Jonny Bairstow looking forward to rare chance to recharge batteries after frenetic year

NICK FRIEND AT THE HUNDRED DRAFT: Bairstow is part of England’s squad for their T20I series in New Zealand, starting at the beginning of November, but has been dropped from the Test squad after struggling with the bat in red-ball cricket through 2019

For Jonny Bairstow, this winter represents an opportunity to recharge his batteries.

He is part of England’s squad for their T20I series in New Zealand, starting at the beginning of November, but has been dropped from the Test squad after struggling with the bat in red-ball cricket through 2019.

Jos Buttler will take the gloves in the meantime, with Bairstow left out, giving him some rare time away from the national team at the end of a taxing, exhilarating year. He reckons it has been almost four years since he was last in a position to enjoy a meaningful break from the international arena to work at his game.

“I think the Test situation is what it is,” he said, speaking at the draft for The Hundred. “I've got an opportunity to go away and just work on a few things which, as you know with the scheduling and playing all three formats over the last four or five years, has been pretty tough to do.

“I think the last time I did that was probably 2015 when I got the chance to go away and work on a few things and everyone spoke about me coming back with my higher backlift or whatever it may be.

“To refresh and refocus, I think, is an important thing to be able to do. It’s definitely a challenge because you want to get back in the side.

“I want to be playing and representing England in all formats. That's the nature of me. That’s who I am – I want to work hard in the time that I've got and hopefully impress enough to be in contention come South Africa.”

^{Jonny Bairstow will play for Welsh Fire in The Hundred}

Having seen Jason Roy selected for the Test side on the back of his World Cup form, as well as Jos Buttler initially returning to the Test fold following a dominant IPL campaign, Bairstow is hopeful that he can continue his remarkable white-ball form in New Zealand, even in the shortest format.

“In previous years that's what’s happened, but in no way am I saying that's going to happen,” he explained.

“I know what I want to do and how I want to go about it, and I'm excited about it. That's the key to it – I'm excited about being able to have a little period of time to be able to go away and work on my own things and not necessarily think about it being watched on telly or have it being stripped down to say he's doing this or that.

“Because as we all know, it’s quite easy to stop recordings in certain frames in order to say its X, Y or Z. I know what I need to do and I'm excited about what I need to work on.”