NEWS
Follow UsThe County Championship is set to return after a six-week break and so is Jonny Bairstow, set to feature in Yorkshire’s clash against Sussex at Scarborough.
It will be Bairstow’s first County Championship match of the season and the first match of the season for Yorkshire in any format. The right-handed batter took a brief break from cricket after the T20 World Cup that ended in June and the 2024 season of the Hundred, where he played for Welsh Fire. It will also be only the third County fixture for Bairstow in the last four seasons as his England and the Indian Premier League (IPL) commitments kept him busy.
Yorkshire are sitting just outside of the two promotion places in Division Two. They are four points behind second-placed Middlesex heading into the final five games and can narrow down the 27-point gap on leaders Sussex this week.
Bairstow was dropped from England’s Test after an underwhelming tour of India. Playing all five Tests, Bairstow crossed the 20-run mark on seven out of 10 occasions but had a top score of only 39. He also had an under-par 2024 Hundred season, managing only 123 runs @ 20.5.
At the start of the Hundred season, Bairstow mentioned that "all I want to do is play for England." Considering the same, the Yorkshire head coach said last week, "I spoke to Jonny, and he still has ambitions of getting back into the England team.”
"When he was coming back from his injury last year, our medical team and coaches - everybody associated with the club - helped him get back into the England fold.
"If it's that we need to do that again with him, give him some love and get him into a position where he puts good performances in, everybody benefits from that. Jonny Bairstow is a serious cricketer anyway, but when he has a point to prove, he's even more dangerous. Hopefully, we can take advantage of that,” Gibson said.
On August 19 (Monday), Yorkshire confirmed that Bairstow is available to play against Sussex after a shoulder niggle, but couldn’t promise his availability for the final four games. They will also miss their captain, Shan Masood, who will be leading Pakistan in their series against Bangladesh.
Earlier, Yorkshire announced that this will be Gibson’s last season as the club’s coach and are looking to recruite a new director of cricket, having advertised for the role earlier in the summer.
Chris Silverwood, who stepped down as Sri Lanka’s head coach after the T20 World Cup, has raised his hand up for the role. “I haven't spoken to anybody as yet," he told talkSPORT. "Would it interest me? Absolutely, it's my old county, and I have a great love for Yorkshire."
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.
