"Have 2 or 3 days away from Cricket" - Michael Vaughan advises Jonny Bairstow amidst his struggles in the 2023 Ashes
Former England captain Micheal Vaughan advocated for wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow to step away from cricket for the next few days to overcome his dismal run with the bat and gloves during the first three Tests of the Ashes series.
Fortunately for the 33-year-old, the home side emerged victorious during the third Test at Headingley by three wickets despite his struggles. Coming in at the fall of skipper Ben Stokes, with a further 90 runs required for victory, Bairstow was dismissed for just five runs after scoring only 12 in the first innings.
The fourth Test begins on July 19 at Old Trafford, and the 2005 Ashes-winning skipper felt that the break could do wonders for Bairstow. Speaking to Cricbuzz after the third Test, Vaughan said:
"Think the best thing for Jonny is this break. Would advice him to have 2 or 3 days away from Cricket, go and switch off. Go and play golf, wouldn't say Golf because last time he played golf he got injured ( laughs). Go and do something away from the game and then have 4 or 5 days of real hard intensive practice to sharpen up behind the stumps to gather some confidence from his practice."
Jonny Bairstow has grabbed the headlines for all the wrong reasons since Day 5 of the second Test, where he was controversially dismissed by an Alex Carey stumping.
The white-ball opening batter has had a disastrous series with both bat and the gloves, with dropped catches and fumbles, and has come under heavy scrutiny amongst experts and fans. The Yorkshireman scored 141 runs at a paltry average of 23.50 thus far in the three Tests.
"They'll go with the same again" - Michael Vaughan on Jonny Bairstow's place in the squad
Micheal Vaughan believes England will keep their faith in struggling wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow moving forward, especially after winning the third Test of the Ashes at Headingley.
Several fans and critics have called for Bairstow to be replaced by Surrey wicketkeeper Ben Foakes. However, Vaughan remains confident that the hosts will stick with Bairstow for the rest of the series.
"England aren't going to change it, they've just won a Test match. They'll go with the same again. He's got to find some confidence by hitting loads of balls in the nets. When you are anxious and desperate to score and get the scoreboard ticking, you just go at the ball that little bit too soon. He just needs a breather," said Vaughan.
The former England skipper, however, admitted that Bairstow's glove work is a problem area for the hosts and does not believe that the team can get away with it repeatedly against a quality opposition like Australia.
"But It is a problem area for England, there is no hiding behind the fact that Jonny has dropped too many balls and created too many opportunities for Australia. Thats why I said if England think they can get away with it again against this Australian side, I doubt it," added Vaughan.
The middle-order dasher was in scintillating form in 2022, scoring over 1,000 runs in 10 matches at an average of 66.31. However, a leg injury in September last year seems to have derailed Jonny Bairstow's reflexes, with the wicketkeeper not looking as sharp with the gloves and the bat.
Overall, the veteran gloveman has played 93 Tests for England and scored 5,623 runs at an average of 36.51 with 12 centuries to his name.