Jonny Bairstow has challenged the England hierarchy to make good on their promise to rebuild bridges with the county game, but suggested “the proof is in the pudding”.
The England and Wales Cricket Board presented the findings of its post-Ashes review at Lord’s on Monday, with chief executive Richard Gould and managing director Rob Key laying down their vision for a fresh chapter following their 4-1 thrashing in Australia.
A key part of that involves forging a closer connection with the first-class system, which has at times been treated as a hindrance by the regime.
Yorkshire captain Bairstow, 36, has not played Test cricket since winning his 100th cap in March 2024 and insisted actions would speak louder than words.
“When you say connection, the question you would ask is why have they disconnected in the first place?” the Yorkshire captain said.
“If you are trying to rebuild something, you are admitting you have done something wrong previously. The proof is in the pudding, so we will wait and see. I look forward to hearing a bit more about the review.
“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. You have got to give people chances. There are a lot of gifted county players.”
Bairstow’s words echo some of the sentiments shared recently by Liam Livingstone, another experienced player who has been jettisoned by England in a manner that left him feeling cut adrift and embittered by the experience.
Livingstone appears to be resigned to not being selected while Key and head coach Brendon McCullum remain in place, with Bairstow holding only the slimmest of notions that he could force his name back into the conversation with a flurry of domestic runs in April and May.
“Judging by the last few years, I’m not sure it is on their agenda,” he said. “I don’t need to say whether it’s on my agenda.
“I just need to focus on leading this great club, a great bunch of players and going out and scoring the runs I do. But 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.”
Yorkshire’s cricket manager Gavin Hamilton is still awaiting an invitation to speak to Key ahead of the season, but is optimistic that some of his charges at Headingley, including future England hopefuls like George Hill and James Wharton, do see the benefit of a change in approach.
“I can imagine it’s been frustrating for players over the last two or three years,” he said.
“I don’t want to say it was a closed shop, but it may have felt like that to some players. I think (England) are making the right noises.
“Obviously there could be one, two, even three positions available in the Test team, which is exciting. It’s like county cricket used to be at the start of the year.
“We’ve got a couple of lads that would be knocking on the door. How’s that for an incentive now? They just need that little bit more transparency, let’s be honest, and if that means rebuilding from now, we’re very much involved and invested in it.”
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