Johny Bairstow, who is not a regular name in the England ODI side suddenly made his presence felt in a strong way during the second ODI against Ireland at Lord’s.
Though not being among the starters in colour jersey, as Buttler and Stokes are missing the Ireland-ODI’s, Bairstow got a chance in the first two ODI’s. But, ODI captain Eoin Morgan thinks he can be a great asset for the team. A regular member of the Test team, Bairstow knows he will probably have to carry the drinks if everybody in the squad is fit and that Morgan has sympathy for his teammate.
In the second ODI at Lord’s, he scored an unbeaten 72 from 44 balls built on a third-wicket stand of 140 between the captain and Root to whitewash Ireland away. Bairstow’s knock, which featured seven fours and a trio of sixes from his final five balls, proved the difference between a chase-able total and an unobtainable one for Ireland’s cricketers.
After Morgan’s wicket fell, the stage was set for Bairstow and Sam Billings – Champions Trophy understudies – to capitalise on the absence of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler and carry England through.
In quotes published on Cricinfo, Morgan said:
“If an injury goes down, touch wood, you want someone in form to stand up. We’ve seen it before, where he hasn’t even been in the squad, and he’s come back from a Yorkshire game and won us the game.
“That’s the type of character he is. It’s amazing to watch because you’d have a lot of guys who would complain about their situation – not getting enough chances, or a long enough run – but he comes in and just performs. And that’s rare.
“Jonny has never let us down, and that is so rare to get someone that hungry and focused to come in and produce every game. And that gives him credit as he goes on.”
The skipper felt that Bairstow is the perfect choice for the side if any player gets injured. England won both the matches against Ireland, a comprehensive indeed, though Ireland has disappointed a bit with their show but it has ended up in an exciting series.