Ashes 2017: Jonny Bairstow admits England 'need to rebuild the trust' of the public after Ben Duckett incident
England have been rocked by a number of allegations over their night-time behaviour, the latest incident being Duckett pouring a glass of beer over James Anderson’s head in a Perth bar
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Your support makes all the difference.Jonny Bairstow has admitted that England need to rebuild trust with the cricketing public following a number of high-profile off-the-field incidents. But ahead of the third Test in Perth on Thursday, he insisted that the only way to silence England’s critics was to start winning games on the field.
England have been rocked by a number of allegations over their night-time behaviour, the latest incident being Ben Duckett, a batsman on the Lions tour, pouring a glass of beer over James Anderson’s head in a bar in Perth, for which he has been banned from all remaining matches on tour and fined around £1,500.
Bairstow, who committed an infraction of his own when he playfully headbutted Australian opening batsman Cameron Bancroft in the same Perth bar at the start of the tour, said that a false impression had been given of the England team.
“There are things that have been blown up,” he said. “That is part and parcel of it and we need to rebuild the trust we have built over the last few years as a team. That starts on Thursday morning. You rebuild it by winning games of cricket.
“The relationships we’ve got with people are very good, and we're very fortunate for that," he added. “It's taken a bit of a hit, but it's our job and our duty to rebuild that trust and faith within the England cricket team."
Numerous accusations have been flying about in recent weeks over a supposed drinking culture within the England team, particularly in light of the incident involving Ben Stokes in September that continues to cast a shadow over the touring party. But Bairstow insisted that players and staff had since moved on.
“As a group of players, those things have been addressed and we need to move forward,” he said. “As players we get back into training tomorrow, and that is at the forefront of our mind. We've got three matches to go and we've got to win three Test matches. That is the challenge we’re faced with.”
The hope is that with the series slipping away, the adversity surrounding the England team can bind them closer together, “Absolutely,” Bairstow said. “That is what we’ve got to do, and what has got to happen. We can win games of cricket. I've won games of cricket over a period of time and there is no reason why we can't do that for the rest of the series.”
Jonny Bairstow was speaking on behalf of Yorkshire Tea and Chance to Shine, inspiring the next generation of cricketers
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