Enjoyment is a huge part of why I'm still playing: Jonny Bairstow

Cape Town, Jan 6 (PTI) While England struggled to stick to the ‘Bazball’ in the ongoing Ashes, Jonny Bairstow, the OG poster boy of that aggressive brand of cricket, is turning the clock back in this season’s SA20.

Bairstow made a typically-marauding 85 off 45 balls at Centurion to power Sunrisers Eastern Cape to a 10-wicket win over Pretoria Capitals recently.

The innings contained eight fours and six sixes, and the strike-rate stood at 188. The Lion King has one roar left in him, if you may.

Watching Bairstow in itself is a delightful experience — flowing hands forming a free and long arc and the ball disappearing to many corners of the ground in a jiffy.

It's that spontaneity that sets Bairstow apart from the other English batters of his generation, and made him a lynchpin in the plans of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum when they transformed the template of English Test cricket.

It was visible when he smashed experienced spinner Keshav Maharaj around for 34 runs in an over — the most expensive ever in SA20.

Starting as a passive supporter of his partner Quinton de Kock, that assault on Maharaj changed the whole tempo of his innings.

“Did it look like I went into my shell, just with a four? Of course I was looking to hit six sixes, like when you've got three away and you're thinking, okay, maybe let's try and give it a go.

“So, yes, unfortunately, I got that one for four. But, yes, I was definitely trying,” Bairstow said with a chuckle.

The knock was a glance back to 2022 when he scored six of his 12 Test hundreds, when he was happy and settled with himself.

But then a tranche of injuries and ever-sliding form took him out of that comforting space, and the runs too seized to come by.

So, is the knock an indication of him returning to that mental place? “Look, I think there are different pressures. Obviously, when you're playing with England, there's pressure of playing for England. When you're playing franchise cricket, there's pressure of being an overseas, like people are in the IPL.

“So, yes, there are different pressures. But, at the same time, the enjoyment factor is a huge part of why I'm still playing. And long may that continue,” he added.

Perhaps, it led him to sign a three-year contract with home county Yorkshire last month, a clear indication that he is not following some of his old teammates into retirement.

Bairstow’s fifty came on a day when his County and country-mate Joe Root made his 41st Test hundred in the ongoing Sydney Test.

“Absolutely incredible. Joe Root is, without doubt, the best of our generation. He's now had 41 Test 100s. He's played through some of the trickiest times and proved everyone by scoring two Test centuries in Australia this time.

“So, I'm absolutely delighted for him. He's a great bloke, a great friend. Hopefully, he can get another one,” Bairstow added.

Bairstow too might be thinking of adding a few more to his cumulative 11581 runs for England. PTI UNG AM UNG AM AM