When one thinks about England’s white-ball revolution under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan after 2015, two names that automatically come to mind are Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow, as both of them formed an explosive opening pair for England at the top. Still, neither of them would feature for England in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022.
England has simply dropped Jason Roy after a string of low scores for more than a year. Although Roy performed a high-risk role for England in the powerplay, it was clear that despite being given an extended run and a lot of security at the top of the order, he wasn’t able to contribute as much as England was expecting him to.
Jonny Bairstow had, however, found a place in England’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2022 and he was all set to open the batting with England’s new white ball captain Jos Buttler in the showpiece tournament in Australia.
Jonny Bairstow got ruled out of T20 World Cup 2022 and couldn’t even play the last test against South Africa
But, just after a few hours of the squad announcement, Bairstow fractured his leg and wasn’t just ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2022, he couldn’t even participate in the last test match of England’s summer, which England played against South Africa.
What was incredible about Bairstow’s injury was that he didn’t sustain it while training or while batting in the nets. The right-handed opener broke his leg on the golf course. Bairstow slipped on the golf course and it was one of those awkward slips which caused a fracture rather than just a minor strain.
When Bairstow got injured, there were a few suggestions that the England selectors might think about giving Jason Roy another chance, but the selectors eventually decided to recall Alex Hales who last played for England in 2019.
It’s official: Alex Hales is back. Replaces Jonny Bairstow in T20 World Cup squad and added to group for Pakistan T20s.
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) September 7, 2022
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