Here’s what Watson said about Bairstow’s recent transformation
Here’s what Watson said about Bairstow’s recent transformation. Shane Watson, a famous cricketer from Australia, praised England’s veteran batsman Jonny Bairstow’s change on the field and talked about what he thinks may be behind Bairstow’s recent success in Test cricket. Watson believes that Bairstow has finally seasoned himself as a red-ball player and is now one of the first players picked for the English team. In the past, Watson has performed exceptionally well against England and was a part of the CSK squad. At the same time, Bairstow was an opener back then for the orange army of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.
Bairstow continues to do well as a specialist batter. However, the 32-year-old seems to have left behind the days when he had to do both batting and keeping. Watson said that one of Bairstow’s innings against Australia in the Ashes earlier in 2022 showed that he could be a top-notch middle-order batter.
Watson said in his interaction with Sanjana Ganesan on one of the most recent editions of The ICC Review, “I’ve always been very impressed with Jonny Bairstow and, initially, it was in the shorter formats (of the game), but that hundred he got at the SCG during the Ashes was brilliant.”
“The way he took on the bowlers and his fearless way of batting is exactly what he has shown in the two Test matches against New Zealand. That hundred at Trent Bridge (against New Zealand) was special, as not many players can do what he did and dominate an international bowling attack in the way he did.” he said.
Bairstow’s Contribution
Bairstow has been one of England’s most reliable Test players in recent years. In 2022, the right-hander scored five of his eleven Test centuries. Watson thinks that Brendon McCullum as a coach and Ben Stokes as captain have given Bairstow more freedom to bat on instinct and play his natural game. Bairstow’s recent run has happened at the same time that Brendon McCullum was hired as coach and Ben Stokes was named captain. And since Bairstow’s newfound confidence helped him get two centuries and a total of 394 runs in the three-match Test series against New Zealand, Watson doesn’t see any reason why the experienced England batter can’t build on his recent successes and keep doing well.
More on what Shane Watson Said
“He has discovered, across all formats, exactly what works for him and that’s just taking on the game, taking on the bowlers and putting pressure on the bowlers from ball one. There’s no reason that he can’t continue to do this all the way through to the end of his career. He’s discovered what works for him… he’s found that formula and he’s just got to keep repeating that over and over again.”
Here’s what Watson said about Bairstow’s recent transformation.