Last Updated on 4 years ago by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Jonny Bairstow credits IPL for Trent Bridge heroics | Bairstow speaks about how the IPL has helped his game
Jonny Bairstow has hit back at criticism of him preferring the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the English County Championship after his swashbuckling century in England’s recent, memorable Test victory over New Zealand. Bairstow struck an incredible 136-run knock in the final day of the game against Kiwis to help England chase down 299 runs within 50 overs.
Though England have taken a 2-0 lead in the series, Bairstow landed in the country only four days prior to the first game due to his IPL engagements with the Punjab Kings.
Bairstow had a middling campaign for Punjab, as he scored 253 runs in 11 games at an average of 23 and a strike rate on the upwards of 140. His form turned around to an extent after he was promoted to the top of the order and the right-hander notched two half-centuries in the season.
Also read: Highest first innings scores in a Test defeat
You play the best in the world in the IPL – Bairstow
However, he attributes his ability to win the previous game from an improbable position to the high-pressure situations that he has been involved in whilst playing in competitions like the IPL.
“There was a lot of people that were saying I should not be at the IPL and I should be playing county cricket,” Bairstow was quoted in a report by the ESPN Cricinfo.
He added, “That’s part and parcel of the game. Decisions are decisions and if I could say what I wanted to then… But there’s also elements to it where you are playing against the best in the world at the IPL. So being able to have those gears, to be able to go and switch them up, switch them down is important.”
The Punjab Kings player exclaimed that he was proud of the way he shaped his match-winning century against New Zealand. At one point in time, he was batting at 12 off 24 deliveries. But he managed to take off from there to bag 124 runs in the following 68 deliveries. “It wasn’t just a case of let’s go gung-ho. It was right, pick your times, pick your moments and then try and change the game,” he quipped.
“Because it’s those situations that you’ve gone through in the past – whether that be in the IPL, whether that be in one-day cricket, whether that be in red-ball cricket previously that you’re able to call upon evenings like that. And they’re the bits that those opportunities and environments, whether they be for good or bad, (mean) you’re able to produce performances like we as a group have done this game, last game and hopefully going forward,” Bairstow opened up on the debate.
“That’s part and parcel of the game. Decisions are decisions and if I could say what I wanted to then… But there’s also elements to it where you are playing against the best in the world at the IPL. So being able to have those gears, to be able to go and switch them up, switch them down is important.”
Jonny Bairstow
The 32-year-old gave a peek into the England Test team’s changing mentality under the new reign of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. England had 299 to chase in 72 overs and they broke it down to the equation of scoring close to per over to get to the target. Bairstow said that it was the prevalent scoring rate throughout the game as well and hence the challenge appeared ‘very manageable and very chasable’.
“We managed to chase it with 22 (overs) left which is a different commodity but it was great fun,” Bairstow quipped.
Also read: Highest first innings scores in a Test defeat
