Time England backed ‘best in the world’ Yorkshire CCC’s Jonny Bairstow

The Yorkshire first-team coach believes that Bairstow is “the best keeper-batter in world cricket”.

But the Yorkshire player has been in-and-out of the Test team in recent times, and he was omitted from the squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka in March that was cancelled due to coronavirus.

“I just think Jonny needs some love and he needs to be backed,” said Gale, who is working one-on-one with Bairstow as he helps Yorkshire’s England players get ready for the international summer.

“Tell him that it’s his spot and he’s going to get a run of however many Tests.

“If they back him, I can guarantee he’ll come good for them.”

England have said they may need two separate squads this summer in the interests of safety/player workload.

It could leave them with an interesting decision in terms of all-format players such as Bairstow, who is equally proficient with red ball or white.

But Gale made clear: “For me, Jonny is still the best keeper-batter in world cricket.

“The people that he’s competing with – Tim Paine, for example, he’s nowhere near as good a batter as Jonny.

“Quinton de Kock, too, is a bloody good player but Jonny on form is outstanding, and we’ve seen that he can average 40-50 in Test cricket.

“I think his keeping has grown and grown over the years, and I’d like to see him given a run.”

Bairstow faces stiff competition from the likes of Jos Buttler and Ben Foakes, both of whom were chosen for the ill-fated Sri Lanka trip.

Bairstow, 30, was stood down from that tour – England claimed that they were resting him – but he has much to offer in Test as well as white-ball action.

“For me, Jonny’s a better option than Jos Buttler in red-ball cricket, for sure,” added Gale.

“Jonny has just turned 30 – he’s not old yet – and he’s still got plenty of cricket left in him and is as fit as a fiddle.

“I also think you’ve got to be careful when you say we’re going to move on to the next cab off the rank (Foakes) and that sort of thing.

“I don’t think Jonny has done much wrong and I’d like to see him given another chance.”

Bairstow believes the break from cricket will have done him good; he had not picked up a bat for four months before returning to training at Headingley last week.

“I think it will have done Jonny a lot of good,” added Gale.

“I think it will have done a lot of players good, but someone like Jonny – I wouldn’t say that things were spiralling, but I do think that he was a bit short of confidence.

“This break will have let him reassess things and, hopefully, now he’ll be backed going forward.”

In addition to working with Bairstow last week, Gale was helping the Yorkshire and England batsman Dawid Malan.

This week, he will also work with Yorkshire’s David Willey and Adil Rashid, followed by Tom Kohler-Cadmore the following week, after they, too, were named in England’s 55-man back-to-training group for the international season, due to start on July 8 with a three-Test series against the West Indies.

“It’s good to have a number of Yorkshire lads in that group,” said Gale. “Obviously it’s a huge squad – a 55-man squad is massive – and although one or two might not get anywhere near the team, it’s good recognition.

“You’d certainly expect Jonny and Malla (Malan) to be in amongst it, and Dave (Willey) might have a second roll of the dice, you never know. He seemed pretty much out of the picture after the World Cup, so maybe it’s another lifeline for him.”

Gale is delighted for Kohler-Cadmore, 25, a batsman who hopes to play for England in the not-too-distant future.

Kohler-Cadmore is another with the ability to adapt his game to all formats and is a rapidly-maturing and eye-catching talent.

“It’s good for Tom to be recognised,” added Gale. “I feel he probably hasn’t got the recognition he’s deserved really across all formats in the last few years.

“But, after being brought back into the Lions fold last winter, he’s getting recognised for the hard work that he’s putting in.

“There’s definitely an international cricketer in there in my opinion, and it’s up to us to give him the opportunities and the confidence to keep improving and help him get to that stage.”

Gale continued: “In white-ball cricket, Tom has been pretty consistent, and we’ve seen the glimpses in red-ball cricket of what he can do, the sort of match-winning innings that he can play.

“He certainly could be an international cricketer in all formats. These days, it’s bloody hard work to play all formats at county level and be successful, never mind at international level.

“Not many international cricketers dominate all three formats, but Tom is someone who could do that.

“He’s certainly got the work ethic and belief to do it, he’s just got to keep backing it up with sheer weight of runs.”

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