Former England National Cricket Team skipper Michael Vaughan has stated that the star wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow could be dropped from the team after his 100th Test for the Three Lions.
Bairstow has been a key member of the England Test team for a very long period of time, but his recent form has been very poor due to which calls have been made to drop him from the team.
Jonny Bairstow took the Bazball approach of England’s Test team under the regime of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum like a fish to water and played some really explosive knocks that helped the English team win matches.
In the away series in India, the England team management expected Jonny Bairstow to once again showcase his aggressive avatar and launch an attack on the Indian bowlers. However, the batter has disappointed everyone and has been quite underwhelming with his performances.
Despite being given the opportunity to play in all four matches, the batsman has been able to score just 170 runs at a poor average of 21.25 and a best score of 38. The England head coach Brendon McCullum has also hinted that Bairstow would retain his place in the playing XI for the 5th Test against India in Dharamshala.
The Dharamshala match will be a special one for Jonny Bairstow as he will playing his 100th match in the purest format of the game. Former captain Michael Vaughan is also delighted about Bairstow’s 100th Test but is unsure of his future with the team beyond that match. In his column for The Telegraph, Vaughan said:
“Jonny Bairstow plays his 100th Test in Dharamsala and I am delighted about that. It’s a great triumph of resilience and, even in terms of sentiment, I believe that if you get to 99 caps you deserve the moment of your 100th. However, you can’t escape that he could miss out on his 101st. He hasn’t played well enough across the 10 Tests he’s been back in the side, especially in India,” Vaughan wrote.
He has kept magnificently – Michael Vaughan on Jonny Bairstow’s replacement as keeper for India series
Vaughan further spoke about Ben Foakes, who has been given the wicketkeeping duties in place of Bairstow on the India tour. Vaughan said that Foakes has done a great job behind the wickets but his batting doesn’t suit the Bazball style.
“I also look at the ‘keeper, Ben Foakes. He has kept magnificently in India, but I get the sense that he’s not in the inner circle with this setup and that his batting still doesn’t suit them.
“The last Test was a good example: he is great in partnership with a batsman, but struggles kicking on with the tail. Once again, his batting might not be enough however good his keeping is.”
Michael Vaughan also mentioned how the opening batters Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley have made some stunning contributions with the bat, but expressed disappointment over the batting performance of skipper Ben Stokes against spin-bowling. He said:
“I look at guys like Ollie Pope and Duckett and think they have had interesting tours. They have each played one stunning knock, but struggled otherwise. Equally, I am staggered at how, for a tall man, Stokes plays from the crease against the spin. Sometimes his forward defence sees his front foot only just past the popping crease. I’d love to see him smother spin,” the former England captain wrote.
The fifth and final Test match of the series between India and England is scheduled to be held at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala from March 07.
