Bairstow hits back at critics as England rout Namibia

England’s Jonny Bairstow during his 18-ball 31 v Nambia. PIC/AFP

After England secured a 41-run win over Namibia in a truncated affair and seeing Australia beat Scotland to enter the Super Eight stage, wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow hit back at the critics for questioning his place in the side, saying there's a reason behind him playing international cricket for a long time.

Under pressure due to scoring just 64 runs in his last four T20Is, Bairstow smashed 31 off 18 balls while sharing a 56-run stand with Harry Brook for the third wicket as England made 122-5 in their ten overs.

"Look, people are allowed to have opinions, and it's part and parcel of it. It's not the first time that people have had a go at me, is it? So, you take it on the chin, and you crack on. "At the end of the day, there's a reason why I've played for so long, and there's a reason why I'm in the team. So maybe sometimes the opinions and the views that come through certain people's eyes are incorrect and maybe need to look at themselves," said Bairstow in the post-match press conference.

Bairstow is still one of the few players who plays all three formats of international cricket. He said: "I'd like to be keeping wickets and batting in Tests. That's what I've wanted to do. I haven't spent much time thinking about it. Games are coming thick and fast.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever