England exile allowed me to gain experience – Bairstow

Bairstow is set for his third Test in less than a month as England seek a 4-1 home Ashes success at The Oval, starting this morning.

He endured a false start, through none of his own making, in his comeback innings at Edgbaston – where Mitchell Johnson had him caught behind with a near unplayable bouncer.

But Bairstow made an important half-century at Trent Bridge to help regain the urn – and this week he has the chance to join in another historic achievement if England can chalk up four Test wins in a home Ashes series for the first time.

By contrast, 18 months elapsed between the Yorkshireman’s 14th and 15th caps – but at the age of 25, he can reflect on time well spent away from the international limelight.

“It has been a case of cracking on and finding out things for yourself,” said Bairstow.

“There can be a lot of hype around, and I think that is something I’ve dealt with better than when I was a young lad.

“When you come in you want to hear and read things about you doing well – but now I don’t need to do that.”

Bairstow knows there are sure to be more ups and downs.

“Everyone has got an opinion and a job to do, and being able to move on from that is important,” he added.

“Learning from being slated one minute to being praised the next is an important skill to have.

“It is two years on – and I’ve got more experience playing for Yorkshire, and more experience in life generally. I’ve been lucky to experience a lot at quite a young age.”

It was a case in point that he was able to shelve rather than dwell on the disappointment of Birmingham.

“If you get one like that then you get one, and you think ‘Oh well, maybe next time’,” Bairstow said.

“You can look at it two ways; you can take your bat home and wonder what more you could have done, or you can know that you’ve done everything and it just didn’t go your way.”

Unlike Bairstow, Australia opener Chris Rogers must come to terms imminently with the end of the road in Test cricket.

Rogers, 38 at the end of this month, has confirmed he will retire – alongside Australia captain Michael Clarke – after the Oval Test.

His one regret is that he will not be doing so with an Ashes series triumph

“I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a lot of disappointment among the group,” he said.

“We came here to win, and we’ve been outplayed. (But) this is a big last game.”

Alastair Cook has had his “wobbles” as England captain, but is ready to go full steam ahead again at the helm for the Ashes winners.

Cook’s three-year tenure to date has culminated in his second series success against Australia.

But he has endured low points too, notably Ashes whitewash defeat two winters ago, a protracted loss of form and his axing as one-day international captain barely a month before England began their woeful World Cup campaign at the start of this year.

Throw in the controversy which raged over the sacking of Kevin Pietersen and England’s refusal to go back on that decision, and it is easy to see why Cook might have entertained occasional doubts.

They surfaced significantly during the West Indies series in April and lingered into this summer, but have been silenced by the uplifting experience of regaining the Ashes.

Cook’s current troubles are restricted to regret that James Anderson will not be fit after all to join the victory lap at The Oval.

The absence of England’s all-time leading wicket-taker, who has failed to recover in time from his side strain, is a mere spot of cloud cover compared to the storm Cook has at times had to get used to confronting.

He was therefore comparatively at ease on the eve of the fifth Investec Test as he made it clear his crises of confidence are in the past.

“I had a couple of wobbles,” said Cook.

“But I think the way this side have taken to this summer, the way they have gone about their business and the support I have had from them, it feels right for the moment that I carry on.

“I’ve felt over the last six months or so, as a captain, a lot better about myself.”

He is enthused by a series of impressive individual and team performances en route to 2015 Ashes glory, and optimistic about further strides which can be made.

“It’s been a good week to be an English cricketer – lots of people saying ‘well done’, but... I believe this side has more to give.

“We shouldn’t just rest on this,” he said.

“We need to keep trying to improve, and the guys are right behind that.”

Cook confirmed Anderson’s absence from what is likely to be an unchanged line-up following England’s Ashes-clinching innings victory at Trent Bridge.

There will, however, be a chance at The Oval for Cook’s opening partner, Yorkshire’s Adam Lyth, to put his run of mediocre form behind him.

“He hasn’t scored the runs he would have liked,” said Cook.

“But he made a very good hundred against New Zealand (at Headingley in May) – which is where I thought you saw a lot of his talent.

“It’s tough when your first seven games are against the bowlers he has faced, but he has to clear that out of his mind.”

If he does, Cook still sees a bright Test future ahead for his fellow left-hander.

“He’s an Ashes-winning player and he can be very proud of that,” said Cook.

“He’s been a big part of the squad and he has to go out there over the next five days and score runs.

“He’s a very good player who can succeed at international level.”