England's Jonny Bairstow previews their crucial ICC T20 World Cup group stage clash with Australia
Kensington Oval, Barbados, West Indies
Kensington Oval, Barbados, West Indies
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00:00Hello Rory. Hello Jonny. Very polite start to things, isn't it? Let's keep it that way.
00:06Jonny, how are you feeling personally and how's the group feeling ahead of this big match?
00:11Yeah, feeling good, thanks. It's obviously great to be in Barbados.
00:16The weather is something that you can't control and obviously the other night was disappointing to get rained out,
00:22but look, we're really excited for tomorrow's game.
00:26It's always a great occasion. Two very good teams going toe-to-toe and it's going to be an exciting spectacle.
00:34Because of the nature of the game the other night, certainly the batters didn't get a chance to do anything
00:40and a couple of games have got away and got results.
00:43Has that left you playing catch up a little bit going into this game, do you feel?
00:46I don't think so. I think you just go into every game exactly the same.
00:51We know that we want to be winning every game from there.
00:55Look, you can look at it in many different ways, but one point is better than none and you can't control the weather.
01:00In terms of this Australia team, a lot of familiar faces. Same dressing room to yours.
01:05It's a fixture that we see lots. Does it bring the best out of you?
01:09What do you feel going into these games against Australia now?
01:11Look, they're great games, aren't they? They're always great spectacles.
01:15Like you say, guys have played against each other for a long time now,
01:21which in many ways is really exciting because you know each other's games,
01:26whether it be playing against each other in the IPL or other games around the world.
01:32So it's something that, look, 22 guys will be going out there knowing quite a bit about the opposition
01:41and hopefully it'll be a fantastic atmosphere like it always is in Barbados.
01:45And yeah, the best side will come out on top.
01:49And in terms of the pitches that we've seen out here so far,
01:52I think there's maybe a feeling that it would have been a big six fest in the West Indies
01:57and teeing up for that and you've got a lot of power in your top order,
02:00but maybe a bit more nuanced than that.
02:02Have you got an idea of how you think things have to play out to win a game out here?
02:06I've not actually been out to the middle, to be honest with you, just now.
02:10There's obviously been a couple of different scores the other night in that Scotland game.
02:14I'm getting 100 or whatever it was in the 10 overs,
02:17comparatively with what happened in the game the night before.
02:21It was obviously a low score in a fair.
02:23So I think it can go both ways.
02:26I wasn't expecting pitches to be real flat
02:28and you see scores of 250, 260 like you have done in the IPL
02:33because of the nature of the conditions.
02:37You've got the wind, you've got slightly slower pitches.
02:39You only have to look at how the CPL goes
02:42and the games previously here.
02:44If someone gets in and gets going and utilises the wind,
02:47then yes, you can score upwards of it.
02:49But at the same time, if you're canny enough and clever enough
02:53to protect those scoring areas
02:56and skillful enough to execute the skills,
03:01then you can restrict teams to lower scores.
03:06Who wants to go next?
03:08Chris, go ahead and then we'll go Matt.
03:11Hi, Jonny.
03:12Kieran Pollard's come in for this tournament.
03:15I just wondered if you could talk a little bit about what he's brought to the group.
03:20I don't think there needs much explanation when it comes to Polly.
03:25A wealth of experience, a wealth of knowledge,
03:29a winning mentality and a guy that's won all around the world,
03:32that has grown up in these conditions.
03:37I think that wealth of knowledge and also that winning mentality
03:43is something that can't be replaced.
03:46Is he a guy you've spoken to personally?
03:49Is he a resource you can go to throughout the tournament if you need advice?
03:53I think everyone will be going to him.
03:54That's why he's here.
03:55That's why the experience that he's got, like I mentioned,
04:00doesn't need to be explained too much more.
04:03The guy's done more than 99% of people in T20 cricket all around the world.
04:10So I think his numbers speak for themselves.
04:13We'll do Matt behind.
04:18Jonny, what do you think a win on Saturday can do
04:21for the whole feeling around England's tournament and momentum and that sort of thing?
04:26A win's a win.
04:27It doesn't derail us either way.
04:29We know that we've got to win more games than we lose in tournament cricket.
04:35That's just part and parcel of it.
04:38A win puts you in a position in the group which is obviously more favourable.
04:43That's just the way it is.
04:45But at the end of the day, the other two games that we've got post this
04:49are must-win games anyway.
04:51So, yeah, it'll be good for momentum.
04:55It'll be good for confidence.
04:57But at the same time, if that doesn't happen, then it's not a derailer to the group
05:01because, like I said with Polly, there's a wealth of experience
05:05not just in the coaching staff but also in the players.
05:08And to have those experiences to be able to call upon when things are potentially going not so well
05:15is a fantastic position to be in.
05:17Jonny, you've played a fair bit of cricket against Stark, Hazelwood, Cummins.
05:21You probably haven't played on a pitch quite like that.
