"Was Mahendra Singh Dhoni the best in India?" - David Lloyd hails Jonny Bairstow ahead of 100th Test amid question marks over legacy
Renowned cricketer turned commentator David Lloyd has hailed the out-of-form Jonny Bairstow as the ideal Test wicketkeeper with comparisons to other contemporaries, including India's MS Dhoni.
The 34-year-old is set to play in his momentous 100th Test in the series finale against India in Dharamsala despite several questions over his place in the English side. Bairstow has endured a dismal series thus far, scoring only 170 runs in the first four Tests at an average of just over 21.
In his column for The Daily Mail, Lloyd rubbished the criticism of Bairstow's glovework and felt his numbers as a wicketkeeper stack up against the best, especially with the bat.
"With an average of 36 and a strike rate of 59, he is someone who influences outcomes. Those numbers are close to ideal for a wicketkeeper. To critics of his glovework, I ask you: was Adam Gilchrist the best wicketkeeper in Australia when he played Test cricket? Was Mahendra Singh Dhoni the best in India? Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara? Our own Matt Prior? Brendon McCullum of New Zealand?" wrote Lloyd.
"No, and in each case their worth to the team in front of the stumps outweighed whatever they did behind them. Ditto Bairstow’s worth to England, and he really comes into his own joining an existing batter in the middle or being left with the tail," he added.
Bairstow has played more than half of his 99 Test outings as a keeper (55) and averages over 37 with five centuries.
Former South African keeper Mark Boucer has the most dismissals in Tests (555), followed by Australian great Adam Gilchrist (416) While Dhoni is fifth with 294, Bairstow is 14th on the list with 223 dismissals.
"Totally unselfish, with an ability to change the game" - David Lloyd
David Lloyd further praised Jonny Bairstow as an unselfish player with the rare ability to change the course of a game in Tests.
The right-handed batter has scored almost 6,000 in his Test career at an average of over 36 with 12 centuries.
"Never doubted he was a player who was going to make it. Why? Because of his style: totally unselfish, with an ability to change the game. It is so important in Tests to put pressure back on the opposition. Having been an international coach, I can tell you that his name will feature on the whiteboard in the opposition dressing room, because he can really hurt you with the speed of his scoring," wrote Lloyd.
Bairstow will become only the second English cricketer to play 100 Tests and the fourth in the present side after James Anderson, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes.
Despite the series outcome already being decided at 3-1 in favor of India, the two teams will battle for crucial World Test Championship (WTC) points in the fifth Test in Dharamsala, starting March 7.