England have got a plan for Jonny Bairstow: keep him guessing

< 1 minute read

As a parent, we’re a great believer in setting unclear boundaries. Keeps ’em guessing, doesn’t it? You don’t want to make things too easy for them.

The way you do this is that you ensure you’re as inconsistent as possible. Let your children do something some of the time, but then every now and again give them an absolute bollocking for doing the exact same thing.

It seems harsh, but it’s a great lesson in psychology and how the world works. Other people make daft, emotional decisions and they get bad-tempered when they’re tired and/or hungry. Try and watch out for this. At the same time, sometimes things change and you don’t necessarily get any warning.

Are England trying to tell Jonny Bairstow something through how they’ve been treating him this last year? Or do they not really have a clue what they’re doing and they’re just trying different stuff at random to see how he responds?

These questions and more are at best ambiguously answered in our latest column for Cricket 365.