Jonny Bairstow at 100 caps: A century of spirit and resilience

There will be 150 days between Jonny Bairstow's 100th ODI cap and his 100th in Tests this Thursday for the final match of England's tour of India. Both will have come to Dharamsala, which seems particularly appropriate.

After all, it's a vibrant city full of lost souls desperate to find themselves. There is an inevitable spirituality to this place, whether you believe in it or not. Its roads meander awkwardly toward the peak of the Himalayas, with constant flirtations with obstacles – bleating or otherwise – and cliff edges that block your progress or put you off altogether. All punctuated by flashes of breathtaking wonder.

For Bairstow, 100 ODIs were recognition of his brilliance. The 100 tests, however, are a measure of the spirit. He will join 16 other Englishmen to have reached this milestone, including Ben Stokes who got there last month. With all due respect, few, if any, wanted more. And it's only when you start to analyze this statement that you really get a sense of the 'who' and 'why' of Bairstow, and 'what' he meant to English cricket.

After all, this was the kid who had been the first to gain access to the Test scene among his long-serving peers – six months before Joe Root, 18 before Stokes. Root was to be the reliable scorer, Stokes the explosive character. Bairstow was considered to be both.

The first series against the West Indies in early summer 2012 came and went. But it was his fourth selection, at Lord's against South Africa, which made people dream of what this furious 21-year-old could become. A brutal 95 gave England a slim first-innings lead against the most complete attack of the modern era. A 54 in the second threatened an improbable chase. All this while one of the best English Test teams in generations was on the verge of collapsing in on itself.

The figures show that Bairstow's initial promise has not materialized. Among England's Test batters in the 100-cap bracket, his average of 36.42 is the lowest. Even if it marks the occasion with a 13th century, who could exclude it? – this figure will also be the lowest among the privileged few, with Ian Botham just ahead with 14.

At the same time, Bairstow found himself at the forefront of the English game in two very different eras, like a time traveler sowing havoc. In 2016, he set calendar year records for the most runs by any wicketkeeper of any nationality (1,470) and resulted in more dismissals (70) than most. them. Six years later, in 2022, his four centuries and 681 runs in a single summer have launched a thrilling cult following.

Had Bairstow not been English, with such a volume of Test cricket at his disposal, he might not have had the chance to reach this landmark. For reasons relating to form, role and injury, he has missed 51 Tests since his debut almost 12 years ago. In contrast, Kane Williamson, who made his debut in November 2010, will not reach his century until the second Test against Australia next week, having missed just 11.

There were a few “what if” moments along the way. A difficult spell averaging 27.98 against the red ball between 2017 and 2019 coincided with a three-year period in which he cemented his status as a generational white-ball opener, with nine ODI hundreds in 2,403 runs scored with a strike rate of 108.24. The technical balance was too balanced in one sense, particularly his propensity to open up his position for those power play throws through the covers, but Bairstow is a world champion at that.

The serious leg fracture in late summer of 2022 that required nine pins and a wire running through his ankle cost him six tests, nine months and perhaps a chance at legendary status. As for the box office conundrum, how much time do you have left?

The battle for gloves has been a constant sticking point, and Bairstow has worn every snub personally. The biggest punishment came at the start of the 2018 season, when national selector Ed Smith made the understandable decision to bring Jos Buttler into the team. Soon, Buttler stayed.

The scramble with Ben Foakes was a different dynamic. Foakes is one of the best glovemen England have ever been able to call upon, but with enough missing batting to allow Bairstow to step into his role last summer on his return from injury. Chances were missed, the Ashes were drawn, and many reasonably equate the two. It is also true that England's indecision means that none of the three have done themselves justice.

The connection between Bairstow's desire to keep wicket and his late father is inevitable. David Bairstow also played the role of Yorkshire and England, and the similarities between the two are particularly striking. Eyes – Jonny took over David's nickname, “Bluey” – as they approached the game. Cricket writer David Hopps described senior Bairstow's batting as “a chest-protruding confrontation, as if he were still being pushed forward by an imaginary affront, on the part of a coach or a southerner, a teammate or a journalist”. He might as well have been talking about Jonny.

