[Watch] England fans build a snowman for Jonny Bairstow in Dharamsala ahead of his 100th Test
A couple of English fans built a snowman for Jonny Bairstow in Dharamshala as he prepares to play his 100th Test this week. He is all set to become the 17th England player to reach the 100-Test milestone.
Jonny Bairstow has endured a tough run with the bat in the four matches of the ongoing series against India. He has only scored 170 runs across eight innings, at an average of 21.25, with 38 being his best knock.
Despite his lean form, English team management has continued to show their faith in him as they named him in the playing XI for the final and fifth Test against India in Dharamshala, which commences on March 7.
Ahead of his milestone match, England fans built Jonny Bairstow in snowman form to pay tribute. The Barmy Army's X handle shared the video to give everyone a glimpse of it.
You can watch the making of the snowman in the below video:
"He is also one of those genuinely kind people" - Joe Root on Jonny Bairstow
English batter Joe Root spoke highly about his Yorkshire mate Jonny Bairstow ahead of his 100th Test appearance. Root reminisced about their early days and revealed that Bairstow had been a star since the days when they were coming up the ranks at Yorkshire.
Joe Root told Sky Sports:
"Jonny was always the superstar. He had the difficult tag of following in his father's footsteps but he always lived up to it. He was someone who always excelled and was top of the class as we were coming through at Yorkshire. He was a very talented sportsman growing up - especially if you ask him!
Bairstow's kind nature, he continued:
"He is also one of those genuinely kind people that wants to do everything for you. It might not always come across like that on the screen but he has a really good heart and is someone that will always have your back and look after you."
Root added:
"You know how much it means to him to play for England and it will be an emotional week for him. It will be nice to be there to share that with him. You couldn't write a better script for Jonny Bairstow. He can offer so much and has such a wide range of skillsets that it can be misinterpreted at times what his best strengths are."
Across 99 Tests, Bairstow has scored 5,974 runs at an average of 36.42, including 12 centuries and 26 half-centuries.