Ex-England captain Michael Atherton believes picking Jonny Bairstow over Ben Foakes is the right call taken by the Test team think-tank for the one-off Test against Ireland and possibly, for the highly-anticipated Ashes.

England’s selectors chose Bairstow, who scored four centuries in five Test innings last year against New Zealand and India, over Foakes. “I think it is the right call and I think that is the minority view from testing the water on social media.