Jonny Bairstow feared he might not be able to walk again but newly fit after last year’s horrific leg break and restored to the role of Test wicketkeeper, the Yorkshireman fancies the good times can roll once more come the Ashes.
That Bairstow would return to England’s side once fit was scarcely in question given his explosive role in last summer’s surging performances, those four centuries in five innings ushering in the new era. Still, displacing Ben Foakes behind the stumps for the Ireland Test has certainly caught the eye.
Oblivious to much of the swirling debate around this selection call, Bairstow is simply proud at having battled back from the broken leg and ankle dislocation that came from last summer’s freak slip on the golf course, plus the bleak period that followed.
“I was buzzing,” said Bairstow, when asked about the call from England’s head coach Brendon McCullum. “There were some dark times last winter, so to get that phone call after all the emotions you go through, there’s a huge amount of pride. It was awesome.
“There’s naturally been a few [low moments]. You wonder whether or not you’ll be able to walk again, jog again, run again, play cricket again. Absolutely, those things do go through your mind.”
Bairstow, speaking at an event to promote England partners Radox, said he has not had contact with Foakes since the squad was named but will in time. Given an on-off relationship with the gloves himself, keeping in 49 of his 89 Tests to date but just once since 2019, he knows how the Surrey man feels right now.
“I’ve also been in that situation so I can absolutely feel for him,” Bairstow said. “But that’s also the nature of sport – it’s not me that’s made those decisions.
“He’s been a big part of the last 12 months for England and there’s no doubt he’ll be back playing at some point. It’s one of those unfortunate things that happen in professional sport.”
Of the polarised reaction online, Bairstow added: “I deleted Twitter off my phone a while back. I had it during the winter because I was injured but as soon as I was back close to playing I deleted it again because I need to concentrate on what I need to do.
“We’re very lucky to have some amazing fans in this country and people who support you through thick and thin. But on the other side there are some people who like to have a swipe at you whether you’ve done good, bad or indifferent.”
As a specialist batter, Bairstow has enjoyed a strong rapport with home crowds on the boundary’s edge but this will pause given his dual role with the gloves.
Confidence at combining the two comes once more from his past such stints, he said, not least 2016 when he broke Andy Flower’s record for a Test wicketkeeper by scoring 1,470 runs in a calendar year and combined this with 70 dismissals.
The 33-year-old is also mindful that people may analyse his gait since that injury but insists that any limp should not be misinterpreted. “I don’t know anyone that’s had a major lower leg injury that walks exactly the same as previously,” he said. “I’m not going to be running the same as last year, but that’s OK.”
Asked if he had played golf since his return to fitness, Bairstow smiled and replied mysteriously: “No comment.”
The question now, having proven his fitness at Yorkshire, is whether Bairstow can recapture last year’s golden form with the bat. It was something which peaked with those twin centuries against India at Edgbaston and saw him win the Wisden Trophy for “the outstanding individual performance by a man or a woman in a Test”.
“There’s so many variables, so you can’t necessarily predict what the future holds,” he said. “Do I think I can do it again? Of course, because I have some very fond memories and some very real experiences.
“I quite enjoyed last summer [as a specialist batter]. I don’t know whether [keeper-batter] is my favourite role. I haven’t thought about it that way. I just try and give it my all when I go out there and play for England. I’ve never changed that.”
While Bairstow returns, Jimmy Anderson has admitted he may not be risked for the Test against Ireland that starts on 1 June following the groin strain that curtailed his recent outing for Lancashire. The 40-year-old pulled up lame just four overs into the 2019 Ashes - missing the rest of the series - but stressed this situation is different.
Anderson said: “I ripped my calf earlier that summer and it was a real push to get fit. I don’t feel like this is anywhere near that severity. I am desperate to be fit for the first Ashes Test [this year]. If that means missing the Ireland Test, so be it.”
