‘Anyone that gets to 100 caps is a legend’ - Michael Vaughan reflects on Jonny Bairstow's career ahead of milestone game

Englisman Jonny Bairstow is all set to play his 100th Test of his career against India in Dharamsala, which will commence on Thursday, March 7. The 34-year-old made his Test debut against the West Indies in 2012 and has been in and out of the squad on multiple occasions during his career. However, courtesy of his destructive batting and explosive gameplay, the team management always backed the Bradford-born cricketer and in return, he has made 5,974 runs at an average of 36.42.

Reflecting on his career, former cricketer Michael Vaughan lauded Bairstow as a cricketing legend. He highlighted the times when the stumper-batter had to sit out, but always showed fortitude and determination to make it to the Test squad. Vaughan also mentioned that he didn’t feel Bairstow was even close to playing 100 Test matches, and added that there are not too many players who are better than Bairstow when he’s in rhythm.

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“The impact he has when he plays is immense. When you add to that - to keep wickets, moving up and down in the order, never had a set position in the order. So, that cannot be easy. Anyone who gets to the 100 caps is a legend. To play 100 matches in Test cricket is incredible. To do with the way he plays. Changing the order on a regular basis, in and out of the side. I mean I didn’t even realise that he was getting close to 100,” Vaughan said in the Vaughany & Tuffers Cricket Club podcast.

“He has had a career in which only a couple of times - you mentioned 2022 when he got six hundreds. It’s only a couple of times when he really dominated Test cricket. They were very short periods but to think now, he has fought through some adversities, huge amount of resilience. I don’t think there are many better players to watch when Jonny’s going,” he added.

Bairstow recently gave the credit to his mother, who stuck by his side during tough times. The cricketer also revealed that his mother survived cancer twice and has worked really hard to shape his career into what it has developed into.

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