Picture Credit: Twitter
England batter Jonny Bairstow has kicked off the England - New Zealand Test series in the historic Lord’s Stadium with a bang. The Yorkshire player held on to a brilliant catch to dismiss Kiwi opener Will Young for the score of 1 on James Anderson’s bowling.
The Lancashire bowler presented Young with a teasing outswinger that was delivered on the fullish length. The 29-year-old batter threw his hands at the ball and edged it straight in the slip cordon. Bairstow was ready to pounce and then dove to his left and plucked a one-handed blinder, inches above the ground portraying his exquisite reflexes.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly also reacted to the catch as he posted the video of the catch on his Twitter account. The tweet said, “How fresh this is. Red ball swinging start of a test match, nothing better in sport with cricket in whites ..morning of a test .@bcci@ECB.”
The series also holds special significance as this also marks the debut of former New Zealand captain Brendon Mccullum as England Test coach. Reacting to playing against one of New Zealand’s cricketing heroes, Will Young expressed, “It is funny because I grew up as a kid watching Brendon play for New Zealand and the amazing things he’s done,” said Young.
“I’ve heard so many good things about his leadership style and the way he took the Black Caps forward. But I never played a game with Brendon so it’s going to be a lot stranger for some of the senior players in this team who have played so much for New Zealand with Brendon and are now squaring off against him. Chief amongst those will be Kane Williamson, McCullum’s successor as captain – “Obviously Kane,” says Young.