Adam Gilchrist finds similarities between himself and England's Jonny Bairstow
As Jonny Bairstow is gradually establishing himself in the England team with his reliable batting, iconic Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist has praised the 26-year-old Englishman by finding similarities between the two wicket-keeper batsmen.
Speaking to cricket.com.au, Gilchrist asserted, “Bairstow’s clearly more settled as a batsman when he’s wicket-keeping and it’s certainly a situation I can relate to. To play just as a batsman, you can often feel a little bit half there, half not. Whereas if you’re focused on your wicket-keeping, your batting can relax and I suspect that’s the case with Bairstow.”
The former glovesman who became a trendsetter with his aggressive stroke-play, added, “He could make that position which has been a bit of a revolving door for England, he could make that his own for a while to come. He looks like a busy cricketer and a great team man.“
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After beginning as a specialist batsman, Bairstow worked on his wicket-keeping skills in Yorkshire at the County circuit. When Jason Gillespie joined as Yorkshire’s Head Coach, the right-hander’s career blossomed in a noticeable manner.
As a matter of fact, Gillespie had recently compared Bairstow to his former Aussie team-mate. In a column, the 41-year old claimed, “Jonny Bairstow can do the same job for England that Adam Gilchrist did for Australia over so many years, without a doubt. Why not?”
Gilchrist credited Gillespie for transforming Yorkshire cricket with his unassuming approach. The affable 'Gilly' affirmed, "It’s no coincidence that a number of Yorkshire players have come out of that team where clearly there’s a great environment led by Jason Gillespie, where they’re real team men because Dizzy was one of the greatest.“
Bairstow has had a stellar start to the year with already three centuries to his name and would hope that the comparison with Adam Gilchrist actually grows louder.