Jonny Bairstow is warned by England coach Trevor Bayliss it’ll be ‘very difficult’ for him to play in Champions Trophy
JONNY BAIRSTOW has been warned by Trevor Bayliss that it will be “very difficult” for him to play in the Champions Trophy.
Bairstow insisted after his stunning 72 not out off 44 balls against Ireland on Sunday that he is targeting a place in the mini-World Cup.
But head coach Bayliss hinted very strongly that England will stick with their tried-and-tested formula.
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That means Moeen Ali getting in the team at No.7 – and no place for Bairstow.
Bayliss said: “We’ve played some pretty good cricket without Jonny in the team.
"It will be difficult for him to force his way into the team for the Champions Trophy.
“We’re certainly close to knowing our best XI. We are getting close with every game that goes.
“And we have three very good players – Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes, who are at the Indian Premier League – to come back into the side.
Finalising the team will be a difficult decision, but that’s a good thing.”
The news will be a shattering blow to Bairstow, who rarely fails when given a chance in white-ball cricket by England.
His county form is spectacular, too, and he scored a stunning 174 for Yorkshire against Durham only last week.
England leave for a training camp in Spain on May 15 and have three one-dayers against South Africa before their opening Champions Trophy match against Bangladesh on June 1.
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They will finalise their XI dependent on conditions but it appears as though Bairstow is losing his battle to become a white ball regular.
He is a certainty for England’s Test team later in the summer, of course, after in 2016 breaking the world record for most runs in a calendar by a wicketkeeper.
At least Bairstow has made sure he is ahead of Kent’s Sam Billings if first-choice wicketkeeper Jos Buttler or one of the batsmen is injured.
Bayliss explained: “Based on Jonny performances – particularly on Sunday but also over the last few months - I think that would probably be right to say he is the spare batsman.”