{"id":288904,"date":"2023-09-06T19:35:33","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T19:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=288904"},"modified":"2023-09-06T19:35:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T19:35:33","slug":"jonny-bairstow-does-not-expect-england-to-lack-cohesion-in-world-cup-defence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/%d1%81ricket\/jonny-bairstow-does-not-expect-england-to-lack-cohesion-in-world-cup-defence\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonny Bairstow does not expect England to lack cohesion in World Cup defence"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
Jonny Bairstow is confident England\u2019s 2019 World Cup winners will have no problems getting the band back together ahead of next month\u2019s title defence in India.<\/p>\n
In the four years since England lifted the trophy in unforgettable fashion at Lord\u2019s, 50-over cricket has slipped down the agenda with two T20 World Cups pushing the shorter format into the spotlight while the \u2018Bazball\u2019 revolution has kept Test matches front and centre.<\/p>\n
But ODIs are about to reclaim top billing, with a four-match series against beaten finalists New Zealand starting in Cardiff on Friday to kick off the tournament build-up in earnest.<\/p>\n
England\u2019s big guns are reuniting too, with Ben Stokes\u2019 retirement U-turn meaning nine of the World Cup-winning squad are involved.<\/p>\n
In 36 matches since the World Cup win, Stokes has played just 10, Chris Woakes 13 and Joe Root 15, but the spine of the side is going nowhere for the next couple of months.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Bairstow, who has turned out 21 times despite spending 10 months in recovery from a badly broken leg, said: \u201cIt should be good fun. It\u2019s great to have a group that has got a wealth of experience coming back together.<\/p>\n
\u201cNaturally there\u2019ll be conversations, \u2018you\u2019re not playing much 50-over cricket together\u2019 and all this stuff. But I don\u2019t think there\u2019s too much worry about cohesion or people not having played together for two months, six months, 12 months, 18 months, whatever it may be.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the group has played together for seven or eight years, something like that, it\u2019s one of those where you just fit back in and slot back into your roles. We\u2019ll rock up to Cardiff and see all the lads. It\u2019ll be just like normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone wants to go back to back. Everyone does. It’s something you dream of. But we’re under no illusion that in India it’s going be very tough.<\/p>\n
England are well fancied to defend their crown, just behind hosts India who are fixed as favourites, and Bairstow believes the journey his team went through last time around could be a source of vital experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just plain sailing,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving to win four out of the last four games in order to win the competition, we\u2019ll be able to call on those experiences in the big moments in the big games during the World Cup. Everyone wants to go back to back. Everyone does.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something you dream of. But we\u2019re under no illusion that in India it\u2019s going to be very tough. There\u2019s going to be some upsets and there\u2019s going to be some interesting pitches, I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bairstow was left nursing pain in his right shoulder after top-scoring with a rampant 73 during the final T20 against New Zealand and did not reappear in his listed role as wicketkeeper in the second innings.<\/p>\n
England are not overly concerned about the severity but will be minded to be careful with his workload if the problem lingers.<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
The man himself was bullish about his condition, insisting: \u201cIt\u2019ll be absolutely fine. It wasn\u2019t like I went down in a heap or anything like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just we\u2019ve got a lot of cricket ahead of us and if there\u2019s something that you just need to keep an eye on or you feel something, then it\u2019s better to take slightly more precaution than not.\u201d<\/p>\n