"He is rusty" - Geoffrey Boycott on Jonny Bairstow's struggles behind the stumps in first Ashes Test
Former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott feels wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow's below-par show behind the stumps in the first Ashes Test was down to a lack of game time. The former player also added that Ben Foakes is the best gloveman England has.
Bairstow missed a couple of catches and a stumping chance behind the stumps, costing England a few runs. The Yorkshire batter replaced Ben Foakes in the role, starting from the first Test of the summer against Ireland, mainly for his explosive batting.
In his column for The Telegraph, Boycott opined that there's no guarantee Foakes would have pulled off those dismissals. Instead, the former commentator reckons Bairstow should've featured from the third Ashes Test.
"There is no debate that Ben Foakes is a better keeper than Jonny Bairstow. But nobody can assume that Foakes would have taken the catches and affected the stumpings that Bairstow missed. Jonny's wicketkeeping problem stems from lack of cricket. He is rusty.
"Personally, I would've let him bat and keep wickets for Yorkshire in all the matches and picked him for the third Test at Headingley because he needed competitive cricket after such a bad and long injury layoff."
Boycott also believes Bairstow should concentrate on hitting the spinners over the top instead of playing reverse sweeps.
"My only concern with his batting is that whenever he plays a sweep or reverse sweep, he gets out. He is not good at picking the length or line of the ball. He is a tremendous hitter over the top so why not belt the spinner out of the ground that way."
Nevertheless, Bairstow came good with the bat, hitting a run-a-ball 78 in the first innings. The 33-year-old shared a brisk 121-run partnership with Joe Root after England had slumped to 176-5.
"England do not need to change much for next Test" - Geoffrey Boycott
The former Yorkshire cricketer advised that England could play Mark Wood instead of the injured Moeen Ali for the second Test:
"England do not need to change much for the next Test. If Moeen's finger is hurt, then play Mark Wood, and let Joe Root bowl spin. There is usually always something in it for the seamers at Lord's with the slope."
The second Test starts on June 28 at Lord's in London.