Jonny Bairstow not taking fine England form for granted

England wicketkeeper, who shone at Headingley, knows how fickle cricket can be

Jonny Bairstow cuts a ball to the boundary during day one of the first Test (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Jonny Bairstow knows only too well that cricket is a great leveller. Seeing the ball like a balloon one minute, like a pea the next, the England wicketkeeper is well aware it’s best to make the most of the good times.

And it’s definitely all balloons and party hats at the moment for Bairstow who made a thrilling 140 off 183 balls, took nine catches behind the stumps and was man of the match in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Headingley as his side walloped the opposition by an innings and 88 runs over the weekend. However, the Yorkshireman has had enough ups and downs in his England career to date to be circumspect about talk of having cracked it at international level.

"Form can be taken from you very quickly," Bairstow said. "It only takes a couple of bits to go wrong, and all of a sudden potentially you can be out of form.

"At this moment in time, I'm feeling good, happy with the way I'm striking the ball and with my movement. Let's hope that can continue, well ... for the next 15 years!”

Bairstow was given out lbw to a swinging Angelo Mathews delivery during his sublime innings against Sri Lanka when on 40 so it could have been different had his side been out of reviews or he chosen not to question the umpire’s decision. Such fine lines. Twas ever thus, though.

Bairstow began his England career with a mixed home series against West Indies in 2012 before grinding out 95 against South Africa that same summer. It has been lows and highs since: a run of 19 innings and only one score over 50 from late 2013 made him far from a shoo-in. Then he was called back into the one-day side last summer when Jos Buttler picked up an injury and produced a wonderful innings against New Zealand that won the series. Then followed a steady series against Pakistan in the UAE when he was handed the gloves before he produced that fine knock in South Africa over the winter - the unbeaten 150 in that stunning 399-run partnership with Ben Stokes in Cape Town.

“That was the culmination of a few years,” Bairstow said. “Being left out of the side in a position you know you're capable isn't necessarily a very nice thing to have done to you. Coming back to Yorkshire for pretty much two years, learning your game, learning about yourself, playing my cricket in a really great environment and winning trophies has done us and me a world of good."

With Stokes now out of the next two Tests of the summer against Sri Lanka at Durham on Friday and Lord’s after that, Bairstow may move up the order from his current No 7 slot. Not that it will faze him. He has batted at No 5 for Yorkshire over the last year and has been churning out runs for fun.

If Chris Woakes, 9 for 36 against Durham on Monday, comes in, Bairstow could jump up a spot to No 6. "I'll bat wherever,” he said. "[No 5] is the position I bat for Yorkshire and keep wicket - so if that opportunity comes up, it comes up. I'm happy at seven."

One thing Bairstow is not happy about though, is being asked if he is still happy to keep wicket for England. After nine catches and a tidy performance all round behind the stumps it’s understandable. "For the 52nd time in two weeks, I do want to keep wicket,” Bairstow snapped when asked about his role. "As I've said numerous times before, I wouldn't have kept wicket for Yorkshire for seven years if I didn't want to keep wicket for England.

"I'll continue to work hard. I wouldn't have put the hours in before Dubai - before South Africa, in South Africa, leading into this season - if I didn't want to keep wicket."