Ashes 2023: Not safe with his keeping and is rusty – Geoffrey Boycott wants England to drop unfit Jonny Bairstow

Former England opening batter Geoffrey Boycott has urged the home team to drop unfit Jonny Bairstow from the upcoming fourth Ashes Test match against Australia. Bairstow has missed a lot of chances behind the stumps in the first three Test matches and has looked sloppy.

Furthermore, the right-hander has failed to deliver the goods with the bat. Bairstow returned with scores of 12 and 5 in the third Test match at Leeds, Headingley and could not get going.

The 33-year-old Yorkshire batter has scored 141 runs in three Ashes Test matches at an average of 23.50. Apart from scoring 78 runs in the first Test match at Edgbaston, Bairstow hasn’t done enough to retain his place in the team.

Boycott feels Bairstow should have played for Yorkshire before he was straight away drafted into England’s playing XI against a potent team like Australia.

Geoffrey Boycott wrote in his column for the Telegraph: “All this stuff about picking your best keeper is rubbish but at the moment Jonny is not safe with his keeping and is rusty. That is the problem. I forecast that.

“I wouldn’t have picked him until the third Test and made him play for Yorkshire to get some competitive cricket under his belt. You can’t sustain a serious injury like that and think you can come back straightaway against a team as good as Australia.”

Boycott highlighted that Bairstow is not justifying his selection ahead of Ben Foakes as he is neither delivering with the bat nor behind the stumps.

“When Jonny is at his best, he is a better plus for England than Ben Foakes. But at the moment, he is dropping things and not moving properly. When he is picked ahead of Foakes, his keeping has to be safe and he has to score runs. He is not doing either.”

The former commentator added Bairstow is unfit for selection and wants the hosts to have no hesitation in changing the winning combination.

“Some people may say never change a winning team. I disagree. My experience of playing at the highest level for so long and my common sense tells me that Jonny Bairstow is not fit.

The fourth Ashes Test will be played at Old Trafford from 19th July onwards.