Ben Foakes has been dropped for England’s one-off Test against Ireland at Lord’s next month, paving the way for Jonny Bairstow’s return as wicketkeeper ahead of this summer’s Ashes.
Despite being regarded as one of the world’s best glovemen and averaging 38.9 with the bat under Test captain Ben Stokes, Foakes is out in the cold with Bairstow taking his spot in a 15-strong squad.
Rob Key, England’s managing director for men’s cricket, said: “It was a seriously tough decision to leave Ben Foakes out of the squad.
“He has been excellent for England in the last year, but Jonny Bairstow is one of the best players in the world whose performances last summer epitomised what we are about.”
There was little doubt Bairstow would come back in after amassing six hundreds in a breathtaking 2022 before breaking his leg in three places in an accident on a golf tee, which sidelined him for 10 months.
How England would accommodate him was the key question with fellow Yorkshireman Harry Brook amassing four centuries over the winter in the number five spot Bairstow had seemingly made his own.
Theories abounded that Zak Crawley could make way as England sought to fit eight options into seven places but the under-pressure opener retained his position, alongside Ben Duckett, for a Test that gets under way on June 1 and acts as a tune-up for five much-awaited contests against Australia.
