Jonny Bairstow says he has loved his first month as Yorkshire’s new red-ball captain.
Following his appointment late last month, Bairstow has led the side in three Rothesay County Championship matches – a loss, a win and a draw.
The wicketkeeper-batter, who is trying to fight his way back into the England frame, has posted two half-centuries in those three matches, including a match-saving 86 not out against Durham at the Banks Homes Riverside on Monday.
Coach Anthony McGrath has also praised the job his 35-year-old fellow Bradfordian has done in his first significant taste of life as a skipper.
Bairstow said: “I’m really enjoying it.
“I’m fortunate that we’ve got a really nice group of lads to be out there with. I’m learning a lot at the same time, and that will only continue to evolve.
“But, first and foremost, it’s the enjoyment factor of being out there with the lads.
“I spoke about it at the back end of last year, how much I enjoyed being out there. And one of the main factors of me taking on the role as captain this year was exactly that – the enjoyment factor of it.
“You couple that with a few scores already this year, and then obviously the keeping side of things and what have you, the solid building blocks for a good summer are there.”
In the early stages of this summer, Bairstow – capped 287 times for England to date, has doubled his tally of senior captain’s appearances.
He previously captained Yorkshire in a 2015 Vitality Blast fixture and led the Welsh Fire twice in the 2021 edition of the Hundred competition.
McGrath said: “Jonny’s been excellent, really good.
“I think it’s probably come at a good time for him in his career.
“He was really keen to captain the side. He made that clear in the winter.
“The energy he’s put in on and off the pitch, I think everyone’s loved him leading the team, and he showed with that innings (86 not out at Durham) all his class with the bat in a rear-guard action.
“He’s not fully happy with the way he’s batting at the moment, but you could see that he’s showed signs, as most of our batters have.
“So when that clicks as well, I think that’ll help the captaincy side of things.
“But I can’t speak highly enough of how he’s started.”
