Jonny Bairstow, the son of the former England wicketkeeper David Bairstow, is a combative wicketkeeper-batter who has become a cricketer to be reckoned with in England’s middle order. The journey was far from easy for Bairstow, especially with Jos Buttler in contention for the gloves, but prolific run-making for Yorkshire eventually made a case that England’s selectors could not ignore. Galvanised by his selection, runs flowed.
Bairstow’s wicketkeeping has rarely met with universal approval and, much to his chagrin, the debate about whether he might be better playing as a specialist batter has never been silenced. But from the moment that he delivered an emotional maiden Test century in Cape Town, where his father had strong off-season links, he began to make a significant mark with England. Nothing could compare with his impact on the one-day team, where his peerless opening partnership with Jason Roy helped deliver England a first World Cup success in 2019.
He has had to fight against a tendency to play across the line and, to that end, he stands tall, bat held aloft, adding to his pugnacious image. Driven and independently minded, he is very much his own man. Intensive work with Bruce French, England’s wicketkeeping coach, has also made his keeping more secure.
Bairstow was a talented all-round sportsman at an early age, even having trials with Leeds United as a right back. But it was cricket which soon dominated. An early starter with Yorkshire’s Under-15s, he was named Young Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year in 2007, having already played for Yorkshire’s 2nd XI and their Academy side and represented England Under-17. He soon followed in his father’s footsteps by signing a full-time contract with Yorkshire. Jonny was eight-years-old when his father took his own life. Merely to play the game, and for the same county, was courageous enough.
He made an impressive first-class debut against Somerset in June 2009, cracking 82 in his second innings, and soon secured his place in the first XI. Further honours followed when he was picked up by England’s Performance Programme and included in the England Lions successful tour of the Caribbean in January 2011.
By now Yorkshire’s first-choice keeper, he registered his maiden first-class hundred against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in May of that year. Having previously passed fifty 17 times in 34 first-class matches without reaching three figures, just to emphasise his breakthrough, he made it a double. During his brilliant attacking innings, he was joined by England’s recently retired opening bowler Ryan Sidebottom in a record ninth-wicket partnership for Yorkshire against Nottinghamshire (which had stood since 1899) of 151. Bairstow and Sidebottom were sons of two of Yorkshire’s best-loved former players – the passing of talent between the generations could not have been more satisfactorily captured.
Many suspected that, long term, Bairstow would become a specialist batter and his debut innings in one-day internationals backed up that theory as he hit an unbeaten 41 off 21 balls against India at Cardiff. A tough India tour showed the realities of international cricket but he bounced back with a match-winning 60 off 46 in a T20I against Pakistan in the UAE and, after a strong start to the 2012 season, he was handed a call-up to the Test squad to face West Indies.
It was not a happy series for Bairstow, whose problems against some hostile short bowling from Kemar Roach gained much media attention. He was left out of the opening Test of the South Africa series but, after Kevin Pietersen was dropped in extraordinary circumstances, another opportunity arose for Bairstow to which he responded magnificently. His brilliant 95 at Lord’s led an England fightback from 54 for 4, Bairstow emerging from a short-ball peppering to play some fluent attacking shots in an innings former England captain Michael Vaughan said would have been the finest maiden Test century he had witnessed had his fellow Yorkshireman not been bowled by Morne Morkel.
He played all five of England’s games at the World T20 that winter, averaging just 9.50, and his participation in the India Test series was also limited before he was granted leave to return home because of a family illness. Thereafter his bit-part status congealed – he lost his spot in the T20 team and, after returning to the Test team during the Ashes as England dropped Nick Compton and moved Joe Root up the order, he was abruptly left out at The Oval. A squad member for the return tour of Australia, he played in the last two Tests, replacing the out-of-form Matt Prior, but did not unearth the performances to promote his worth as Prior’s long-term successor and had to buckle down to the county circuit the following summer.
That 2015 season promised to be the making of him as he struck 1108 first-class runs at 92.33, allowed by Yorkshire to play as he saw fit. Nothing was more emphatic than his 366-run alliance with Tim Bresnan at Chester-le-Street, both players making career-bests in Yorkshire’s fifth-highest stand of all time. England were receptive. A combative 83 not out at Chester-le-Street after a late summons settled a weather-hit ODI against New Zealand in England’s favour and the faltering form of Buttler brought a Test recall against Australia.
It was Cape Town, though, where Bairstow really broke through, as the summer of 2016 testified. Bairstow’s second Test ton was reserved for his home crowd against Sri Lanka: 140, batting at No. 7, out of 298. On a challenging surface, he played with a certainty not given to others. England’s top order was repeatedly found wanting in Test cricket, but the belligerence of Bairstow and co down the order constantly dug them out of a hole, and another hundred at Lord’s followed.
