Why Bairstow’s barren run is as problematic as Root’s slump

Flat wicket. 

Team on top and in cruise control. 

India down a bowler and short of ideas. 

The stage was set for Joe Root to finally come back to form and score a big one. And he started off brightly, too, scoring 18 off his first 30 balls while having a control percentage of 90%.

And then horror unfolded. 

With India not even remotely threatening to take a wicket, Root, in an attempt to get the better of his nemesis Jasprit Bumrah, attempted the reverse-scoop that has yielded him a lot of success in the last couple of years. 

Except on this occasion, he scuffed it and hit it straight to Yashasvi Jaiswal at second slip.

Root was livid with himself, and the Barmy Army supporters at the stadium were shocked, unable to come to terms with what they’d just seen. Just like that, Root had thrown it away once again.

Unsurprisingly, in the last hour or so, there’s been plenty of discourse surrounding Root, his form, his shot selection, what Bazball has done to his game etc. 

However, amidst all the Root conversations, the barren run of Jonny Bairstow has sort of completely gone under the radar, despite the no-show of Bairstow proving to be as problematic for England as the slump of the former.

Playing as a specialist batter at No.5, in the absence of Harry Brook, Bairstow, five innings into this series, has amassed just 98 runs at an average of 19.60. 

Root’s struggles in this series have been well documented but Bairstow’s slump has meant that England, every single time in this series, have found themselves losing two in quick succession, meaning the side has found itself on the backfoot every time Ben Stokes has walked out to bat.

A no-no while batting in India is allowing multiple middle-order wickets to fall in quick succession. Even on ‘good’ batting wickets, the key to success in India — and in general in the subcontinent — is building regular partnerships, denying the opposition any momentum. 

It’s a non-negotiable while playing India in India because this Indian side are champions at running through batting line-ups when they smell blood. Even on very good batting tracks.

However, England simply haven’t been able to do that in this series, and that’s largely been down to the form of both Root and Bairstow — not just Root. 

Take England’s innings today, for instance. Root threw it away with the bat, yes, but at 224/3, England were still in a very good position. A decent fourth-wicket stand would have made them forget about Root’s dismissal. However, Bairstow departing for a duck instead ended up exacerbating the problem, which in this case was lack of runs from the bat of their talisman Root.

What would irk England about Root and Bairstow collectively losing form at the same time is that their top-order has actually done an amazing job. Evident from the table above, Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope have actually laid a fantastic platform for the middle-order in every innings. It’s a luxury few visiting teams have enjoyed over the years in India. 

Even one among Root/Bairstow firing would have put England right on top in every innings, but both senior batters going AWOL has meant that they’ve had to play catch-up despite finding themselves in a commanding position in each of the five innings in this series.

Luckily for England, this series is still in the balance. But if they are to do the impossible and win away in India for the first time in 12 years, they’ll need Root and Bairstow to hit top gear from the second innings of this game.

Let’s be honest: Root and Bairstow both now owe the team big runs.