He was overshadowed by Ben Stokes’ feats, but Jonny Bairstow’s maiden Test was a special moment for a multitude of reasons
David Hopps03-Jan-2016Many Test cricketers have looked to the heavens before and many will do so in the future. Many have stories to relate and secrets they prefer not to tell, some happy, some desperately sad. Others gaze skywards simply because this is how they have always imagined it should be. But few have gazed upwards before with the emotional intensity of Jonny Bairstow.On the fourth day of the Cape Town Test, it will be the anniversary of the death of David Bairstow, Jonny’s dad – a suicide that shook the family to the core. Bluey was one of the best loved cricketers in Yorkshire’s history who earned four Test and 21 ODI caps for England. Jonny was eight years old. Eighteen years on, with his maiden Test century, he has come of age.Bairstow’s maiden Test hundred was an afterthought, submerged by a herculean double century played by Ben Stokes that suggested – physical fitness allowing – he can become the talismanic figure England want him to be. Even in his native Yorkshire they will grudgingly accept that Bairstow played second fiddle, not that any self-respecting Yorkshireman would feel obliged to hide away at the back of the orchestra when the applause sounded.There are many times when journalism feels intrusive, no matter how justifiable the moment, and this is one of those moments. To have some passing knowledge of the grief such trauma can bring gives at least some sort of insight. Rarely a day must pass without a confusion of love, anger, bewilderment, guilt or betrayal. A truce can be called, but a peace rarely negotiated.Perhaps now, though, that first Test century has been achieved, that moment lived, no more need be said. Perhaps it will be a healthy place to be when Jonny Bairstow can look to the heavens without further media questions. But perhaps, too, this was the occasion that Jonny and his mother Janet, as they experienced their proudest moment, invited the whole family – those living and not – to share in his triumph.As Janet said, she is “normally in a corridor hiding” when Jonny approaches a landmark. No fiercer advocate of a son’s talent exists in cricket. This time she watched, first braving it out in a hospitality box and then braving it out on in an interview Jonathan Agnew described as one of the most emotional of his life.”Well that was for grandad and for dad, all sorts of different reasons and it was all very emotional,” she said. “That was special to him because we are a small unit. They’ll be playing cricket upstairs somewhere. Or probably standing by the bar area.”There would be no probably about it.Do not expect a long speech from Bairstow on such an occasion. The family history tracks him every day. He must have received thousands of well-meaning memories during his own cricketing career and has slowly learned how to deal with them. He can be a private individual away from those he most trusts. At Cape Town, he achieved a lifetime ambition and the primeval roar and clenched jaw, not quite managing to suppress the emotions that leaked through, told its own tale. His dad once played and coached there. It was all enough to cause a small earthquake in Yorkshire.”It’s probably the best day of my life, I reckon,” Bairstow told “My mum was up there in one of the boxes, my sister as well. It’s a special day for all family – both here and up there.”There were a lot of things building up through the last couple of years: my grandpa passing away last year and dad – it’s the anniversary of that coming up as well – so I’m absolutely delighted to score it in this New Year’s Test match at such an iconic venue.”Stokes does not over-complicate life, but impressively he had the emotional intelligence not to intrude on what rightly became a private family celebration. “It’s your first hundred and you never have that again,” Stokes said. “It’s a special time: you want that 10-15 seconds all to yourself to take in the crowd and salute your team-mates. I let him have that moment.”As afterthoughts go, it had been a special one, as 150 not out from 191 balls upon England’s declaration will testify. Bairstow was never sucked in to trying to match Stokes blow for blow, but played with enough freedom to accompany him, to tell him that all things were possible.”Being the player I am, going hell for leather, you can get drawn into doing that yourself and the way he played his natural game and not get too far out of his box was amazing,” Stokes said. “Then once he got his hundred he let loose.”As Bairstow remarked: “We just clicked”.He has had a challenging year. Brought back into the England fold in early season, as a substitute for a dynamic and popular figure in Jos Buttler, his batting has developed rapidly – he averaged nearly 100 for Yorkshire in the Championship last season – but however much it aggravates him to hear it, his wicket-keeping remains flawed. At 26, approaching his best years, his challenge – and it is a formidable one – is to improve both facets of his game.For now, he can relish a Test hundred. “It has been a little while coming,” Bairstow told the . “Obviously after everything that has gone on in the last year or so it is fantastic to get over the line for me and my family. There was a lot of talk here and there so I am delighted to get over the line today.”A lotta talk – maybe, maybe too much talk,” as Bono once famously said before a live rendition of Sunday, Bloody Sunday.On a Sunday in Cape Town, as he thrust his heads to the heavens, it was time for the talking to stop.
