England Test squad: Jonny Bairstow will be back as batsman, says Rob Key on Sky Cricket Podcast
Rob Key, Dominic Cork and Nick Knight talk Jason Roy's future, Jos Buttler keeping wicket and England's Test and T20 new boys...
Tuesday 24 September 2019 13:17, UK
England need Jonny Bairstow the batsman in their Test-match side.
That's the view of Sky Sports' Rob Key after the wicketkeeper was dropped for the two-match tour of New Zealand in November having averaged under 24 in the drawn Ashes series, with national selector Ed Smith saying the 29-year-old can now "reset".
Key says Bairstow should return without the gloves, probably in South Africa from Boxing Day, as he is one of the best batsmen England possess.
Rob was speaking alongside Nick Knight and Dominic Cork shortly after England announced their Test and T20 squads to face the Black Caps.
Bairstow's omission means Jos Buttler will keep in New Zealand, while openers Dom Sibley (Warwickshire) and Zak Crawley (Kent) have been selected along with young Lancashire paceman Saqib Mahmood and his team-mate, leg-spinner Matt Parkinson.
Mahmood, Parkinson and indeed Bairstow are also in the T20 party, alongside the uncapped Tom Banton and Lewis Gregory (Somerset) and Pat Brown (Worcestershire).
Listen to the podcast player above, or alternatively download here, as Key, Cork and Knight digest the squads, plus we hear from Banton and Gregory on their call-ups and Smith on Bairstow's "fantastic future".
Here are some of the topics discussed…
- Were England right to drop Bairstow?
- Does Buttler need to improve his wicketkeeping?
- Does England's latest squad suggest a shift in thinking for Test cricket?
- Can Jason Roy count himself unfortunate to be dropped?
- How the likes of Crawley and Mahmood will improve in New Zealand even if they don't play
- Why has Craig Overton not been selected?
- What will Banton and Brown bring to the T20 team?
- And, finally, how Keysy was dropped Weakest Link-style!
Watch England's tour of New Zealand, which features five T20Is and two Tests, live on Sky Sports Cricket in October, November and December.
