"I’d anticipate Jonny would be playing" - Head coach Brendon McCullum backs out-of-form Bairstow to play 4th Test vs India
England's Test coach, Brendon McCullum, has backed out-of-form batter Jonny Bairstow to play in the fourth Test against India in Ranchi.
Bairstow has endured a torrid time with the bat so far in the series, scoring 102 runs in six innings at an average of 17. He was especially poor in the third Test in Rajkot with scores of 0 and 4 as England suffered a massive 434-run defeat to go 1-2 down in the series.
Speaking to reporters as quoted by The Telegraph the day after the third Test, McCullum came out in support of the struggling Bairstow.
"I’d anticipate Jonny would be playing, yes. He’s not scored the volume of runs he would have wanted and a couple of times he’s got out kind of mildly for someone who’s got the power game Jonny’s got. I don’t have concerns over him. I’m not blind but he’s done so well for us and he’s had such an impactful career," McCullum said.
He added:
"We know that a top quality Jonny Bairstow is as good as anyone in any conditions so from our point of view we’ve got to keep on giving him confidence and block out a lot of the external noise as well and keep him really present and focused on what he’s trying to achieve and I’m sure Jonny will come good."
Jonny Bairstow was among the first to demonstrate the Bazball effect in world cricket, scoring four centuries in eight innings since the formation of the Brendon McCullum-Ben Stokes partnership.
The Yorkshire-born cricketer is only two games shy of 100 Tests and has amassed almost 6,000 runs at an average of 36.45 with 12 centuries.
"It will just be spending a bit more time with Jonny to be honest" - Brendon McCullum
Brendon McCullum stated he would spend more time with Jonny Bairstow on the challenging Indian tour to help him rediscover his best form.
Since returning from a leg injury mid-last year, the veteran batter has scored only three half-centuries in 15 innings.
"It will just be spending a bit more time with Jonny to be honest. We’re a long way from home and India can be a tough place to tour, well anywhere can be, so to spend time with Jonny. He’s such a talent and has done some incredible things for us. Yeah he’s a little bit different, we all know that, but that’s in a good way. If we were all the same it would be pretty bloody boring," said McCullum.
McCullum added:
"So to spend a bit of time with Jonny and remind him that he’s such a wonderful player and not to do it because you’re trying to get a performance but you want to spend time with him because he’s a good bloke and you want to make sure he’s enjoying himself. Everyone is so quick to chop and change and if that’s the case there’s little conviction in what you’re doing if you’re prepared to keep moving the goalposts then how do you get buy-in from your players into a squad."
Jonny Bairstow has struggled in Indian conditions in the red-ball format, averaging under 26 in 11 outings.
England are in a must-win situation to keep their hopes of a series win alive in the fourth Test in Ranchi, starting on Friday, February 23.