Of course, not all of Jonny's slights were imagined, and few have perfected the “F*** you!” strike with such vendetta precision. Up to staring at entire press boxes, leaving those there grateful for the thick glass, but unsure if he could continue to hack at the foundations with his bat.

This rage, fleeting as it may be, stems from a long-held belief that people don't value one's talents, which couldn't be further from the truth. But the idea that he's fueled by proving people wrong, even his teammates' occasional comments that making him angry before sending him onto the field gets him the most of him, is a little reductive. He’s a player unintentionally defined by broad extrapolations.

The tragedy of David's suicide – Jonny, aged eight, returned home to find him with his mother, Janet, and sister, Becky – is often linked to an emotional but bloody career. But it is a family cultivated by love, thanks to an incredibly united family, maintained by Janet.

His strength through it all, especially his two battles with breast cancer – the first at the time of David's passing – has made Jonny the man he is. Thursday's celebrations will be held alongside his loved ones, which now include his partner Megan and their first child, as well as a host of close friends. No doubt when the cap is handed over there will be a look to the sky, as was the case nine years ago in Cape Town after that first Test century, to the one who cannot be there. Even thousands of miles from home, home will be there with him.

It would be foolish not to acknowledge the sentimentality of it all. Appreciating Bairstow's emotion has always been the quickest way to get to know the person. He needs reassurance, a vulnerability McCullum saw first-hand early in his tenure when, a week after making 136 off 92 deliveries against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, Bairstow asked his coach how he should tackle the next rounds. McCullum scoffed at the mere idea of ​​doing something differently, ordering her to sit next to him and look through his Sudoku book so she wouldn't get lost in her head.

Such reassurance has not been a one-way street. The first of Bairstow's 12 Test hundreds came amid a 399-run stand with Stokes, who finished with a career-best 258 from 198 balls and still credits his partner's role in enabling him to go wilder than he ever thought possible. Not for nothing does Stokes acknowledge that the touchstone of his 2019 epic at Headingley was the 86-run stand with Bairstow that had the hero of that play playing second fiddle. Would Bazball even exist without Bairstow?

Even as someone so personally disappointed, Bairstow remains keenly aware of the things that matter. His closest teammates notice how perceptive he is about their moods, especially when they're not quite themselves and need a pick-me-up.

When Bairstow had a scheduling conflict with a close friend's wedding in Chepstow and Mark Wood's in Northumberland, he saw no conflict at all. After the first celebration, Bairstow left south-east Wales at 1 a.m., drove through the night to north-east England, arrived at 6:30 a.m., slept for an hour before freshen up and put on a new costume for his teammate's big party. day.

He's also generous, whether it's hosting barbecues the night before Headingley international matches filled with all the meat, booze and cigars you could want, or gifting souvenirs to fans, whether it's gloves, bats or just time. On several occasions during this India tour, he broke security protocol and offered selfies to local fans and hotel staff.

None of this changes the fact that we are in Bairstow's final phase as a Test cricketer. It's a numbers game in a high-performance industry, and at the end of a difficult series, this England team may need to take the next step.

Despite this, Bairstow joins an exclusive club having given so much to so many. He was responsible for the kind of days that England fans will cherish forever. He even chipped in with nonsense ranging from butting heads with Cameron Bancroft – one of Ashes most hilarious – to the one-armed kidnapping of a Just Stop Oil protester at Lord's. All while treating Test Cricket and his career with a heart that resonates around the world.

Jonny Bairstow is, and always will be, a protagonist of English cricket at a time when it was exciting and still trying to develop. And when he is done, when those who grew up with him have grown old too, there will perhaps be a certain sadness that the memories Bairstow sparked have been locked away in these moments.

His part in this journey will, ultimately, be his legacy. You can't argue with the numbers, but damn, just being there was enough. To discover the best of himself and how he moved souls simply by doing something he loved.

Basically, isn't that what life is all about, let alone cricket?