"I don't think Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes are the type of people that will throw a Jonny Bairstow out after one bad Test match" - Tim Paine
Tim Paine expects England to retain Jonny Bairstow as their wicketkeeper-batter for the second Ashes Test despite his struggles behind the wickets.
Bairstow played a blazing 78-run knock in England's first innings of the first Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham but missed a few stumpings and catches. The let-offs proved costly in the end as Australia registered a narrow two-wicket win to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
During an interaction on the SEN podcast 'Whateley', Paine was asked whether England would revisit their decision to play Bairstow as the keeper-batter, to which he responded:
"I think they have set an environment where they back their team in and they give them some security over time. I don't think Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes are the type of people that will throw a Jonny Bairstow out after one bad Test match."
The former Australian skipper highlighted Bairstow's destructive ability with the bat and that he just returned after a long injury layoff:
"Obviously, he didn't keep well. I think they will back him in. They know how dangerous he is with the bat as well and that's the style of cricket that they want to play. He has also come off a pretty horrific injury and had a long spell out of the game. So they expect him to get better."
However, Paine acknowledged that serious questions might be asked if the England wicketkeeper-batter is found wanting behind the wickets in the next one or two Tests.
"That's another one that I was just staggered with" - Tim Paine on Moeen Ali's selection
Tim Paine was also asked about England heading into the first Test with an out-of-retirement Moeen Ali as their primary spinner, to which he replied:
"That's another one that I was just staggered with. I find it really hard to believe that the Ashes series means so much to England and Australia, and for me, them to come into an Ashes series without being planned around who their backup spinner was is staggering."
The former Australian wicketkeeper pointed out that the off-spinner was expected to get injured:
"They have been caught out clearly. Moeen Ali bowled more overs in the first innings than he had in the three months previously. Common sense would tell you if someone does that, they are going to get injured in some way, shape or form. No surprises there that he did."
Moeen picked up three wickets in the 47 overs he bowled across Australia's two innings of the Edgbaston Test. He struggled to grip the ball, especially at the business end of the game, thereby forcing Ben Stokes to use Joe Root ahead of him as a spinner.