Jonny Bairstow Hammers Rapid 97 for Yorkshire 2nd XI in his Comeback Match
Bairstow hammered quickfire 97 [Twitter]
England's swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow has made a brilliant return to competitive cricket as he scored a rapid 88- all 97 for Yorkshire's 2nd Xi against Nottinghamshire 2nd XI on Tuesday afternoon.
Batting first, Yorkshire 2nd XI were 109/2 when Bairstow strode out to bat for the first time since injuring himself at the end of the last summer.
The Yorkshireman raced away to a 47-ball half-century to mark his return. Overall, he clobbered 13 fours and 2 monstrous sixes to rack up 97 priceless runs before getting dismissed by Ollie Stone.
Bairstow has been out of action since the 2022 English summer after suffering a freak injury at the Golf course.
The injury came at a time when Bairstow was in the form of his life in Test cricket, having smashed multiple match-winning hundreds against New Zealand and India at a rate of knots.
As a result of that freak injury, Bairstow missed out on the T20 World Cup in Australia and winter Test series in Pakistan and New Zealand, where his replacement Harry Brook established himself at No.5 with breathtaking knocks in both rubbers.
With the Ashes on the horizon and English middle-order packed, Bairstow faces an arduous task to walk back straight into the first XI against Australia in June.
It will be interesting to see how England's leadership group reintegrate the Yorkshire batsman in the playing XI in the Ashes.
As for Yorkshire 2nd XI, they had moved to 314/5 when this report was being written.
 "Yash Mittal")
