"I'm certainly not going to write Jonny off. Hopefully, he shows that we're wrong as well" - England selector Luke Wright on Bairstow
England national selector Luke Wright revealed that wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow was left disappointed with the management's decision to exclude him from the white-ball squad for the upcoming series against Australia. Apart from Bairstow, fellow senior members Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan also found themselves out of the squad, while youngsters Dan Mousley and Jacob Bethell earned maiden call-ups.
Bairstow expressed his interest to play for England across all formats on the sidelines of The Hundred 2024. However, he has lost his grip on the national side more than ever. With Jamie Smith having an imperious start to his Test career, it will be very difficult for Bairstow to return to the red-ball setup.
As far as the white-ball setup is concerned, the emergence of Will Jacks and Phil Salt have rendered him helpless. The team management handed the veteran keeper a role in the middle order, but it did not bring out the results as hoped.
“We just want him back to [being] one of the best players in the world. He understands that. He doesn’t like it. One thing Jonny will do is fight back, and I hope he does and gets himself back in the team. I'm certainly not going to write Jonny off. Jonny's countless times when people have shown them that they're wrong, and hopefully he shows that we're wrong as well," Wright told media following the squad announcement for the Australia series.
Bairstow has turned to County cricket in a bid to claw his way back into the England national team. He played for Yorkshire in their recent win over Sussex, where he recorded a fifty in the first innings, but recorded a duck in the second outing.
"Rooty has given a lot to English cricket" - Luke Wright
One of the biggest absentees in the ODI squad was Joe Root, considering how crucial the five ODIs against Australia are in terms of their preparation for the 2025 Champions Trophy. However, with England scheduled to play two more Tests against Sri Lanka, and tour Pakistan, and New Zealand in the remaining months, the decision to rest Root for the white-ball series was taken.
“Rooty has given a lot to English cricket. We've asked a lot of Joe over the years and we want to get as much cricket out of Joe as possible. I'm sure so do the fans want to see as much. So, there's no reason why he can't then come into the major tournament," Wright said.
“Those top players are able to adapt as well as possible and I don't think it's as big a problem for them as it would be for some of the others. So that's why it's great to get that cricket into some of the younger guys," Wright added.
England's home series against Australia is scheduled to begin from September 11 onwards.