His desire was relentless and his growing impact in ODIs was enough for him to return at the top of the order in the Champions Trophy semi-final – a defeat against Pakistan in Cardiff. West Indies felt his frustration at the end of the summer in the form of his first two ODI hundreds.
But even as he became increasingly integral to England’s white-ball fortunes, vagaries of selection hurt his Test chances. He scored an Ashes hundred on the 2017-18 tour and another in Christchurch a few months later, but pushed up the order to cover for deficiencies in others, his form dipped; he lost the gloves to Ben Foakes due to injury in Sri Lanka – though scored a bristling century when asked to bat as a specialist at No. 3 – and then saw the role handed to Buttler following a 2-2 draw in the 2019 Ashes.
Back-to-back hundreds in crunch World Cup group games against New Zealand and India had been pivotal on England’s route to the trophy, his opening partnership with Roy already among the most prolific in history. He enhanced his reputation further in the IPL, but in Tests he drifted to the periphery. Ed Smith, the national selector, suggested he needed to work on his red-ball game but rarely did he have the opportunity to do so; a comeback in 2021 only meeting with fitful success.
Jonny Bairstow Biography
| Full name | Jonathan Marc Bairstow |
| Nick Name | Bluey |
| Date of Birth/DOB/ age | Sep 26, 1989 (34 years) |
| Birth Place | Bradford, Yorkshire |
| Zodiac sign/Sun sign | |
| Profession | English Cricketer (Wicket-keeper, batsman) |
| Country | |
| Cricket Role | Wicketkeeper Batter |
| Father name | David Bairstow (Former Cricketer) |
| Mother name | Janet Bairstow |
| Married | Unmarried |
| Spouse or Girlfriend | |
| Children | |
| Education Qualification | |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Current Residence | |
| Nationality | |
| Batting Style | Right hand Bat |
| Bowling Style | Right arm Medium |
| Domestic Cricket debut | |
| International Debut | Test– 17 May 2012 vs West Indies in London ODI– 16 September 2011 vs India in Cardiff T20– 23 September 2011 vs West Indies in London |
| Teams | England, Yorkshire, England Cricket Board XI, Peshawar Zalmi, Kerala Knights, Sunrisers Hyderabad, World XI, Team Stokes, Team Moeen, Melbourne Stars, Team Morgan, Welsh Fire, Punjab Kings, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders |
Jonny Bairstow Physical Statistics
| Height | in centimeters- 180 cm in meters- 1.80 m in Feet Inches- 5’ 11” |
| Weight | in Kilograms- 75 kg in Pounds- 165 lbs |
| Body Measurements (approx.) | – Chest: 42 Inches – Waist: 32 Inches – Biceps: 14 Inches |
| Eye Color | Blue |
| Hair Color | Flame-Red |
Jonny Bairstow Profile
Jonny Bairstow is the son of former England keeper David Bairstow. His introduction to the game was natural and came at an early age, and within no time rich accolades came his way. He was chosen as the winner of the Young Wisden Schools Cricketer of the year award for his 654 runs in the 2007 season. Soon, he went on to represent Yorkshire’s second XI and impressed many with his consistent batting, scoring 308 runs at an average of 61.6 in 2008. This included a 139 not out against Worcestershire at Headingley Carnegie. In October that year, Bairstow signed a full time contract with the county side.
On his first class debut in 2009, he top-scored with an unbeaten 82 in the second innings. He went on to become a regular in the county team over the next two years, and averaged more than forty in both. He scored eight fifties, but could not convert them into triple-figure scores. 2011 turned out to be a better year for the youngster, as he was selected in the England Lions squad for the tour to West Indies in January. In May that year, he scored his maiden first-class century (which he converted into a double) and was picked for the national squad to play against Ireland in an ODI game in August. However, he was not selected in the playing eleven.
His first international appearance came in the fifth ODI game against the visiting Indians in Cardiff, and he made it special with a stunning 21-ball 41 to help England win the match. Further success during a warm-up match against India and in T20s against Pakistan led to Bairstow’s first Test call to face West Indies. At the beginning of the 2012 season, Baristow had hit two brilliant hundreds for Yorkshire and was eager to capitalize on that achievement. His Test debut against West Indies, however, was not that eventful and was mediocre with the bat.
He was then ignored for the first two Tests against South Africa in 2012 in favour of Ravi Bopara but was recalled for the third Test when Kevin Pietersen was dropped. Bairstow responded effectively by hitting a gritty 95 and left the field to a standing ovation. He again hit a classy half century in the second innings but it was not enough to help England to victory. He later went on to hit his second highest first-class score of 182 against Leicestershire at Scarborough in the LV Championship and also managed a terrific 68* in the semi finals of Friends Life T20 against Sussex.
