Dawid Malan has revealed how he used Jonny Bairstow as a sounding board over his decision to move to Yorkshire last winter.
The England team-mates will line up wearing the White Rose tomorrow when the county resumes their so far successful Bob Willis Trophy North Group campaign against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.
Malan enjoyed an excellent debut in the opening round win over Durham – completed on Tuesday afternoon – by scoring 30 and 73 in the match.
Bairstow, a good mate of Malan’s, is available for the next two four-day games against Notts and Derbyshire, the latter at Emerald Headingley from next Saturday.
He will then return to England one-day duty ahead of their series against Pakistan.
“I kept Jonny in the loop a bit and asked him a few questions,” said left-handed Malan.
“I also spoke to Liam Plunkett quite a bit before I made the decision.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with Jonny when I’ve been in and around the England group.
“I was batting with him when I scored my Test hundred (against Australia at Perth in December 2017).
“I get on really well with him and am looking forward to having him back and hearing him moaning about a few things.”
Malan is expecting big things from Bairstow over the next fortnight as his route to winning an England Test recall begins.
Bairstow has only played one Test Match since last summer’s drawn Ashes series, with only two fifties coming in his last 10 appearances. But his quality is undeniable.
And he is returning to a Nottingham venue where he scored the first of his 24 first-class career hundreds – a stunning 205 in a 2011 County Championship draw at Trent Bridge.
Malan says a repeat would do just fine: “It’s always nice to have Bluey in the side,” he continued.
“He will be really hungry having been left out of the Test stuff, so he’s got a point to prove. Hopefully he can come in, score a big double hundred and we can win the game in three days!
“His record in all formats proves he’s one of the best in the world.
