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The most important thing is me being me: Jonny Bairstow gives insights into England's Test template

Jonny Bairstow scored an unbeaten 130 on Day 2 of the 3rd Test against New Zealand, rescuing England from a precarious situation where they were 6 down for 55. After the second day's play, Bairstow explained the mindset with which England are approaching Test matches under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.

TN Sports Desk

Updated Jun 25, 2022, 07:14 IST

Jonny Bairstow bagged 130 off 126 on Day 2 of 3rd Test against New Zealand

Photo : AP

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Jonny Bairstow scored a 126-ball 130 on Day 2 of the third Test against New Zealand.
Jamie Overton gave him excellent company from the other hand, adding 89 runs from 106 balls.
After the 2nd day's play, Bairstow gave insights into England's approach towards Test matches as a whole.

For the second consecutive Test, England wicket-keeper batter Jonny Bairstow produced a scintillating show with the bat, hitting a rescuing unbeaten 130 to pull the hosts back into the game in the third Test against New Zealand.

From being 6 down for 55 to going 264 without losing another wicket, the hosts produced a remarkable recovery, all thanks to Bairstow (130 off 126) and Jamie Overton (89 off 106).

Speaking of the mindset going into the game and the message from Brendon McCullum, Bairstow explained how things have changed in the England dressing room since the change in captaincy and the coaching team.

"'Fancy doing another Trent Bridge?' was the first thing that we said," Bairstow said in a chat with Sky Sports. "That was it: 'OK, let's crack on'. Sometimes it's a simple game that we complicate. That's all we're trying to do: strip that complicated nature of it back, allow people to go out and express themselves in a way that will bring the best out of them as individuals and also as personalities.

"There is sometimes a lot of rubbish spoken about a lot of different things. Sometimes it gets into your mind and clutters it; sometimes you have to just flick it. You have to listen to the people that matter to you and right now I am doing that," he explained.

Under McCullum, England have already produced some jaw-dropping performances. In Trent Bridge, it was the Stokes-Bairstow show that floored everyone. In Leeds, it's the Bairstow-Overton show that is decimating the Kiwis. The due credit for this change in mindset does go to England's newly-appointed head coach McCullum who has given full freedom to his players.

"The most important thing is me being me. Literally all Brendon [McCullum] has said is 'go and impose yourself on the game'. It's an exciting game and the way I've always played my cricket. I've gone back to young Jonny, where you're just watching the ball and seeing the ball."

"Literally, there wasn't anything said," Bairstow said, "just 'good luck and enjoy'."

Bairstow further labelled the change in attitude under Stokes and McCullum as 'massive'. No matter what situation England are put in, it's the players' natural game that is backed to the hilt. The results are for everyone to see.

"It's a buy-in from everyone, from the head coach right down to the guys making their debuts and coming into the squad. Whether you've played 170 Tests like Jimmy [Anderson] or making your debut like Jamie Overton, everybody's buying into a certain way that we believe we're capable of doing - but also a way of Test cricket that is different to potentially the norm.

"It's a case of putting pressure back on other people. If you sit there, sit there, sit there, there's a good ball in there for you. Rather than being a sitting duck and saying 'look, alright, you can bowl at me' it's 'OK, you can't bowl at me, so let's go'," asserted the wicket-keeper batsman.

England still have a 65-run first-innings lead to overcome before they can start to think of building a lead. The Overton and Bairstow partnership on Day 3 will be crucial in possibly deciding the fate of the game.

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