Jonny Bairstow continued his incremental return to form with a hard-fought 36 off 101 balls in Yorkshire’s tight game against Durham. It was his highest score since last August, because of his horrendous leg injury.
In his four comeback innings in the championship so far Bairstow has scored an unbeaten 20 and nought against Glamorgan, then 27 and 36 against Durham, in addition to keeping wicket in both games.
Plenty of consolation there for England after yet another of their fast bowlers was injured, when Brydon Carse needed a scan after what Durham called “a trunk injury”.
The Riverside pitch was as far as could be from the fast and true pitches which their local-lad-made-good, Ben Stokes, has requested for the Ashes. It was a slow, low seamer on which Bazball-style batting, against a persistent seam attack, was theoretically impossible.
After a winter of rehabilitation Bairstow needs miles in his legs as much as anything, although the rhythm and confidence which come from one big innings would be welcome before the Ashes. In this sense a hard grind at the Riverside has been useful, and it made for a good test of his defence if not his blazing strokes.
In the grey light of the second evening, after Yorkshire had lost three early wickets, Bairstow and Dawid Malan had to play for stumps, and did so in a watchful and high-class partnership. Not out on 16 off 47 balls overnight, Bairstow would have expected to kick on, except the ball swung more on a sunny morning, with Matty Potts beating him three times in one over with his outswingers.
Potts is rising up the list of England seamers simply by staying fit. After Carse’s injury, England are currently getting down to a bare minimum of seamers for five Ashes Tests in six weeks.
Carse, who has only represented England in white-ball internationals, has risen in England’s estimation not least because his batting has improved. Like Chris Woakes, but unlike Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson and James Anderson, Carse can bat, and build an innings, not simply hit. Already this season he has scored 91 against Glamorgan followed by a maiden first-class century against Derbyshire.
After a sticky start while playing himself in again, Bairstow was beginning to unfold: he stood tall and with little more than his wrists hit Potts off the back foot for four through the covers, then cut the New Zealand left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel for four more.
But Ben Raine, as well as Potts, made the ball swing away from Bairstow and this time he got the toe end of his bat on an outswinger which flew towards the first and only slip.
Bairstow will be pleased if, by the time of the Ireland Test or the Ashes, he is keeping as well as Durham’s Ollie Robinson who dived all the way across first slip to hold on.
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