A refreshed Jonny Bairstow can still be England’s man for all formats

Life has changed for all of us lately – and in most respects not for the better.

But if a positive can be drawn in a cricketing sense, at least the game has had the chance to draw breath.

Players worn down by the international treadmill have had an opportunity to recharge their batteries.

For some, especially the pace bowlers, it might even have the effect of extending their careers.

For others, such as the Yorkshire and England star Jonny Bairstow, the demands on whom are greater than most as an outstanding player across all formats, it has been an opportunity to reset and refresh.

The effect could rejuvenate his Test career.

For Bairstow, 30, lost his Test place at the end of last summer.

He was dropped for the tour to New Zealand and replaced as wicketkeeper by Jos Buttler.

Although he regained a berth as a batsman when illness struck England’s squad on their subsequent trip to South Africa, playing in the first Test at Centurion, Bairstow did not feature in the rest of the four-match series.

The Yorkshireman was then left out of the spring tour to Sri Lanka which was later abandoned due to the pandemic.

It now feels like a pivotal moment as Bairstow attempts to persuade the powers-that-be that he still has much to offer as a red-ball as well as white-ball player.

A glance at the statistics proves that is so: Bairstow has scored just over 4,000 Test runs at a little under 35 and effected just under 200 dismissals with the gloves.

He is under pressure not only from Buttler but also Ben Foakes, despite many believing – this correspondent included – that Bairstow is England’s best wicketkeeper/batsman.

It does not matter what the likes of us think, however, but what the likes of Ed Smith, Chris Silverwood and Joe Root think.

They are the decision-makers and the men paid to make the difficult calls.

Bairstow’s immediate fate may become more obvious when England select two sides for a three-day inter-squad warm-up game on July 1.

That precursor to a three-Test series against the West Indies, which starts at the same Ageas Bowl ground on July 8, will see England forced to pick two wicketkeepers from Bairstow, Buttler and Foakes – although one of those could still potentially play in that warm-up just as a batsman. Will Bairstow be seen again as a specialist batsman, a role he has fulfilled more than once and in different positions?

It is one of many questions to be answered as we finally begin to concentrate on the fine details of cricket again as opposed to the task of simply getting the sport back up and running.

That Bairstow’s desire to regain the gloves is as strong as ever cannot be doubted, and he acknowledged that the break has done him good.

“I feel good,” he said.

“I think everyone’s going to be pretty pleased with the break, to be honest.

“It’s been well-documented that the international schedule has been pretty tough, so I think that although naturally in the circumstances nobody would have wanted the break for the country and the world, from a personal point of view I’m happy to have had a bit of a break and have a bit of freshness coming back into what’s now looking like an exciting ending to the English summer.

“It’s been a good break to think about a lot of different things and spend a bit of time at home, and spend some time with family.

“Now I’m just looking forward to getting back into camp, looking forward to getting down and seeing all the lads and playing some cricket again.”

As we have seen over the years, a Jonny Bairstow with a point to prove is a dangerous customer and one not to be underestimated.

A Jonny Bairstow with a point to prove as well as a priceless break behind him, however, is even more of a fearsome prospect.

Bairstow believes that he is coming towards the peak of his career and that he potentially has several years left at the top.

He is a wise hand now who has been there, done it and soaked up the blows, maintaining admirable professionalism along the way in the face of some curious treatment from the selectors at times.

If he gets his chance in the coming weeks and months, you know that the fire within will be stronger than ever.

A man who perhaps needed a break after an exhausting 2019 cannot wait to get back on the park and showcase his skills.

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