Johnny Bairstow walks off the Headingley field after losing only three centuries. Photo: Getty Images/George Wood
In the sleepy atmosphere of the Second Championship XI, there were very few fans ready to welcome Johnny Bairstow in the crease of his first bat since August 26, almost eight months ago. By the time he returned, 97 runs and 88 balls later, the applause for one of Yorkshire's favorite sons had gotten a little stronger, and for good reason.
Barstow didn't quite make it. three numbers, and the quality and intensity weren't quite the same as in Ashes this summer. But it was a very positive step in Bairstow's long road to recovery from a horrific fracture and sprained ankle he sustained in September.
There are a few more steps to go: fielding and keeping a wicket for the remaining three days of this game, two league game from next Thursday before testing can be considered in Ireland on 1 June and 15 days later in Australia.
Some interesting breeding decision is getting closer and closer to Rob Key and his team. Headingley was attended by Neil Killin, an elite ECB bowling coach, and Craig de Weymarn, an English physiotherapist. Carl Hopkinson, assistant head coach, is expected later this week and many others on the national team are following him with interest. Even if there are selection issues, they would rather bring back the 2022 Bairstow. He made six test centuries before he was injured, including four of five innings in which he hit 589 runs from 578 balls on an average of 196 to really spark a revolution in baseball.
According to the second coach of Tom Smith's Yorkshire team, Barstow was understandably nervous on the morning of his return. «It felt like his debut, obviously it was his first game in a long time,» said Smith, who said that Bairstow jokingly warned his teammates to «watch the run.» His first single came out with a very obvious nervous energy, which, according to Smith, caused laughter at the border.
He calmed down and Bairstow passed without obvious discomfort after a couple of hours of dealing with a very controversial Nottinghamshire attack. Led by the young attacker, Englishman Ollie Stone, who harassed Bairstow and eventually fired him, while a group of willing young men, including Rehan Ahmed's older brother, Raheem, could play with him for weeks without disturbing him.
On the high-speed shotgun used by the counties, Stone hit 90 mph and he hit promising rookie Finlay Beane accurately on the helmet, meaning his presence gave Barstow's test some credibility. Stone dropped him hard on move 21 with his head held high on his second miss and forced him into several plays and misses before he caught him in cover with the first ball of the third of his four spells. The ottoman was one of two gates in Stone's very hopeful introduction.
Comfort in the face of high tempo takes some getting used to and will come, because, against the background of everything else, Bairstow looked completely at ease. Coming into the fold shortly before dinner with the Yorkshire 109 for two, he respectfully achieved no more than a single of his first 17 balls. Once he got a taste for boundaries, he kept tucking in. Fit seamstress Tom Lauten was punished by being thrown over a midwicket, dragged out, nicely slammed into the ground, and then cut open, all with a single spell. Shortly before Stone trapped him, leg-twisting Kelvin Harrison went inside out from extra cover and broke two sixes in an over, the first truly powerful strike.
Smith reported that Bairstow was » he was crushed to pieces, but gutted to get out” a century later.
“Once he started acting, he looked like he had never left,” Smith said. “Watching him near the end, how he plays at the end, how he dribbles, how he plays the spinner, one throw from behind the extra cover showed that this is international class.
“Despite that the level you are playing, time in the middle is time in the middle, you can have as many networks as you want. But when you actually go outside and run into bowlers like Ollie Stone — we've got a speed gun downstairs and it's close to 90 mph — it'll test you. It was a really good challenge and I hope he learned a lot.
«He really wanted to play cricket after such a long break.»
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