Nasser Hussain slams England for not including Jonny Bairstow in their Test setup

Nasser Hussain has criticised England for dropping Jonny Bairstow for the ongoing three-match Test series against Pakistan and naming Jos Buttler as the wicket-keeper batsman for the entire series.  Bairstow has not been a part of England's Test setup after his failure in the away four-match series against South Africa earlier this year where he could not even reach double figures. Buttler has been donning the gloves in red-ball cricket since then. Bairstow was last seen in action during the recently concluded three-match ODI series against Ireland at home.

'The problem for today’s keeper-batsman is...': Nasser Hussain

“The problem for today’s keeper-batsman is that he has to do both jobs well. It’s not the same for an all-rounder such as Ben Stokes, who can go through a lean spell taking wickets if he is scoring plenty of runs,” Nasser Hussain had wrote in his column for Daily Mail.

“That’s why it was harsh of England to drop Jonny Bairstow to give the job to Buttler last year because his glovework at the time was excellent. And we also knew there was plenty of potential in Bairstow’s batting for him to come through his rough patch,” the former English skipper added.

“I admire his determination to crack Test cricket. He could have taken the easier option of walking off into a white-ball sunset and playing more franchise cricket while being an important member of Eoin Morgan’s limited-overs sides. “I applaud him because it shows the character in the bloke, but bad days like yesterday will not satisfy the doubters nor ease the doubts in Buttler’s mind,” the cricketer-turned-commentator/analyst further added.

Buttler fights back for England in first innings

It seems that Jos Buttler might have rediscovered his rhythm with the bat as he is trying his level best to reduce England's first innings deficit against Pakistan in the ongoing first Test match at the Old Trafford, Manchester.

Opener Shan Masood's outstanding knock of 156 helped Pakistan post 326 on the board in their first innings. The hosts in reply were reduced to 12/3 as the young Pak bowlers made the most of the new ball in the overcast conditions that assisted the seamers early on. Skipper Joe Root and Ollie Pope were then involved in a 50-run stand before the former was dismissed just before the end of play on Day 2.

Ollie Pope scored a valiant half-century on Day 3 and restored the English hopes before he was sent back for 62. Jos Buttler (25*) and Chris Woakes are currently out in the middle and the duo will be hoping to bat for the next couple of sessions without any further loss.

(Image Courtesy: AP)