Although Bairstow was selected in the England squad for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20, his contribution was negligible and failed to flourish with the bat. Bairstow was included in the England team that toured India in 2012-2013 and performed exceptionally well in the warm-up match against Mumbai A, hitting a remarkable 118. He was only included in the squad for the second Test to replace Ian Bell but did not make a significant contribution to warrant an inclusion for the third Test.
A strong 64 laced with powerful cuts and controlled pulls at his home ground in Headingley against the Kiwis in 2013 handed Bairstow his much awaited Ashes debut at Nottingham. However, Bairstow managed only a lone fifty in the 4 games he played to cap a rather shoddy series. Bairstow then traveled to Australia for the return Ashes series and played a couple of games at Melbourne and Sydney respectively, but could not do anything special to bail his side out of trouble. It was the tour of South Africa in 2015 that saw Bairstow turning to his best.
The wicket-keeper batsman made his maiden Test hundred in Cape Town, was involved in a stunning 399-run stand with Ben Stokes for the sixth wicket and ended the series with 359 runs at an astonishing average of 89.75. He then began the home summer with two hundreds against Sri Lanka. A solid series against Pakistan was followed by solid showing in his first tour of the sub-continent. 2016 was a year to remember for Bairstow – not just for his 1470 runs at an average of 58.8 but also for his 70 dismissals as a wicket-keeper, a record for the most dismissals by a keeper in a calendar year.
Every English and Australian player is defined by how they fare in the Ashes. Although England suffered a hammering in Australia during the 2017-18 series, Bairstow was among the very few visiting batsmen to impress. Unlike many of his mates, he seemed comparatively at ease against Australia’s rampaging pace attack and also had a century to his name in Perth. Given the number of starts he got, Bairstow would be disappointed at having under-achieved through the series. However, it was a tour that was only going to improve him mentally.
Bairstow found it hard to break into the XI as the wicket-keeper batsman in the shorter formats – courtesy Buttler’s heroics. However, his imperious form during the 2016-17 coupled with Jason Roy’s lean patch forced the selectors to pick Bairstow as the opener. It didn’t take long for him to make a mark as he notched up two centuries in the home ODIs against West Indies in 2017.
In 2018, Bairstow became the first English batter to record three successive ODI tons. The later part of that year saw Bairstow lose his form. When he twisted his ankle while playing football in training during the away series against Sri Lanka, it almost seemed that he had gifted his spot in the playing XI away as three players (Bairstow, Alex Hales and Jason Roy) were competing for two spots. However, Alex Hales’s withdrawal from the World Cup squad in a way solved the team management’s problem as the opening spot was fixed.
Bairstow has been an integral member of the ‘New England’ team which not only entered the multi-nation competition as the ranked one side in the world but also as one of the favourites to win the tournament. He had a superb World Cup, scoring two hundreds and two fifties while playing all games for England. Jonny Bairstow was the second highest run getter for England in that historic WC winning campaign for England.
Post the 2019 World Cup, Bairstow’s white ball game took a dip, and it culminated in a disastrous 2021 T20I World Cup where he scored just 47 runs across six games. This led to Bairstow’s eventual axing from the white ball setup, with the selectors opting to go for more and more format specialist players. However, this proved to be a blessing for him and English cricket, as Bairstow came into his own as a Test batter. He was the only English player to score a century in a really forgettable Ashes Down Under, where England lost 4-0.
Bairstow followed that up with a century away to West Indies as well, where once again he was a shining light for his side in a forgettable tour. England’s dismal form as a team led to some changes in the coaching setup, as Trevos Bayliss was axed with Brendon McCullum replacing him. This proved to be another blessing for Jonny Bairstow, as McCullum came in and asked this England team to play free and without inhibitions. Jonny Bairstow was the first crown prince of this English Bazball revolution, as he completely obliterated a visiting New Zealand team. He scored a century in two out of the three Tests, fittingly claiming a Man of the Series accolade. Bairstow also scored a century in the rescheduled fifth Test against India, helping England draw the series 2-2.
Jonny Bairstow was looking like the glue around whom the English red ball team was being constructed, but a freak leg injury while golfing kept him sidelined for a substantial period. He returned to the fold for England’s 2023 summer starting with a Test against Ireland where he didn’t get a bat before going on to play the Ashes. While he had a decent series, scoring 322 runs at an average of 40.25, Bairstow was primarily in the news for being controversially stumped by Alex Carey in the second innings of the second Test at Lord’s after leaving his crease before the ball was declared dead.
