2:40pm Friday 16th October 2009
By Graham Hardcastle
Rising star Jonny Bairstow has revealed that he expects to start the 2010 county cricket season in Yorkshire’s second team.
The 20-year-old wicketkeeper batsman has just finished his breakthrough summer in the first team with 592 County Championship runs to his name at an impressive average of 45.5, including six fifties to boot.
He was named as the club’s Young Player of the Year and, as further reward for his efforts, has this week been called up as one of 41 names in the ECB’s Performance Programme.
But he is still keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
“I am not expecting to be in the first team (next season) at all by any means,” said the right-hander.
“I have done well this year, but next year is a completely different start. You start again at pre-season, and I’ll be expecting to start in the second team, no doubts about it.
“I’m only a young player, but if pre-season goes well then maybe the opportunity comes along. Hopefully I will take it again.”
Five of Bairstow’s six Championship fifties were unbeaten, and three of them were in the 80s. A best of 84 was scored against Nottinghamshire at Scarborough.
He added steel and quality to Yorkshire’s middle order just when it was needed most.
“At the start of the year we went to Abu Dhabi, but I didn’t play too much out there,” he continued. “When we came back I started the season with the seconds and with the Academy.
“Halfway through the year the opportunity came along in the firsts with Vaughany retiring, and I’ve been really pleased with how it’s gone since.
“I was lucky enough to take my chance when it came along, but now I’ve got to go back to basics.”
Initially, Bairstow goes back to Leeds Met University, where he is in the second year of a sports performance degree.
He will then break off through December to go down to the ECB’s training base at Loughborough in preparation for a trip to Pretoria in South Africa with county colleague Adam Lyth and 20 other England hopefuls.
“It should be really good,” added Bairstow.
He has been placed in Group C of the Performance Programme, with the England selectors believing he, Lyth and players such as Hampshire’s Liam Dawson, Nottinghamshire’s Luke Fletcher and Sussex’s Ollie Rayner have what it takes to play international cricket.
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