'He’s got the capability to go on and make really big scores' - Joe Root on Jonny Bairstow

The English Test team is in for a gruelling winter. Following the culmination of the ongoing Test series against New Zealand, the Three Lions will travel to the rainbow nation- South Africa- for a four-match Test series; one that will be a part of the ongoing ICC Test Championship, unlike the current one.

And, it hasn’t started in the manner that Joe Root and the newly appointed coach Chris Silverwood would have liked after Kane Williamson’s New Zealand handed the tourists a pounding of epic proportions in the opening Test at the Bay Oval.

England’s problem was accentuated to the hilt when incumbent wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler suffering an injury in his back and is unlikely to take any part in the all-important second Test at Seddon Park in Hamilton. In a normal case, Jonny Bairstow would have stepped up and taken over the gloves from Buttler. But, with Bairstow is not in the squad, and in his absence, Ollie Pope will deputize Buttler.

Bairstow, who has six Test hundreds to his name, was dropped from the English Test set-up following a string of low scores against the red-ball, something which was heightened during the summers’ Ashes series. Many believe that the technical tweaks that Bairstow did to become a swashbuckling white-ball opener that he is today, has led to his undoing in Test cricket. However, the English captain believes that Bairstow can become one of the best Test batsmen in the world.

Joe Root throws his weight of support behind Jonny Bairstow

Bairstow is set to travel to South Africa for a pre-series training camp, one which also included the likes of James Anderson, Mark Wood, Olly Stone, Craig Overton, and Ollie Robbins0n, and Root believes that it would help Jonny to get some workload and accentuate progress in his game.

“The training camp gives him an opportunity to get some workload in and keep looking to progress his game. He wants to prove to everyone that he wants to put the work in and develop and get better. This is an opportunity for him to do just that,” Joe Root said as quoted by The Guardian.

“For Jonny, you look at his talent, what he’s achieved and what he potentially could achieve in Test cricket and you think he’s got the capability to go on and make really big scores and be one of the best players in the world as a batter alone,” he added.

Meanwhile, the second Test match of the 2-match series between New Zealand and England will start on Friday, and Joe Root and his side would be desperate to force parity. If they don’t, then this will be England’s second successive Test series loss on New Zealand soil under Root’s leadership.

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