A few England cricket fans have decided to build a snowman for Jonny Bairstow to commemorate his 100th Test appearance when England take on India in the fifth and final Test of the series at HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala on Thursday, March 6.
Bairstow set to become the 17th England player to play 100 matches in the history of Test Cricket. England skipper Ben Stokes was the latest to play 100th match during the third Test in Rajkot. Interestingly,Jonny Bairstow will be the fourth England cricketer after Graham Gooch, Joe Root and Ben Stokes to complete the 100th Test match in India.
In a viral video shared by England Barmy Army on its X handle (formerly Twitter), England fans paid tribute to Jonny Bairstow by building a snowman ahead of his milestone game of his Test career. It is shown how England fans created Bairstow as snowman step by step in the form of timelapse.
Jonny Bairstow have had forgettable Test series against India as he failed to produce any impactful performance with the bat. In eight innings, the 34-year-old has managed to score only 170 runs at an average of 21.25. Bairstow's struggle with his form has been concern for England in the Test series.
Despite his rough form, England management continued to have faith in his ability and retained him in the playing XI for the Test series finale in Dharamshala. One cannot deny the fact that Bairstow has been one of the batting mainstays in the middle order and excellent behind the wickets for England over the years.
Playing his 100th Test match, Jonny Bairstow will look to come up with goods and help England to end the series on a good note by winning against India.
Jonny Bairstow dedicates his 100th Test milestone to his mother
Jonny Bairstow dedicated his 100th Test milestone to his cancer-survivor mother, Janet Bairstow who kept the family together through the difficult times after cricketer father David Bairstow's suicide. Bairstow had to overcome a tough childhood to make it big in his career.
Jonny was just 8-year-old when his father David Bairstow committed suicide and his mother single-handedly raised him and two siblings, Andrew and Rebecca even as she battled cancer not once but twice.
"My mum is the embodiment of strength. There was a determination there. She worked three jobs and had two kids that were under 10 at a difficult time. She was taking me to Leeds United (where he played youth football), to Headingley, all sorts of other places." Bairstow told Telegraph.
"She had cancer twice. She's a bloody strong woman, to get through that twice before you even consider anything else she's been through, and it shows the strength and determination of the woman." he added.
In 99 Tests, Jonny Bairstow has aggregated 5974 runs, including 12 centuries and 26 fifties, at an average of 36.42.
