took on the role for two years before moving to Leicestershire.
Conversations between Bairstow and the club around the captaincy have been ongoing since last summer. His potential participation in the IPL, and then PSL, are understood to be the reason why Yorkshire have delayed confirming his appointment, with the season due to start next week. Bairstow’s late father, David, captained the county between 1984 and 1986.