Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root push boundaries in explosive England summer

07/06/2022

Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root piled on further statistical accomplishments as they powered England to a seven-wicket win over India at Edgbaston.

The Yorkshire pair put on an unbroken 269 in an England-record run chase of 378 for three, the eighth-highest target ever chased down to win a Test.

Here we cast an eye over their individual accomplishments against New Zealand and India this summer.

Tons of fun for Bairstow

Peter Parfitt followed across two series against Pakistan in 1962 – with two knocks of 101 not out before a declaration, and a top score of 119 – then Graham Gooch in 1990. He made 154 and 30 against New Zealand then 333 and 123 in an astonishing Lord’s Test against India, following up with 116 at Old Trafford.

Bairstow’s other innings in that time was 71 not out, giving him an average of 196.33 for those five innings – edging out Hammond’s 194.75 for the best of the quartet in their respective runs. Nobody has ever made five hundreds in six England innings.

He is also only the 11th Englishman to make two tons in one Test, and the first since Sir Andrew Strauss’ 123 and 108 against India in Chennai in 2008.

Hammond and Gooch’s aforementioned efforts also see them on that list along with 1920s opener Jack Russell, Herbert Sutcliffe on two separate occasions, Eddie Paynter, Denis Compton, Alec Stewart, and Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick in consecutive Tests against the West Indies in 2004.

Earlier hundreds against Australia in January and the Windies in March give Bairstow six in eight Tests this year – as many as he had made in his 79 Tests up to the end of 2021.

Root continues outstanding run

Not to be outdone by his fellow Yorkshireman, Root has scored 927 runs in nine Tests this year at an average of 61.80.

That follows his extraordinary 2021, in which he made 1,708 runs at 61.00 – over 1,000 runs clear of any other England batter, and as captain in the era before McCullum and Ben Stokes took charge. In total he has 2,635 runs at 61.27 since the start of last year, with 11 hundreds and five fifties.

He finished the delayed India series as the leading run-scorer on 737, putting him 333 clear of second-placed Bairstow and with double the tally of India’s top scorer, Rohit Sharma on 368. Sharma missed the fifth Test due to Covid-19.

Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root push boundaries in explosive England summer

Tons of fun for Bairstow

Recommended

Root continues outstanding run

Recommended