05:24Can you speak? Sorry.
05:25You've played a fair bit against Stark, Hazelwood, Cummins.
05:27You probably haven't played on a pitch quite as what you're going to get tomorrow.
05:32What's that challenge like for you?
05:35Look, like I said, I've not actually been to see the wicket.
05:39However, we've played them in different conditions all around the world.
05:43So whether that's in Australia, in England, out in the IPL, in World Cups,
05:48over in India just recently or here in the Caribbean,
05:52you've got to adapt to the conditions that are put in front of you.
05:55Their skill sets are their skill sets.
05:58They've obviously been working on things.
06:00That's how people evolve and people develop.
06:04But we've been working on things as well from a batting point of view.
06:07So, look, it'll be a fantastic battle as it always is when you've got three guys that you mentioned there
06:14and also Nathan Ellis as well with the skill set that he brings,
06:17whether he plays going up against a strong batting line-up and vice versa.
06:22They'll be having conversations around our bowling attack when you've got Archer, Wood, Topley, Jordan,
06:29and likewise with their batters and the form that they're in too.
06:37I've just got a couple.
06:38First of all, you mentioned Nathan Ellis.
06:40What have you made of him from what you've observed?
06:45First of all, he's a great guy.
06:47He's a lovely fellow.
06:49And yeah, his skill set and the way he's been obviously patient to try and get into the side,
06:57I think is a credit to him.
07:00I think that the way in which he bowls,
07:03I think his slower balls and deception of them is naturally a strength of his and just his character.
07:11Look, I think that whoever plays, we need to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses.
07:17But someone like Nathan obviously is very different to your stark Hazelwood and Cummins.
07:24First of all, in stature, it brings a completely different challenge.
07:29But also with his probably deception of slower balls is very much different to what the other three have.
07:36So look, we'll wait and see as to which three or four seem as they play.
07:42But yeah, there's definitely discussions around Nathan because he's a quality individual.
07:47And just, I mean, the last several times when you've played against Australia,
07:51it's either been in England or in Australia with all the stuff that comes around that.
07:58Is it almost a bit easier when, not easier,
08:01but how different is it when you're playing Australia in a country here where,
08:06I mean, look how many people here are in this press box and all of that other noise goes away?
08:12It doesn't really bother me, to be honest.
08:14Whether you go into Australia, it's an amazing place to go and play.
08:17And it brings the best out of people when you are over there.
08:22Similarly, when Australia come to England, they're speaking about exactly the same things.
08:26And that's just how it is.
08:37It's a great spectacle, but I don't think it detracts away from anything.
08:43I look back at the T20 World Cup in Dubai, for instance,
08:48and the game that we played against Australia there,
08:53and that was another fantastic game of cricket, wasn't it?
08:56So no matter whether you're playing in Australia or in England,
08:59whether you're playing in World Cups or wherever it may be,
09:02they're always entertaining games and two very good teams going at it.
09:09Jonny, welcome back.
09:10They talk a lot about Chris and Joff were born here and Phil Salt going to school here,
09:15but you've been coming to Barbados for 30 years.
09:20What's special about it and what's changed about it in that time?
09:23I love this place.
09:24Like you said, I came here with my dad many times when we were younger.
09:32It's a special place to come.
09:34The people here on the island are really friendly, have a great sense of humour.
09:41The food's good, apart from the other day when it started raining.
09:45The weather's absolutely amazing.
09:48As soon as you land on the island, it's an incredible atmosphere and feeling.
09:53People can't be more warm towards you.
09:56They love the cricket.
09:57The passion for the cricket and the knowledge for the cricket
10:01is something that's born and instilled within the people of Barbados and the Caribbean.
10:09Like I say, it's a great place to come.
10:12It's a great place and has a lot of very fond memories in my heart and my mind.
10:20A documentary's recently come out which has followed Australia through last year's Ashes series.
10:27I was just wondering if you'd seen any of it or seen any of the fallout from it
10:32and whether you felt any of the reflections from Australia from that day at Lord's
10:38was in any way disrespectful to you at all?
10:41I've not seen any of it, to be quite honest with you.
10:43I've got other things that I watch on TV and what have you.
10:48I think I've seen enough cricket.
10:50When you're involved in it day to day and playing with it, I'm OK.
10:55I don't need to sit and watch it in my hotel room.
10:58In over the 12 months where you inevitably bump into players from Australia at the IPL or other places,
11:05the events of that Lord's test, has it come up in conversation?
11:09Is it anything you've chatted to any of the players about?
11:11Not really.
11:12I think that post that event, the way in which us as a side reacted to that was a real positive way.
11:21You look at the results after that thing that happened at Lord's
11:26and I actually think that we finished that series a lot stronger than Australia did.
11:34I think that the impact that it had on us as a side and the test side was actually a very positive effect.
11:40You can make your own assumptions as to what effect it had on Australia and their individuals.