Much as one shouldn't use limited-overs form as an indicator for Test form, it is actually good news that England have 8 ODIs and a T20 in between the WI Tests and the SA Tests. Presumably Bairstow will play most, if not all, of those games and will likely face a reasonable amount of short-pitched bowling during those games. If he can deal with it there then he just needs to find a way to transfer that to the Test arena. I think that people like Suresh Raina try too hard to suppress their attacking instincts and end up trying not to hit balls that they should hit. Hopefully Bairstow can find a way to curb his attacking nature enough to play sensible Test innings but still punish the balls that can be put away. He'll likely still be tested by by some short deliveries but then many good batsmen have been tested by good short-pitched bowling over the years.

where is ravi bopara?? is he still suffering from injury????

@axe_hay on (May 30 2012, 17:51 PM GMT) Compton has been in great form. Hildreth better than 2011 but certainly nowhere near test level standars

So when will the selectors have faith on James Taylor ? If they think he is too young for a test cap then they can try Nick Compton or James Hildreth.They have been in superform this season and should be tried at the international level.

I'd disagree re our batsmen. They don't have the same strain injury risks that our bowlers have and re KP , he is currently looking awesome. If you are going to rest a batsman surely the time to do so is when they are on a bad run

@England fans - What do you reckon with this? I'd love to see them try the 5 man bowling attack but fear they never will. So re the number 6 position ,we all seem to be thinking that at this stage JB isn't good enough and I guess if the selectors are thinking the same thing , is there much point in picking him for the 3rd test if he is not trusted to do a job vs SA? My suggestion - if we must have a number 6 batsman - is Compton. The guy has been scoring runs consistently for Somerset in a higher division that JB , JT (last year) and RB and I feel he has the temperament to succeed. I feel if JB goes away and scores a stack of runs in his next Yorks game it won't erase his long term probs which Steyn and co will expose more ruthlessly

Posted by   on (May 30, 2012, 10:16 GMT)

hamish marschal is a good choice he has qualified for Eng if not Moeen Ali is a v good all rounder

Bairstow against the bouncer is like Bell against spin; utterly hopeless!!

This lad is Suresh raina of English Cricket!!

what england can do is : Rest Pietersen or Trott. It will cete slots for Bairstow and also one slot for a relatively safer option like james taylor or nick compton who can be used against safrica with some experience in the next test if bairstow fails.

Golden chance for england.Everyone is talking about resting broad and anderson but they need to make sure that they have a no.6 against safrica who has at least played a test