ENG vs IND | Shane Watson explains the resurgence of Bairstow in Test Cricket 

On Sunday (July 3), Bairstow slammed his 11th Test ton in the ongoing rescheduled fifth Test against India at Edgbaston on Day 3. 

Talking to Sanjana Ganesan in the most recent episode of The ICC Review about Bairstow's supreme run of form, Watson said he always liked the English batter in white-ball cricket, but his resurgence with the bat in Test cricket started with the hundred at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Ashes earlier this year.

"I've always been very impressed with Jonny Bairstow and, initially, it was in the shorter formats (of the game), but that hundred he got at the SCG during the Ashes was brilliant," Shane Watson said. 

Bairstow is only the second player besides Joe Root (1,602) to have crossed the 1,000-run mark in the ongoing WTC cycle. He has slammed five hundreds and two fifties. 

Watson was very impressed with the English batter for his aggressive approach against an all-round attack of New Zealand comprising Trent Boult, Tim Southee, and Neil Wagner. Bairstow smacked 394 runs at an average of 78 and a striker rate of over 120 with the help of two centuries and a solitary fifty.

The ex-Aussie cricketer singled out the Nottingham century as a 'special' knock. 

"The way he took on the bowlers and his fearless way of batting is exactly what he has shown in the two Test matches against New Zealand. That hundred at Trent Bridge (against New Zealand) was special, as not many players can do what he did and dominate an international bowling attack in the way he did."

Watson believes that the new leadership group of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum has allowed Bairstow to play his natural game, which has helped him succeed.

"The combination of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum…he is always going to let people have that freedom just to be able to take the game on. If that's your natural game, then you just go for it. And that's exactly what Jonny Bairstow has done."

Watson, who has been a part of two of Australia's World Cup-winning campaigns in the 50-over format – in 2007 and 2015 asserted that the right-handed batter has discovered the formula which is working for him. He needs to keep repeating the same thing to maintain consistency in his performances.

"He's discovered what works for him… he's found that formula and he's just got to keep repeating that over and over again." the Australian veteran concluded.