Cricket-Bairstow joins Livingstone in criticising level of care in England set-up


Cricket - Fifth Test - India v England - Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala, India - March 9, 2024 England's Jonny Bairstow in action REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - An out-of-favour ⁠Jonny Bairstow has joined former teammate Liam Livingstone in criticising the level of ⁠care shown by the England hierarchy to some of the players and is ‌looking forward to the English board rebuilding bridges with county cricket.

All-rounder Livingstone recently said he was left out in the cold after being dropped by England last year, adding the current regime did not care ​about players outside the core group.

Bairstow, who was part of ⁠England's early success under head coach ⁠Brendon McCullum and test captain Ben Stokes but has not played a test since ⁠his ‌100th two years ago, echoed the same view.

"You need the care back in the game," Bairstow, 36, told the British media.

"It is OK saying people care about ⁠things - no they don't.

"If you are in the system, ​you are in the system.

"As ‌soon as you are out of the system, you are out of the ⁠system."

The England and ​Wales Cricket Board (ECB) conducted a review of the team's 4-1 Ashes humbling earlier this year before deciding to stick with McCullum and Stokes, while Rob Key will also continue as managing director ⁠of England's men's cricket.

England were criticised for persisting with ​out-of-form players such as Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope in the Ashes series.

Former England players including Geoffrey Boycott and Michael Vaughan have expressed surprise at what they called a lack of ⁠accountability in English cricket.

Like them, Bairstow also felt certain players had grown complacent under the current set-up.

"When you become comfortable you become complacent, and when someone questions you directly you are not used to it because you are in an environment that is potentially ​not questioning you in a different way."

Key has announced the ⁠formation of a "county insight group" to establish a stronger link with domestic cricket.

"The question you ​would ask is why have they disconnected in the ‌first place?" Bairstow said.

"We will see if the ​proof is in the pudding. I look forward to hearing a bit more about the review."

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Shri Navaratnam)

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