IPL through the years
Jonny Bairstow registered for the IPL for the first time only in 2019, and was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad. He formed a lethal combination there alongside David Warner, opening the batting. The duo both scored centuries in a game against RCB that season – first and only time in the IPL that two openers have scored tons. Bairstow averaged in excess of 55 and held a strike rate of over 150 in his first season.
The next season however there were depreciating returns from Bairstow as the IPL shifted to the UAE, as Bairstow’s strike rate dropped below 125 and his average dipped to 31.96. The next season, he started brilliantly for SRH- scoring 248 runs in seven matches before the IPL was called off, and then didn’t turn up for the UAE leg of the competition citing bubble fatigue. Bairstow was picked by Punjab Kings in the 2022 mega auction and had a sketchy tournament as he was being batted all round the order. Bairstow was retained for the 2023 season but was ruled out due to injury.
Jonny Bairstow Career Stats
Batting & Fielding
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 100 | 178 | 12 | 6042 | 167* | 36.39 | 10228 | 59.07 | 12 | 26 | 719 | 56 | 242 | 14 |
| ODIs | 107 | 98 | 8 | 3868 | 141* | 42.97 | 3758 | 102.92 | 11 | 17 | 437 | 92 | 55 | 3 |
| T20Is | 70 | 64 | 13 | 1512 | 90 | 29.64 | 1099 | 137.57 | 0 | 10 | 135 | 67 | 45 | 1 |
| FC | 215 | 361 | 39 | 13773 | 246 | 42.77 | – | – | 30 | 68 | – | – | 540 | 25 |
| List A | 175 | 160 | 14 | 5790 | 174 | 39.65 | 5642 | 102.62 | 14 | 27 | 595 | 151 | 106 | 9 |
| T20s | 189 | 176 | 27 | 4573 | 114 | 30.69 | 3332 | 137.24 | 3 | 27 | 392 | 200 | 101 | 15 |
Bowling
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 100 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| ODIs | 107 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| T20Is | 70 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| FC | 215 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1.00 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| List A | 175 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| T20s | 189 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Jonny Bairstow IPL Auction Price History
Year | Price | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2.20 Cr | Hyderabad |
| 2020 | 2.20 Cr | Hyderabad |
| 2021 | 2.20 Cr | Hyderabad |
| 2022 | 6.75 Cr | Punjab |
| 2023 | 6.75 Cr | Punjab |
| 2024 | 6.75 Cr | Punjab |
Jonny Bairstow’s Social Media Accounts
| Jonny Bairstow (@jbairstow21) | |
| Jonny Bairstow (@jbairstow21) | |
| Jonny Bairstow | |
| Wikipedia | Jonny Bairstow |
Some Lesser-Known Facts About Jonny Bairstow
- Does Jonny Bairstow drink Alcohol?: Yes
- Being a son of former English Cricket, David Bairstow, and the brother of former first-class cricketer, Andrew Bairstow, Cricket is in his blood.
- The Bairstows have become the 13th father and son combination to represent England in Tests.
- Jonny was just 8 when his father committed suicide while under depression. Later, his mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, but, she was cured after following extensive chemotherapy.
- Jonny played Football for 7 long years. He also used to play Rugby and Hockey. But, finally settled into the Cricket.
- In his debut A- list match in 2009, he got dismissed for a golden duck off the very first ball.
- He was awarded the Man of the match on debut against India in 2011 for his astonishing innings of 41 for 21 balls.
- His most memorable knock came against South Africa in 2012 Lord’s Test wherein he hammered 95 runs with the help of 13 boundaries after coming out to bat when England was reeling at 54/4. He scored a half-century in the second Inning on the match as well.
- As of 10 January 2017, Jonny has played 22 ODI and 20 T20I matches, but, hasn’t got a three digit figure so far.
- In July 2023, his dismissal became the talk of the town after Alex Carey, moments before Lunch on the final day of the second Ashes Test, stumped him. Bairstow, after evading a short delivery from Cameron Green, had moved away from the batting crease. However, while the ball was still in play, Carey threw it toward the stumps and successfully knocked off the bails. Bairstow was left stunned and surprised by the turn of events. Later, England captain Ben Stokes expressed his displeasure at the contentious stumping of Jonny Bairstow by Alex Carey and said that he would have never wanted to win in that fashion had he been in the shoes of Australia skipper Pat Cummins. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also supported Ben Stoke’s statement and said that what happened was against the spirit of Cricket. [1]
- A clip of Jonny from a Test match between India and England, held in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, on 10 March 2024 went viral on the internet. In the video, the crowd chanted ‘Bazball gets battered everywhere they go,’ which made Jonny mad.
