Jonny Bairstow was "proud" to be asked to move up England's Test batting order and remains confident he can cope with the demands of being the wicketkeeper at No. 5.
Bairstow's elevation is part of a broader restructuring of England's battling line-up as Ed Smith takes on the role of national selector. It was Smith who phoned and asked him about the shift following a winter campaign where Bairstow scored two of the four centuries England managed in seven Tests.
"I'm very proud to be asked to move up the order - it means the people in charge have got the belief in you to go out and deliver," Bairstow said. "They are asking a little extra, they are saying 'We want you to do this, we trust you, we believe in you' - and that's what you want within a team. You want the captain, coach and head selectors to back you."
Bairstow began last season at No. 5 but that lasted just two Tests against South Africa before he moved back down the order. During the Ashes he started at No. 7 (and was once, wastefully, as low as No. 8 due to a nightwatchman) before being elevated one spot, then ended the season back at seven where he scored a century in Christchurch.
Being so low runs the risk of him getting stranded with the lower order and Joe Root said the promotion for Bairstow was an attempt to get England's best batsmen into the top six. One counter argument made is that Australia rarely moved Adam Gilchrist from No. 7, from where he reimagined the role of a Test wicketkeeper-batsman, however he had a great batting line-up above him.
There remains a school of thought that England won't get the most out of Bairstow as a batsman while he has the gloves, but he is determined to make a success of the all-round position.
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