Jonathan Bairstow knows that should he make his Test debut against the West Indies later this week it will be a particularly significant occasion for his family.
But the 22-year-old Yorkshireman has vowed to treat the game as much like any other as he can if he make it into England’s final XI for the first of a three-match series against the West Indies at Lord’s starting on Thursday.
If selected it would mean Bairstow and his late father David had become just the 13th such pairing in England’s history to both play Test cricket.
David Bairstow, who played four Tests between 1979 and 1981, committed suicide in 1998 when Jonathan was aged just eight.
A Yorkshire wicket-keeper batsman, like his father before him, Bairstow junior has already played limited overs international cricket for England, where he has demonstrated a liking for the big stage.
And he is determined not to be overawed if called upon to make a Test debut.
“(It will be) the same as every other day — there is a guy at the other end with a ball in his hand, and you’ve got to face it,” Bairstow said.
