Yorkshire’s Bairstow gloves top young award

Fresh from a match-winning performance on his one-day international debut against India on Friday, Bairstow has received one of cricket’s most prestigious awards.

The 21-year-old, whose unbeaten 41 guided England to a six-wicket victory in Cardiff, has been named Cricket Writers’ Club Young Cricketer of the Year for 2011.

Bairstow received nearly double the votes of the runner-up, Warwickshire’s Chris Woakes, after a season in which he scored 1,213 first-class runs at 48.52.

Bairstow is the ninth Yorkshire player to win the award after Fred Trueman (1952), Philip Sharpe (1962), Geoffrey Boycott (1963), Chris Old (1970), Ashley Metcalfe (1986), Richard Blakey (1987), Chris Silverwood (1996) and Adil Rashid (2007).

The award, now in its 62nd year, is restricted to England-qualified players who are aged under 23 on May 1.

Bairstow – also in England’s squad for the two Twenty20 internationals against West Indies at The Oval on Friday and Sunday – has had an outstanding summer on all fronts.

In May, he scored his maiden first-class century (205) against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge and, in August, struck his maiden one-day century (114) against Middlesex at Lord’s.

Bairstow also made a hundred for the England Lions against Sri Lanka A in Scarborough, while his wicketkeeping has come on leaps and bounds.

Bairstow claimed 47 dismissals in first-class cricket last season (all caught) and barely put a glove wrong behind the stumps.

He attributes his improvements to some hard work during the off-season with former Nottinghamshire and England wicketkeeper Bruce French.

Votes were cast for 13 players in the latest CWC ballot, with strong support also for Hampshire’s Danny Briggs and Leicestershire’s James Taylor. The 62 players chosen as Young Cricketer of the Year have amassed more than 2,000 Test caps and 1,500 one-day international caps between them.

Phil Hughes hit an unbeaten 122 in Colombo to guide Australia into a position of strength in the third Test - and all but end Sri Lanka’s chances of levelling the series.

The home side, needing a win to level the series at 1-1, required quick wickets having claimed a 157-run first innings lead but Hughes’s efforts enabled Australia to close day four on 209-3, a lead of 52.

Hughes and Shane Watson got the tourists off to a strong start with an opening stand of 62.