Jonny Bairstow has made the headlines again after turning heads with a flamboyant start in the ongoing Men’s Hundred.
The Welsh Fire star tops the competition’s run charts after the opening week, amassing 128 runs in just two innings at an electrifying strike rate of 175.34.
With a packed limited-overs stretch and The Ashes looming on the horizon, a well-timed knock from the 35-year-old has reminded England fans and selectors alike why he still remains one of their most formidable batting assets.
But with England’s batting line-up still searching for answers, the bigger question still remains: are the selectors ready to back Bairstow?
“If that comes, it comes. It is doubtful judging by the fact that I haven’t heard too much,” said the wicketkeeper batter modestly after accumulating 86 not out off just 50 balls against the London Spirit last Saturday in the Men’s Hundred.
Cricket Paper writer Megh Mandaliya delves into Bairstow’s blistering form so far.
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The booms and the busts…
It is fair to say the Three Lions are in a recalibration period after a dismal ICC Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan earlier this year.
So far, England have only managed to win three One-Day Internationals out of their nine matches.
Bairstow’s most realistic chance is to open the innings alongside Ben Duckett, but even then, he must outperform contenders like Phil Salt and Jamie Smith to secure his place.
Despite his reputation as a formidable T20 batsman, Salt has consistently underperformed in the longer formats recently.
In 2025, the explosive batter has only managed to score 122 runs in six ODIs, with his highest score being 43 against India at Nagpur.
As for Smith, the young wicketkeeper made his debut against the Windies earlier this year and has recorded one half-century in three home matches.
Bairstow, on the other hand, has spent almost his entire limited-overs career as an opener and is one of England’s most prolific run-scorers in that role.
He has amassed 3,221 runs opening the batting, including 11 centuries and 12 half-centuries, at an impressive average of 44.1.
However, an ODI return may prove tougher than it appears for the Yorkshireman.
Bairstow has managed just three half-centuries in his last 20 innings in the format, and his decision to play in The Hundred at the expense of the domestic One-Day Cup could well stall, if not end, his short-format prospects for the foreseeable future.
Testing times ahead Down Under
On their last tour of Australia, England’s openers managed just one half-century in 10 innings, courtesy of Zak Crawley at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
When England face a swinging Kookaburra in Australia later this year, the spotlight will again fall on the top order to take on the pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood, all in trademark Bazball fashion.
Akin to the ODI setup, England’s middle order in the whites appears settled with Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, and Jamie Smith to follow.
Until recently, England appeared to have the situation under control, but the recent dips in form from Crawley and Ollie Pope have exposed vulnerabilities at the top of the order.
The right-handed Crawley has attained only 894 runs in his last 30 Test innings with an average of 29.8, including a solitary century against Zimbabwe.
Similarly, Pope managed several promising starts but failed to convert them into substantial scores.
The Surrey batter only secured 306 runs in nine innings in the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar trophy with a dot-ball percentage of 70.9, despite playing in home conditions.
The Stokes-led squad is poised to rectify this shortfall ahead of the biggest Test series on the calendar, an opportunity that could well facilitate Bairstow’s reintegration into the side.
Captaining Yorkshire this summer, Bairstow has had a rich vein of form in the longest format. The right-hander has notched 667 runs so far at an average of 51.31 in the County Championship Division One.
Bairstow Down Under: X-Factor or horses-for-courses?
To secure a permanent return to Test cricket, Bairstow must confront the past demons once again in the twilight of his career.
Historically, the veteran batter has long battled without success on Australia’s fierce pitches.
To further break it down, like many English batters before him, Bairstow has been unsettled by Australia’s ruthless pace battery.
Both Cummins and Hazlewood have dismissed Bairstow twice, with the batter maintaining steady strike rates of 39.9 and 48.9 respectively Down Under.
The middle-order batsman has scored the most runs against Starc among the three pacers, tallying 103 off 204 balls, yet the left-arm quick has dismissed him five times.
Building on his refined ability against spin, Bairstow has found a way to counteract Australia’s spin attack, boasting an impressive average of 76 against Nathan Lyon on Australian soil, having scored 152 runs off 284 balls against him.
Overall, Bairstow has been a part of nine Test matches in Australia since 2013, averaging 32.3 and recording two centuries in Perth and Sydney respectively.
These numbers are still more effective than those of Joe Root (average of 35.7 in 27 innings, including only nine half-centuries) and Ben Stokes (average of 28.6 in 18 innings) among the current players in the side.
The Bazball era has introduced unorthodox and surprising strategies to the format.
With 100 Test matches under his belt, Bairstow potentially could be the latest experiment and introduced at the top of the order to bring a counter-attacking approach, though an international comeback still appears unlikely for the veteran.
By Megh Mandaliya
READ MORE: The Men’s Hundred 2025 – What have we learned from Week One?
