Jonny Bairstow Scores Century In County Championship After Omission From Australia Series

Jonny Bairstow has taken the Vitality County Championship by storm after being dropped from the England squad. The 34-year-old was omitted from England’s squad for their white-ball series against Australia. Bairstow scored an excellent 160 for Yorkshire in their match against Middlesex at Headingley. He smashed 14 boundaries and two sixes before being dismissed by Luke Hollman in the 124th over.

Bairstow and his compatriots Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan were also overlooked for the upcoming series against Australia. Five uncapped players replaced the trio for the three T20Is and five ODIs that will be played between September 11 and 29.

Despite not being picked for the upcoming series, England chief selector Luke Wright recently voiced that Jonny Bairstow’s white-ball career was not over. Speaking about his passion, he said, “One of Jonny’s great strengths is how much he wants to play.”

Wright then said that he was hoping for the veteran batter to make a comeback.

“We just want him back to being one of the best players in the world. He had that horrific injury, and that’s been the message. Can we get you back to where you were pre-injury? He understands that. He doesn’t like it. One thing Jonny will do is fight back, and I hope he does and gets himself back in the team,” Wright added.

Coming back to the County Championship game, Yorkshire currently have the advantage at the halfway stage of the competition for Division Two promotion. The pitch could lead to the match ending in a draw. In the first innings of the match, Jonny Bairstow advanced from 107 overnight.

He shared 238 runs for the sixth wicket with George Hill who scored his first hundred of the season. Hill went on to score an unbeaten 169. Bairstow’s incredible 160-run knock, on the other end, helped Yorkshire notch 601 runs before declaring the first innings.

Yorkshire led Middlesex by 460 runs at the end of Day 2. But Middlesex remain in pursuit of the total, having acquired 141 at a single wicket’s loss. Sam Robson is currently leading the innings with an unbeaten 65.