Tough calls and finding the right ’keeper

England may have put themselves at great risk by sticking to Jonny Bairstow and ignoring calls for Ben Foakes to take his place behind the stumps; selectors ruthless in 1981 Ashes which saw three wicketkeepers

If there was more proof needed that team think-tanks and selectors tilt towards the better batsman when it comes to choosing between two wicketkeepers, it came with England’s selection for next week’s fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford.

The fumbling Jonny Bairstow managed to retain his place in the squad amidst chants from pundits to drop the Yorkshireman and include Surrey wicketkeeper Ben Foakes.

Geoff Boycott knows a thing or two about having the best man behind the stumps in Test cricket no matter how good or bad he is with the bat. So it was no surprise to read his comments, which called for his fellow Yorkshireman to be replaced at Old Trafford.

John Etheridge, The Sun’s experienced cricket writer, pointed out a couple of days ago how Bairstow, who scored six Test centuries in 2022, has very little to show in this series after a run-a-ball 78 in the opening Test at Edgbaston. More importantly, Bairstow has been sloppy behind the stumps.

Surprise over Bairstow’s retention has been expressed by Australian experts too. “ENG has retained Jonny Bairstow for the 4th Test. They are surely flirting with danger 11 catches & 1 stumping in six innings. 7 dropped catches & 1 missed stumping,” tweeted radio commentator Glenn Mitchell, while senior radio broadcaster Jim Maxwell had this to say in a tweet about the England selectors’ decision to keep Bairstow in the side: “Well what can you say….it was a mistake after Edgbaston….Bairstow a lesser batsman after injury and wk duties….but the Bazball cabal loves him….”

All this has probably led to a situation wherein Bairstow finds himself as the England player with the most pressure, save skipper Ben Stokes in a quest to once again deny Australia an overseas Ashes triumph.

England won the last Test at Headingley but the Aussies lead 2-1 and the hosts will be breaking new ground if they revive from that scoreline. It will take a miracle of sorts for England to win the Ashes like they did in 1981. Like now, the revival started at Headingley, where Ian Botham and Bob Willis steered England to victory and made it 1-1 in Game Three.

England won the following two Tests at Edgbaston and Old Trafford with the final Test at The Oval ending in a draw.

Interestingly, England, led by recalled captain Mike Brearley changed their wicketkeeper in the midst of the series. 

Bob Taylor spent years in the wings, waiting to replace Kent’s Alan Knott as England’s No. 1 wicketkeeper. Taylor became England’s regular ’keeper when Knott joined World Series Cricket in 1977. By 1979, the Derbyshire man was first choice, but David Bairstow got the nod for the odd Test and justified his position as the better batsman in the 1979-80 one-day triangular series in Australia.

But all of a sudden, Knott was recalled for the 1980 home series against the West Indies. He ‘kept’ in four Tests and was replaced by Bairstow for the final Test when the selectors realised that Knott wouldn’t be keen on touring the West Indies in 1981.

If being recalled in 1980 came as a surprise for Knott, him being picked for the fourth Test of the 1981 Ashes was more of a shock. 

Paul Downton kept wickets in the opening Test and was dropped for missing a straightforward chance offered by Allan Border when Australia were 51-4 at Trent Bridge. Taylor replaced Downton at Lord’s and made way for Knott in the fifth Test at Old Trafford.

Botham, the hero of that series, provided an insight into the change in his book, The Incredible Tests 1981: “This move [Knott for Taylor] was largely influenced by the conditions the selectors expected to find at Old Trafford when they sat down to pick the team. Alec Bedser [selector] had made a careful check earlier in the week and was told that the wicket would be similar to the one at Edgbaston, with perhaps a little more bounce and expected to help the spinners over the last couple of days.

With that in mind, the selectors had called in [Derek] Underwood to help [John] Emburey in the spinning department. They planned to go into the match with five bowlers—myself included—instead of four as we had been using previously. Our batting being what it was, they also opted for Knotty’s greater run-scoring potential over Taylor’s.”

Taylor took his non-selection on the chin. In Standing Up, Standing Back, he wrote:  “I have always been a perfectionist so I am never slow to criticise myself, and Edgbaston 1981 goes down as one of the most mundane efforts from me for England. I had the feeling that I was going to be dropped, and so it proved. They brought back Alan Knott for the Old Trafford Test, no doubt to stiffen the batting that had looked so brittle throughout the summer. I could understand the reasoning: we were two-one up with two games to play and needed batting strength to retain the Ashes; but I was still disappointed.” Knott scored two half centuries in two Tests to end his 95-Test career with 30 fifties and five hundreds.

England will hope the Old Trafford Test result will be similar to the Ashes Test there, in 1981 when they won by 103 runs.

A victory will also even out the scoreline and make the final Test at The Oval a series-decider. And England believe that Bairstow, their most experienced batsman after Joe Root and Ben Stokes, will help get the urn back. How critical it is to have an efficient wicketkeeper will show up again.

mid-day’s group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance.
He tweets @ClaytonMurzello. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper.

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