"It will give him a kick up the backside": Jonny Bairstow will respond to England Test axe believes Sir Alastair Cook

The Yorkshireman's nightmare Ashes performances saw him dropped for the New Zealand series but his former captain believes it could be the making of him

Jonny Bairstow's omission from England's Test plans will galvanise him to come back stronger, insists his former captain Sir Alastair Cook.

Following an Ashes series during which the Yorkshireman - who has made 69 outings for his country in the five-day format - averaged just 23.77 and was error-strewn behind the stumps, he was left out of the initial squad for the two-Test series against New Zealand later this month.

Though Joe Denly's ankle injury has seen the 30-year-old, currently part of the squad playing in the T20 series against the Black Caps, called up as a precautionary measure, Jos Buttler is expected to take the gloves for the first Test starting on November 21.

Bairstow has been a staple of the England Test team for the past three years, the highlight of which came in 2016 when he finished with 1,470 runs - the most by any wicket-keeper in the history of the sport.

Cook, who skippered the side between 2012 and 2017, is insistent Bairstow's best days can still be ahead of him and expects the blow of being dropped could be a landmark moment

"He is a world-class player," Cook told Sky Sports News. "His white-ball career has flourished, but he has struggled a little bit for form in the Test arena.

Jonny Bairstow urged to "reset" by Ed Smith after being dropped from Test squad

"He had such an impact at the top of the order after moving up to opener a couple of years ago - he was opening the batting with David Warner in the IPL - but I think that has probably made him stay a little bit legside of the ball and, as a consequence of that, he is probably getting bowled a little too often in the red-ball game.

"The break will do him good. He got left out of the Sri Lanka tour last year, when he was injured, and he then came back in at number three and got a hundred straight away.

"He has been called up probably for logistics as well. It's a long way to fly someone over to New Zealand when he is already out there as cover.

"It will be good for him to reassess where he's at with Test cricket. When you get dropped, it's that line in the sand and it's about how you respond to that.

"Knowing Jonny and his competitive spirit, it will give him a little kick up the backside and he'll be back scoring runs for England, because good players like him respond."