An out-of-favour Jonny Bairstow has joined former teammate Liam Livingstone in criticising the level of care shown by the England hierarchy to some of the players and is looking forward to the English board rebuilding bridges with county cricket.
All-rounder Livingstone recently said he was left out in the cold after being dropped by England last year, adding the current regime did not care about players outside the core group.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape batter Bairstow, who was part of England’s early success under head coach Brendon McCullum and Test captain Ben Stokes but has not played a test since his 100th two years ago, echoed the same view.
“You need the care back in the game,” Bairstow, 36, told the British media. It is OK saying people care about things. No, they don’t.
“If you are in the system, you are in the system. As soon as you are out of the system, you are out of the system.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) conducted a review of the team’s 4-1 Ashes humbling earlier this year before deciding to stick with McCullum and Stokes, while Rob Key will also continue as managing director of England’s men’s cricket.
When you become comfortable, you become complacent, and when someone questions you directly, you are not used to it because you are in an environment that is potentially not questioning you differently
— Jonny Bairstow
England were criticised for persisting with out-of-form players such as Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope in the Ashes series.
Former England players, including Geoffrey Boycott and Michael Vaughan, have expressed surprise at what they called a lack of accountability in English cricket.
Like them, Bairstow also felt certain players had grown complacent under the current set-up.
“When you become comfortable, you become complacent, and when someone questions you directly, you are not used to it because you are in an environment that is potentially not questioning you differently.”
Key has announced the formation of a “county insight group” to establish a stronger link with domestic cricket.
“The question you would ask is why have they disconnected in the first place?” Bairstow said. “We will see if the proof is in the pudding. I look forward to hearing a bit more about the review.”
Duckett withdraws from IPL
Meanwhile, England opener Ben Duckett has withdrawn from the Indian Premier League (IPL) four days before the start of the tournament to focus on his international career, a decision that could leave him facing a two-season ban from the league.
The 31-year-old, who scored 202 runs at an average of 20.20 during the Ashes, was bought by Delhi Capitals for 20 million rupees (R3.6m) at the auction.
Under IPL rules, any player who registers for the auction is picked by a franchise and makes himself unavailable before the start of the season can be barred from participating in the tournament and the player auction for two seasons.
“I have made the extremely difficult decision to withdraw from the IPL. I have given this a lot of thought and it has not been an easy choice,” Duckett wrote on Instagram.
“Representing England is something I have dreamed of since I was a child, and I want to give everything I can to English cricket. To do that, I need to ensure I am in the best possible place physically and mentally ahead of the summer.
“I would like to sincerely apologise to everyone at Delhi. I was genuinely very excited about the opportunity to represent the franchise, and I fully appreciate the time and planning that goes into building a squad.
“I am sorry for any disruption my decision may cause. I would also like to apologise to all the fans, as I know how much the team means to everyone in Delhi.”
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Reuters
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