Bairstow

On what basis?

Fack me going in a circles aren’t we.

Zzzzzzz

I genuinely don't know. I'm not sure he even played in the Bob Willis Trophy, so I don't think he's played any red-ball cricket at all since he was dropped. Absolute joke.

Apparently it’s as replacement for Ollie Pope who is still injured.

Doesn't he have a good record in Sri Lanka?

Still compares poorly to Ben Foakes on all criteria.

- Foakes is a better keeper
- Foakes also has an excellent record in Asia
- Foakes played a bit in Bob Willis and scored some runs (averaged 75 across four innings)

top 5 pretty set in test cricket now? Sibley, Burns, Crawley, Root, Stokes. Shame about Pope, can imagine Bairstow and Buttler will both play then

I'm hoping it's nothing more than cover as they spoke about having an extended squad due to Covid.

If Pope is injured then the obvious choice is moving Buttler to 6 where he averages 49, and bring in Foakes as WK.

But then again the selectors never seem to do the obvious thing. Will probably have Bairstow in at 6 with Buttler at 7

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they brought in Bairstow at 3, dropped Crawley, moved Buttler to 6 and batted Woakes or Curran at 7, both of whom will be fairly useless in Sri Lanka.

Always a lottery with the selectors

But yeah, the lineup SHOULD be Burns, Sibley, Crawley, Root, Stokes, Buttler, Foakes.

Hopefully as you say, Bairstow is just backup.

you know im full on board Foakes being test keeper. Despite me despising Surrey CCC

Oh you

Bairstow is a strange selection

He is in my view the player of his generation alongside Stokes. He has all the ability in the world and was the key drive between Yorkshire’s back to back County wins

He got messed about by England a bit and in my opinion that along with his focus and brilliance in limited overs has affected his Test batting and left him with a flaw between bat/pad

Now whether he just needed time away or whether he has worked on this is to be seen. My preference would have been to see him batting back at Yorkshire in the CC at 5 but maybe unlikely in this climate we now live in

To me he is a better keeper than Buttler and when on form a better batsman. It just looks wrong to not see him as our keeper batsman but it’s down to him to score the runs

Regardless, they have stuck with Jos and to his credit he performed well towards the end of the summer, so he isn’t going anywhere

I think as you say, it's him focusing on limited overs which has altered both his technique and his mind set. It's frustrating because he clearly has the ability to average 40-45 in test cricket, but he no longer appears to have the application for it.

It's criminal how often he gets bowled in tests.

The same happened last winter. Was dropped for the winter then having had no cricket got called up to south Africa.

The lad obviously has friends in high places.

No chance of him batting 3 though imo. Only way Crawley would move from 3 is if they dropped Burns, but with only 2 games that's unlikely and even then would more likely use Jennings I'd have thought.

No way Crawley drops below 3.

The aggravating factor for me is that he sulks and throws strops when he gets dropped, despite being given more opportunities by far than the VAST majority of other players. He's averaged sub-25 in red-ball cricket for about 3 years (pretty much since he was bumped up the order in one-dayers), yet he was still considered an automatic pick, and when he got dropped he moaned about it as though he was entitled to his place without earning it. I really don't like the guy's attitude, and I don't think his red-ball talent "excuses" a prickly attitude like someone like Kohli's or Pietersen's did, especially when he has such an obviously significant technical flaw that he just doesn't seem willing or able to admit/work on.

Phenomenal one-day player though, no doubt about it. Ridiculously so.

comment by Okeydokey (U22516)
posted 42 minutes ago
The same happened last winter. Was dropped for the winter then having had no cricket got called up to south Africa.

The lad obviously has friends in high places.

No chance of him batting 3 though imo. Only way Crawley would move from 3 is if they dropped Burns, but with only 2 games that's unlikely and even then would more likely use Jennings I'd have thought.

No way Crawley drops below 3.
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I read that Burns will likely miss at least part of the series as his wife is due with their first kid.

Agree with all you say about Bairstow Amanda.

Didn't know about Burns.

https://www.espn.co.uk/cricket/story/_/id/30449044/rory-burns-miss-sri-lanka-tour-birth-first-child

If the tour goes ahead then guess Jennings will open with sibley. Can't expect stokes to go. Something like Jennings sibley Crawley root bairstow butler woakes moeen Rashid broad Anderson.

Sad news about Ben Stokes' dad.

65's too young

How about

Sibley
Jennings
Denly
Root
Malan
Buttler
Foakes
Woakes
Bess
Leach
Broad

?

Or if 3 seamers are needed, maybe try this lad Higgins and shift Denly out ?

Anything to keep Bairstow out ffs !

Has the squad been named yet?

With Burns out, I think I'd just promote Crawley and bring Denly back at 3. I'm not entirely against the idea of Jennings having a place in the side for these two games though.

I like the idea of 3 spinners so would probably go for something like Sibley, Crawley, Denly, Root, Buttler, Foakes (wk), Woakes, Bess, Broad, Leach, Parkinson. This is on the basis if Stokes doesn't travel. I don't think Denly is good enough to play as a 3rd spinner. Wood or Archer could come in for Broad and the potential for someone like Sam Curran for Woakes as alternative bowling options.

I'm not a fan of the Bairstow inclusion, he's a phenomenal player but hasn't demonstrated an ability to tweak his game when he plays test cricket since becoming a regular in the one day side.

Would assume Stokes will still go, they don't fly out until 2nd Jan and the first test isn't until the 14th, so still 1 month away yet.

Tour schedule:

Saturday 2 January: Touring party departs from London to Hambantota

Tuesday 5-9 January: Training and preparation at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota

Thursday 14-18 January: 1st Test match – Sri Lanka v England, Galle International Cricket Stadium, Galle

Friday 22-26 January: 2nd Test match – Sri Lanka v England, Galle International Cricket Stadium, Galle

Wednesday 27 January: Touring party departs Sri Lanka.