Jonny Bairstow : maiden ODI ton

Well Done !

Test Match and now, ODI

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Bairstow has batted with more fluency than anyone in this match.

Coming to the crease in both innings with his side under just a little bit of pressure,

he demonstrated that he has the batting ability to succeed at this level.

Bairstow scored at a run a ball.

There were three slog-swept sixes off the spinners and three sweetly-timed boundaries off  Morne Morkel.

He looked comfortably good enough to make it as a specialist batsman.

Or will it be the drop and the missed stumping ?


I know Jos Butler has a lotta fans on this Forum 

The wicketkeeping position has evolved over the last 20 years whereby specialist glovemen are almost a thing of the past. Teams rely on their keepers to be a big part of their middle order. As such, you are going to have to live with the occasional dropped catch or missed stumping.

Over the last 20 years, 18 wicketkeepers have averaged 30+ and 8 of those have an average better than 40. Compared to the 20 years prior to that, Andy Flower was the only wicketkeeper with an average greater than 40 and only 4 others had an average above 30.

I will say this about Bairstow, he batted marvelously, however he always looks very skittish and nervous at the crease. England made the decision to give Bairstow the gloves after Buttler's tough 2015, and for better or worse, he needs to be given all of 2016 to prove himself.

Although Stokes will rightly receive all the plaudits for his innings, Bairstow's 150 not out should in no way be overlooked or underplayed. He was magnificent in supporting Stokes. He looked to get Stokes back on strike at every opportunity while also putting away every bad ball he faced. The 399 runs they put on for the sixth wicket is a new Test record and the fifth-highest partnership for any England wicket.

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Jonny Bairstow celebrates his maiden Test century on the second afternoon at Newlands

               

Jonny's knock in the second innings of this Test was just as important as the 150 in the first innings. He came to the crease with England in dire straights. Stokes and Taylor had succumbed in quick succession and there was a real possibility that England could have been bowled out before tea. Not only did he do a great job of occupying the crease, but he also looked to play positively and score runs, which was just as important as crease occupation. 

However, for all the positives that Bairstow will take out of this Test and all of the plaudits he will receive (deservedly so), this Test once again proved that he is somewhat of a liability with the gloves. His drop of Hashim Amla proved costly. This, coupled with multiple dropped catches in the UAE and missed stumpings in Durban and Sharjah, give England some concern.

Teams have moved away from specialist glovemen, but keepers need to at least make the routine catches at a bare minimum. It's no good Baristow going out and averaging 40 with the bat but then giving all those runs back through dropped catches and missed stumpings.

This is a real problem that todays wicketkeepers face. They are required to be an integral part of the middle-order but also capable of keeping wicket to a decent standard, but it is hard work to divide your time equally to improve your batting and keeping skills at the same time. Jos Buttler spent all of last year working tirelessly to improve his keeping abilities - and his improvement was noticeable - however, all that time spent working on his glovework seemed to negatively impact his batting, which gave Bairstow this opportunity now.

I also think that another major issue that English cricketers face is the English press. No doubt that these two players will be heralded as saviours of English cricket and be classed as hero's to the nation. That is of course until they have a poor performance.

Players in England seem to be built up only to be shot down in flames at the least opportunity. I hope this doesn't happen again.

What a mixed bag for Bairstow this series. He was tremendous with the bat - and a large reason why England won the series - but was equally as poor with the gloves. He put down a shocking number of catches. Cook's comments after the match were quite telling to me:

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Cook is all class ...