“If the opportunity arises I’ll try to take it”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Jonny Bairstow has admitted that he is highly impressed with England’s form going into the Champions Trophy, but admitted that he would like to part of the ODI squad on a more regular basis.

England were recently in the Caribbean for a short three-match ODI series, which they won 3-0. However, Bairstow did not feature in any of the matches against the West Indies even though he made a real statement with a brilliant 86 in a warm-up match against the West Indies Cricket Board President’s XI.

Given his encouraging form with the bat, Bairstow is eager to be part of the playing XI throughout the Champions Trophy, which will be held in England in June.

“It’s great to see us doing so well leading into the Champions Trophy and on from there,” he told Sky Sports. “Naturally it’s frustrating. All the time you want to be playing, and after doing well in a warm-up game it’s unfortunate to miss out, but it’s important to have strength in depth.

“Moving forward into the Champions Trophy we know how important the squad is going to be, so hopefully we do well in that competition and if the opportunity arises I’ll try to take it.

“I’m not too sure you can say we’ll start as favourites. It’s the top eight in the world, so it’ll be a tough competition.”

After the Champions Trophy, England will take on South Africa in a Test series. For Joe Root, it will be his first Test series as captain, but Bairstow is backing the 26-year-old to do a fantastic job.

“He’ll adopt a new style of captaincy – it’s only natural he’ll do it his way,” Bairstow added. “But with the people he’s got around him, and the experience…still having Cooky [Alastair Cook] around he’s able to bounce ideas off these guys that have played a heck of a lot of cricket.”