Jonny Bairstow confident that England batsmen can perform in Australia during Ashes

Jonny Bairstow scored 141 for England in 4th ODI against West Indies. (Reuters Photo)

Jonny Bairstow understands that England are prepared to take on Australia in the upcoming Ashes series and the batsmen have enough credentials to win Down Under. The wicketkeeper said that their batsmen have a strong record in First-Class cricket which makes them one of the best teams in the world.

“If you actually look at it there’s 50 first-class hundreds at six, seven, eight and nine so I don’t know if you’re classing that as weak,” he said.

“Do please let me know another side in the world that’s got 50 first-class hundreds in those three or four batting positions. That’s been a strength of ours over a period of time and will continue to be.

“We’re very fortunate to have all-rounders in those positions, whether that be in one-day cricket, T20 cricket or Test cricket.”

But he also admitted that England need to adapt quickly to a new plan in case all-rounder Ben Stokes is not on the plane to Australia after he was suspended for selection. He was arrested in Bristol last week for a fight outside a nightclub but was later released without any charges. Stokes played a significant role, both with bat and ball, in England’s Test series win over South Africa and West Indies at home.

“I’m pretty pleased,” he said. “It’s nice to finish a long summer with some runs and head into the winter with confidence. You wait a long time for a first hundred and when it comes you want to capitalise.”

“If selection doesn’t go your way, you have to bide your time and take the chance when it comes,” he said.

Bairstow scored a match-winning 141 against West Indies in the final ODI at Southampton on Friday which helped England win the game by nine wickets and also the series 4-0. He said that he is confident to continue his good performance after getting two centuries in the series.

He is part of Ashes squad and will have a huge role to play as England’s middle-order is struggling in the longer format of the game. They have recalled Gary Ballance to the team and Bairstow believes it will take time to settle things down.

“It takes a period of time for people to bed into an environment, to bed into a team, to bed into a role and learn a role,” he said, stressing the difficulty of stepping up from county to international cricket.

“We do need to learn quickly because we’ve got a huge series on the horizon,” he added. “It’s something that is going to be tough but at the same time we’re ready for the challenges that are ahead.”