'It's the freedom we have now' - Jonny Bairstow on his recent splendid form in Tests

English batter Jonny Bairstow believes that the reason behind his tremendous form in Test cricket is due to the influence of the covid-free procedures in place, and also because of the clarity and lucidity from the current red-ball head coach Brendon McCullum. He scored two centuries in the three-match series against New Zealand and followed it with two centuries in the one-off Test against India.

The English cricket team has gained a strong form in the red-ball game under the new coach McCullum and new captain Ben Stokes. Ever since the duo stepped into their respective roles, England has won all the four Test matches that they have played. They defeated New Zealand by 3-0 before meeting India and defeating the Jasprit Bumrah-led side in order to level the five-match series 2-2.

And in all the games, Bairstow has emerged as the finest batter, alongside Joe Root. As of now, Bairstow is the leading run-scorer in the format this year (2022) in the world as he has managed to accumulate 994 runs in eight matches at a brilliant average of 76.46. In addition, Jonny Bairstow is the first player to ever bat at number five or lower and hammer six Test hundreds in a single calendar year.

“It’s the freedom we have now. We’re not in hotel rooms, bubbles, having to do Covid tests every day and we can do normal things like go to the shop, go for a beer, see your friends and family All of those things accumulate together and obviously the excitement of working with Baz (McCullum) and the clarity he gave everyone,” Bairstow told the Tailenders podcast.

Baz also spoke to me a bit about imposing myself on the game: Jonny Bairstow

England adapted to a new style of playing under the new coach as the batters took on an aggressive mode and looked to chase any total that came their way. This summer, Bairstow missed the start of the county season because he was engaged in the Indian Premier League.  McCullum had assured him, though, that it would not have an impact on his status in the Test team.

“Before we played New Zealand, there was chat about going to the IPL and not playing county cricket but Baz phoned me, said I was batting five in the Tests, to get my head around it and crack on. Baz also spoke to me a bit about imposing myself on the game – nothing technical. That can be tricky in red-ball cricket because you don’t want to look like you’re slogging,” he added.