‘As soon as you are out of the system, you are out’ – Jonny Bairstow joins Liam Livingstone in questioning ‘Bazball’ regime

Jonny Bairstow and McCullum (Source Gareth Copley/Getty Image)

England wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow has joined former teammate Liam Livingstone in criticising the current regime led by Brendon McCullum, Ben Stokes and Rob Key.

Bairstow has accused the England management of having bias and favouritism towards certain players within the system where players sometimes get too comfortable with their place in the team knowing there is not competition for their spot in the side.

“You need the care back in the game. It is OK saying people care about things – no they don’t. If you are in the system, you are in the system. As soon as you are out of the system, you are out of the system,” Bairstow was quoted as saying on BBC Sport.

“As soon as you don’t have people chasing you up your back side you become comfortable. When you become comfortable you become complacent, and when someone questions you directly you are not used to it because you are in an environment that is potentially not questioning you in a different way,” he added.

Bairstow last played for England during their Test series away to India in early 2024. The wicketkeeper made his final appearance in a Three Lion shirt during the fifth Test match in Dharamshala which also happened to be his 100th. It is worth remembering that the right-hander was the posterboy of the initial Bazball era in 2022 where he scored four hundreds in the first four Test matches under the leadership of Stokes and McCullum. The Yorkshireman, however, does not expect a call back into the setup anytime soon.

“Judging by the last few years, I am not sure it is on their agenda. It will be an interesting question for you to pose to them if I do go out and score a couple of hundreds early season.”

Like last summer, Bairstow will return to the 2026 County Championship as Yorkshire’s captain. The 36-year-old scored 735 runs for the White Rose County last time around at an average of 45.93.

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