Jonny Bairstow believes the Indian Premier League provided better preparation for Test cricket than red-ball match practice in the County Championship.
Bairstow was thrown into the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s immediately after returning from his T20 stint with Punjab Kings in India - where he earned £700,000 - and was out twice cheaply to loose shots. Along with his first innings score from the second Test, he mustered just 25 runs.
But he retained the faith of the high-octane new management team of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum and responded by smashing one of the best and quickest centuries of all time in Tuesday’s epic second Test victory over New Zealand.