Really hope England have not consigned Jonny Bairstow to the scrapheap: Michael Vaughan

England’s batting unit suffered heavily in the recent Test series against Pakistan. Joe Root hit a terrific double ton in the first ton in Multan, while Harry Brook hit a triple century in the same game. However, after that, none of the batters could manage to establish their authority, leading to a 2-1 series defeat after taking a 1-0 lead in the series. There are questions being raised over England batters’ ability to tackle spinners in the subcontinent, as they were also beaten by India earlier this year by a 4-1 margin.

Reflecting upon the performance of the players, former cricketer Michael Vaughan analysed that Ollie Pope lacked control while Stokes also failed to prove himself with the bat. He also noted that while Pope has performed well in the longest format, he has allowed opponents to dismiss him early.

Vaughan mentioned that teams like Australia and India, two teams England will face next year, will enjoy bowling to Pope as his wicket would mean that Joe Root can be exposed early. The 49-year-old also pointed out that he hopes that the team management has not forgotten about Jonny Bairstow. He believes if utilised properly, the keeper-batter can be extremely dangerous in red-ball cricket.

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“If Pope and England are honest with themselves they have to recognise that even his best innings have lacked control. I enjoy watching him bat when he’s in, because there’s lots of strokes and it’s exciting. But it’s full of risk. One thing I am certain of is that Australia and India would love to see him walking out at No. 3 next year. If they got one of the openers out early, which will happen across those series, they know they have a great chance of a crack at Root early,” wrote Vaughan in the Telegraph.

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“Another thing I’d add is that I really hope England have not consigned Jonny Bairstow to the scrapheap. Used right, he has the potential to be extremely destructive alongside [Jamie] Smith in that middle order. With Stokes at No 3, [Jordan] Cox or Bairstow could bat in the middle order. I like that balance for taking on Australia, who have Nathan Lyon,” he added.

Vaughan explained that Stokes struggles against the Australian spinner and if he bats up on the order, he won’t be bothered by Lyon. In such a scenario, Bairstow can bat in the middle-order and take on the spinner and the tiring seamers.