If Jonny Bairstow plays the remainder of England’s series against India, the final Test at Dharamsala will be a celebratory one, marking an achievement that didn’t seem realistic a few years ago: the Yorkshireman will become just the 17th Englishman to acquire 100 Test caps.
Ben Stokes got there himself in Rajkot, his way a lot more straightforward even if there have been off-field issues. No one has questioned Stokes’s presence in England’s best XI for close to a decade. For Bairstow, who began 12 years ago, it has been a journey of endless interrogations. Does he take the gloves or not? Where should he bat? Isn’t it Dan Lawrence’s turn now?
