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

LONDON: 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.”