The ECB trumpeted this summer as a feast of cricket for England but dips in form after World Cup success are commonWhen Eoin Morgan said at the end of the World Cup group stage, during a carnival of cricket that would eventually carry his team to glory, that the experience was proving so intense that “I can’t wait to get away from a cricket field”, there will have been many sportsmen who understood precisely what he was feeling. While fans enjoy the remorseless drama of these great competitions, those actually playing them find they exact a psychological and emotional toll.In October 2018, with many of the players who starred in the World Cup in Russia that summer disappointing in the...
Bairstow is arguably England’s finest ever ODI batsman and if you do not agree then ask the question, who has been better?What’s eating Jonny Bairstow? And whatever it is, can we have some more please? Preferably in large doses by the middle of next week.On a lovely soft summer day in Chester-le-Street England’s opening pair were once again the difference. At 10 o’clock Eoin Morgan had won the toss and chosen to bat. From there it took just 18 overs of regal, muscular violence against the hard white ball from Bairstow and Jason Roy to all-but decide this de facto World Cup quarter-final before the scoreboard clock had passed midday. Related: Mark Wood’s lucky touch symbolises England’s change in fortune...
Bairstow may have misunderstood coverage of England defeats but the opener righted a few perceived wrongs with his centuryThere was something utterly inevitable about Jonny Bairstow notching up a century against India, even if the celebration that followed it was, outwardly at least, less pointed than some might have expected.In Perth, during England’s doomed Ashes campaign of 2017‑18, he greeted three figures by butting his helmet – a nod to his infamous nightclub greeting for Australia’s Cameron Bancroft at the start of the tour. And in Colombo last year, when plonked at No 3 against his wishes and shorn of his beloved Test wicketkeeping gloves, came the beetroot-faced guttural roar. Related: Jonny Bairstow blasts critics ‘waiting for England to fail’...
The 50-over game, and the game in general, is fast disappearing in England which would make finally becoming world champions in the format a little peculiar‘Deserve’s got nothing to do with it.’Jonny Bairstow knows what the problem is. Two days after the invertebrate batting collapse against Australia, six days after the invertebrate batting collapse against Sri Lanka, Bairstow spoke out this week. Some English people – journalists presumably; self-motivating strawmen definitely – don’t want England to win the ICC World Cup. This apparently is the problem. Related: India happy to move through gears and stick to usual World Cup script | Anjali Doshi Continue reading...
Cook? Jennings? Bairstow? Stokes? Fourth Test against India finds England in a state of flux with only Joe Root inked in for October’s tourOne up with two to play makes you the favourite to win. Yet on the eve of the fourth Test in Southampton the India team, though 2-1 down in the series, seem the more settled. For the first time in Virat Kohli’s reign as captain he has indicated he intends to play the same side in consecutive Tests. Meanwhile England, despite their lead, remain a team in a state of flux. Related: Joe Root defends dropping Ollie Pope for Moeen Ali Related: Virat Kohli says momentum is with India as tourists name unchanged side Continue reading...