England star batter Jonny Bairstow is excited to return to the England team for the Ashes–and revealed that at one stage he thought he would never walk again after breaking his left leg in August 2022. The 33-year-old has been recalled as England’s Test wicketkeeper at the expense of Ben Foakes for next month’s one-off Test against Ireland.
Bairstow has not played cricket since suffering a freak injury on a golf course in September, which ruled him out of the 2022 Twenty20 World Cup and IPL 2023. He recently made a comeback for Yorkshire in the County Championship, but he is now slated to keep the wickets for the Ashes against the arch-rivals Australia.
Jonny Bairstow slowly has recovered from the injury, speaking to the media about his injury. The England star said that they were doubts about him playing cricket again after picking that nasty injury. He believes that injuries are a part and parcel of a cricketing career.
“You wonder whether or not you’ll be able to walk again, jog again, run again, play cricket again. Absolutely, those things do go through your mind. It depends on how long you think about them. There are many different things, until you get back to playing, well… you wonder, is it going to feel the same?” Jonny Bairstow said.
“It’s quite funny, people have said, ‘You’re limping’. Well, I don’t know anyone that’s had a major lower leg injury that does walk the same as previously. There are going to be little limps, there are going to be aches and pains, that’s part and parcel of it. Whether it’s knees, hips, ankles, lower back, whatever it is”.
Jonny Bairstow has been in sensational form in red-ball cricket in 2022 scoring four brilliant centuries–and has been a mainstay in Ben Stokes-led side before an injury kept him out of the side. He last kept in a Test in 2021, standing in for Jos Buttler, and has not been the regular gloveman and would return to take the job of the gloveman to provide depth in the batting order for the Ben Stokes-side in Ashes 2023.
It’s Been Building Nicely – Jonny Bairstow
Jonny Bairstow believes that he is well prepared to keep wickets for the England side as he kept 100 overs in the county games and reckons that he is building close to his very best and said that the training is going very well and it is positive for him to do well for the team in the Ashes.
“That first second XI game (against Nottinghamshire before his return to 1st XI cricket), I kept 100 overs in the game. The last two Champo games – it’s been building nicely. A day off, train, train, train. It’s been back-to-back and there hasn’t been any reaction. If it swelled up, you know there’s something wrong. So it’s positive,” Jonny Bairstow added.
The England team was not at its usual best when they toured Australia where England was hammered by Australia by 4-0 and will to do well in their home soil this time. The most exciting Ashes this year is scheduled to begin on June 16, with the first Test to be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham.