England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow has said all he wants is to represent his country, on the back of being left out of the Test squad against West Indies.
The Yorkshireman was excluded from the England side which was announced to take on West Indies at home this month. Instead, Surrey youngster Jamie Smith was called up and made an instant impression with a knock of 70 on debut at Lord's.
When explaining the decision to leave Bairstow out, Key said earlier this month that his form "had been trending in the wrong direction" and that the selection panel was not convinced about selecting him at this stage of his career.
Harry Brook not pursuing England white-ball captaincy 'for now'
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Bairstow has been in almost non-stop action for over six months, playing the ODI World Cup in November 2023, followed by a two-month-long tour of India after which he played in the IPL for a further two months. He was then included in England's squad for the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. However, rest or workload management were not cited as reasons for excluding him.
Bairstow: All I want to do is to play for England
The wicketkeeper is now in action in The Hundred 2024, with the Welsh Fire. Their season got off to a perfect start on Thursday (July 25) as they restricted the Manchester Originals to 86-8 before chasing the target down in 57 balls. Bairstow cracked 18 off 10 balls opening the innings, to get them off to a quick start.
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Speaking on the sidelines to Carlos Brathwaite after the match, Bairstow was asked if he felt any extra pressure to perform exceptionally well in The Hundred, in order to earn his national team spot back. He responded in the negative, saying it was just a case of "scoring some runs".
Bairstow did re-affirm his strong desire to play for England again, though. As Michael Vaughan asked him about his brief 'breather from the game' and whether he wanted to return, Bairstow replied, "You don't need to ask me that, do you? I think you know me well enough, you've known me for long enough to know that all I want to do is play for England, and that's end of."
"All I want to do is play for England" 🫡 #BBCCricket pic.twitter.com/jsexwIPzCY
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England are scheduled to take on Sri Lanka in a three-Test home series starting on August 21. If Smith continues to impress in an England shirt, and Bairstow showcases some good form in The Hundred, the selectors could have a real wicketkeeping conundrum on their hands for that series.
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