The new Yorkshire captain Jonny Bairstow left the Headingley field bemused and furious after being judged caught behind on the opening day of his side’s County Championship match against Worcestershire.
In his first outing as captain on his home ground, 35-year-old Bairstow was given out caught behind for seven off seamer Adam Finch when taking evasive action from a gentle short ball.
The ball appeared to pass above his glove but the Worcestershire fielders appealed vociferously and the umpire raised his finger. Bairstow looked back at the official and appeared to gesture towards his midriff – suggesting the ball had made contact with his jumper – before looking to the square-leg umpire, to no avail. Bairstow then trudged off, but not before appearing to exchange words with the Worcestershire fielders. As he crossed the boundary, he swished his bat in frustration.
Adam Finch celebrappeal! 😍 https://t.co/JIoNrT8uQRpic.twitter.com/413OmJQx0x
— Worcestershire CCC (@WorcsCCC) April 11, 2025
That left Yorkshire 179 for four, but Bairstow’s side rallied to a strong position later in the day, despite the former England batsman Dawid Malan falling two short of his first hundred of the season.
Bairstow has not played Test cricket since earning his 100th cap in Dharamsala in March 2024, and has not played any format for England since the T20 World Cup that summer. Despite his exile, he remains a player contracted by the national side until October this year, and this week the new white-ball captain Harry Brook said he remains under consideration.
Bairstow will be desperate, therefore, to get off to a good start in county cricket this summer to make a statement to the selectors. But he was left to rue his misfortune after being given out when he appeared to have missed the ball.
Yorkshire lost his first match in charge, away at Hampshire last weekend, but the captain scored a quick second innings half-century. Bairstow is following in his late father David’s footsteps as captain of Yorkshire.
