Nasser Hussain Reckons England Top Order Can Learn From Jonny Bairstow And Debutant Jamie Overton’s Counter Attack On Day 2 Of 3rd Test

Jun 25, 2022 at 2:44 PM

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Nasser Hussain Reckons England Top Order Can Learn From Jonny Bairstow And Debutant Jamie Overton’s Counter Attack On Day 2 Of 3rd Test

Nasser Hussain, the former England captain lavished praise on Jonny Bairstow and Jamie Overton for launching a stunning counter-attack on Day 2 of the 3rd Test against New Zealand at Headingley. Nasser Hussain also felt the duo set an example for the top-order batters, as none of them could reach double-digit figures (apart from Ben Stokes’ 18) as England was struggling at 55/6 before the duo arrived at the crease.

Jonny Bairstow and Jamie Overton finished day two with an unbeaten stand of 209 in 37.1 overs, scoring at a breezy 5.62 runs per over. The duo joined hands when England was faltering at 55-6, with none of the top four making it to double figures. By the end of the day’s play, however, England only trailed by 64 runs to the Kiwis’ first-innings score of 329.

Jamie Overton and Jonny Bairstow batted magnificently. (Credits: Getty)
Jamie Overton and Jonny Bairstow batted magnificently. (Credits: Getty)

Nasser Hussain Praised The Superb Counter Attack From Jonny Bairstow And Debutant Jamie Overton

In his column, Nasser Hussain lauded the pair’s explosive partnership and believes it’s what the coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes would have wanted from the team.

He observed that the duo launched a calculative counter-attack, stating: “That was a quite superb counter-attack from Jonny Bairstow and Jamie Overton. It was an excellent example of the kind of thing Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes want from this Test team. It’s not all about blazing away when the odds are against you. It’s about working out when is the right time to attack.”

Nasser Hussain. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Nasser Hussain. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
“Bairstow and Overton, who showed real nous on his Test debut, timed it to perfection. And it may be the kind of performance the top order can learn from, because you have to get that balance right.”

Jonny Bairstow, who earned the ‘Player of the Match’ award in the second Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, reached his ton only off 95 balls. Trent Boult and Tim Southee wreaked havoc on the hosts’ top order, with the former picking up three wickets.

Nasser Hussain: There’s No One Way Of Batting In Test Cricket

The 54-year-old also opined that there exists no blueprint for batting in Test cricket and it’s all about adaptation.

Nasser Hussain added: “What the second day’s play confirmed for me was there’s no one way of batting in Test cricket – which is what differentiates the format from the white-ball versions of the game. When Bairstow went berserk at Trent Bridge, he’d given himself a platform before tea. You adapt to what’s in front of you.”

New Zealand started their day at 225-5, with Tom Blundell and Daryl Mitchell at the crease. While Tom Blundell departed for 55, Daryl Mitchell went on to reach three figures yet again and ultimately perished for 109. Tim Southee played a 29-ball 33 cameo to propel the visitors to 325.

Daryl Mitchell Getty Images
Daryl Mitchell Getty Images

The bald facts of the partnership between Jonny Bairstow and Jamie Overton were startling enough. Not only was their unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 209 the highest in England’s Test history, but it also came from an unconscionable 223 balls, with the two men lumping 33 fours and two sixes between them.

The lions’ share, inevitably, belonged to the imperious Jonny Bairstow, who made last week’s matchwinner at Trent Bridge seem like a prologue. But the more astonishing performance belonged to his junior partner Jamie Overton, a fast bowler on debut who marched back to the dressing-room on 89 not out from 106, just 11 runs shy of only the second first-class hundred of his ten-year professional career.

England 264 for 6 (Bairstow 130*, Overton 89*) trail New Zealand 329 (Mitchell 109, Blundell 55, Leach 5-100) by 65 runs

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