England captain Ben Stokes will reportedly ignore calls to replace the under-fire Jonny Bairstow ahead of the crucial fourth Ashes Test next week. Some fans and media have demanded that Bairstow be replaced as wicketkeeper by the popular Ben Foakes.
Bairstow has endured an eventful series for England. The 33-year-old carried a Just Stop Oil protestor off the field during the second Test at Lord’s and was then controversially stumped after leaving his crease.
He then dropped several catches and missed a stumping during England’s third Test triumph, having missed several other opportunities in the first two Tests as well. There have since been calls for him to be replaced as wicketkeeper by Foakes so that Bairstow can focus on his batting.
However, it has been claimed that Stokes is largely expected to stick with the winning team. England’s players will supposedly ‘put an arm around’ the underperforming Yorkshire star.
That is according to the Daily Telegraph, who report that Stokes is likely to continue with Bairstow. That is despite vast calls for Foakes.
It comes after Jimmy Anderson said his team-mates will continue to support Bairstow through a tough run of form. “We will help him as much as we can to keep his spirits up because we know what a devastating player he can be,” Anderson wrote in his column.
“Most players need that support. Every now and then you need an arm around you and a chat.
“That applies to even the most experienced players. You can get to a point where people think ‘he has been around long enough to deal with it himself’ but actually you don’t know what that person is feeling inside. It is important to talk to everyone to make sure they are alright and in the right place. Jonny is no different.”
However, England icon Sir Geoffrey Boycott does not agree. He believes there is room to change a winning team if one player is not performing to a suitable standard.
“Some people say never change a winning team. I disagree. My experience of playing at the highest level for so long and my common sense tells me that Jonny Bairstow is not fit,” he said.
“He isn’t moving 100 per cent right and is short of competitive batting and wicketkeeping. He has been selected on last summer’s marvellous match-winning batting, but at this moment in time is a shadow of his best.”
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