Jonny Bairstow has no plans to follow Ben Stokes into ODI retirement despite Test cricket resurgence

Jonny Bairstow has no plans to follow Ben Stokes into 50-over retirement and wants to carry on playing for England in three formats for as long as possible.

Bairstow is something of a last man standing among England’s all-format players, with injuries and retirements ruling out a host of others, but he has the appetite to buck the trend.

‘I’ll be going all out for as long as I can,’ said Bairstow at Old Trafford ahead of the second ODI against South Africa.

Bairstow and Ben Stokes had played all three formats together until Stokes’ recent retirement

The Yorkshireman averages 46.58 with that bat in ODIs, with 11 hundreds to his name

‘There might come a time when I have to make a decision but in the near future I can’t see it because I’m loving being part of all three squads. They’re all different and they’re all great to be part of. It’s exciting.

‘You go into a new one and you’ve got a freshness and new faces with energy about them.’

Bairstow is a big fan of the beleaguered 50-over format.

‘I think 50 overs is a really good format and the journey we went through to eventually win the 2019 World Cup was amazing,’ Bairstow told Mike Atherton on Sky TV.

Ben Stokes retired from ODI cricket this week, saying he could no longer give his all to the side

‘I also think 50 overs is a stepping stone to Test cricket because you get worked for longer and you come through difficult periods and play good shots. We’re lucky in this country that 50-over cricket is well backed.’

The Yorkshireman produced the form of his life in England’s early-season Test transformation — making four centuries in three matches as they whitewashed New Zealand 3-0 and then defeated India.

But Bairstow denies that the prioritising of the long form of the game since the appointment of a new captain in Stokes and coach in Brendon McCullum has had an adverse effect on the white-ball sides.

Bairstow was dismissed for 28 in the second ODI vs South Africa but has been in good form

‘No, I wouldn’t say that,’ said Bairstow of a team who lost their first two white-ball series under the captaincy of Jos Buttler and the first ODI against South Africa. ‘The last ODI before these games was last summer, so we have to be realistic.

‘The group that won the World Cup was together a long time. Now we haven’t played it for a long time and you couple that with a new coach, a couple of guys retiring and new guys coming in. It will take time to bed it all in.’

But Bairstow, who struggled more than most with the bubble life during the pandemic, is relishing his hectic summer.

‘I do feel good,’ he said. ‘I feed off the crowd’s energy and my personality has been able to come back out again. I’m loving everything at the moment.’