Bairstow's bench strength a key asset for England, says Morgan

Eoin Morgan, England's ODI captain, believes that Jonny Bairstow's proven ability to perform for England even when he has not been a regular starter makes him a powerful asset to the squad going into the Champions Trophy.

Bairstow's thunderous innings of 72 not out from 44 balls against Ireland on Sunday was just the latest statement of intent from a player who, on current form, would surely walk into most teams in the world.

However, despite breaking a heap of records as England's incumbent Test wicketkeeper, including the most runs (1470) and most dismissals (70) by any keeper in a calendar year, Bairstow has had to settle for a peripheral role in England's one-day set-up.

His two outings against Ireland at Lord's and Bristol were his first white-ball appearances since a one-off selection against India in Kolkata in January, and were only made possible by the absence of two shoo-ins for the Champions Trophy, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, who are currently in India on IPL duty.

Barring a change to the balance of England's first-choice team, which would be unlikely given that Stokes and Chris Woakes are both regarded as genuine allrounders, Bairstow can expect to be relegated once again come the start of England's Champions Trophy campaign, regardless of whether he is given another chance to impress in the three-match series against South Africa later this month.

And while Morgan sympathises with his team-mate's lack of opportunity, he believes that Bairstow's potential as an impact sub could be even more relevant when England reach the sharp end of their quest for a maiden 50-over global trophy.

"It puts us in a brilliant position," Morgan said during the launch of NatWest's 'Cricket has no boundaries' campaign. "If an injury goes down, touch wood, you want someone in form to stand up. We've seen it before, where he hasn't even been in the squad, and he's come back from a Yorkshire game, and won us the game.

"That's the type of character he is. It's amazing to watch, because you'd have a lot of guys who would complain about their situation - not getting enough chances, or a long enough run - but he comes in and just performs. And that's rare."

Morgan cited Bairstow's one-off appearance against New Zealand at Chester-le-Street in 2015 as a classic example of his ability to hit the ground running. In that match, the decisive fixture of the series that is credited for transforming England's reputation in 50-over cricket, Bairstow transformed a scoreline of 45 for 5 in a rain-reduced run-chase with a blistering 83 not out from 60 balls, to seal the contest by three wickets and with an over to spare.

"Jonny has never let us down, and that is so rare to get someone that hungry and focused to come in and produce every game," said Morgan. "And that gives him credit as he goes on."

Nevertheless, speaking in the aftermath of the Ireland victory, Bairstow admitted that it was desperately disappointing" to have been overlooked for wicketkeeping duties in favour of his fellow squad member, Sam Billings.

Morgan accepted that Bairstow's role would need careful management in the build-up to the Champions Trophy, to prevent his frustrations from spilling over in a manner that would be detrimental to a close-knit squad.

"It puts us in a difficult position because someone is going to be disappointed not being in the starting XI," I know when Jonny's not playing, he's not happy. He wants to be involved the whole time, and he knows exactly the direction the team is going in, but at the same time he wants to be part of it.

"So managing that is going to be part of our job. It's not that it's harder managing his disappointment [than anyone else's], but he shows it a bit more. He's more animated that most … you could say passionate."