"With his ability he should get up to around 20 Test hundreds by the end of his career."
Friday 15 December 2017 17:27, UK
Rob Key dissects day two of the third Ashes Test and says England batsman Jonny Bairstow should go on to score 20 Test centuries after reaching his fourth – his first Ashes hundred – at the WACA…
For a while now, I've said Jonny Bairstow should bat at number four in this England side but I wouldn't have him keeping.
He reached just his fourth Test hundred on day two at the WACA but, with his ability, he should get up to around the 20 Test hundreds mark by the end of his career.
He should finish as one of England's best-ever players and can get up there with the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell.
To me, he looks like he could be one of the best batsmen England have produced for a long time, along with Joe Root and Alastair Cook.
I know I keep pushing for Jos Buttler to come in and take the gloves but you could pick Ben Foakes, if you like, and have him bat at No 7. Then you've got Cook opening with Mark Stoneman, who is starting to look good.
Root would bat at three and Bairstow at four. Then there's Dawid Malan at five; Ben Stokes, when he's back, at six; and then the wicketkeeper and Moeen Ali. That's England's best batting line-up. It's a settled top order and one that could be around for a long time.
Bairstow's celebration after reaching his hundred was amusing and it put the "headbutt" incident firmly behind him.
What's really annoying as a player is the opposition saying they've got under your skin or when people say sledging has affected you.
The Aussies made a lot of how they got Bairstow out at Brisbane and said it was because they sledged him. I thought that was complete rubbish, to be honest, and Bairstow has shown that with his knock at the WACA.
He's also shown that when things like this happen it's a lot easier to brush under the carpet when you score some runs and start playing well.
To be honest, I don't think the ECB handled the incident all that well. They made too much of it and that played into Australia's hands. It was a storm in a teacup which has been put to bed now and I'm glad it's over!
Moving on from Bairstow and England's tail was blown away again, but I think people are wrong to criticise them for not scoring runs.
Generally, when you line up a team you want your batsmen to score the runs and your bowlers to take your wickets. Yes, lower-order runs can be a factor and are a massive bonus when you get them, but don't bank on eight, nine, 10 and 11 getting you runs.
If the top order start scoring big runs and the middle order chip in, then you are getting to 500 easily, but you can't hope to get up to 500 by relying on the lower order. It's not the right way to go about it, especially against an attack like this current Australian one.
You should never criticise the lower order unless the top order have got millions and millions of runs themselves. If Cook and Root can't score a run, then we shouldn't be criticising Chris Woakes, Craig Overton and the tail.
Despite the tail being blown away, England had runs on the board and for the first time in the series they could apply scoreboard pressure on the Australian batsmen. However, Steve Smith led the fightback, proving what a good player he is.
He's averaging just above 60, second only to Don Bradman, so that shows you his quality and on a flat pitch he's played superbly well. England went through their array of plans to him but he countered absolutely everything. He's a great player for a reason.
It will be interesting to see how Overton pulls up overnight after seemingly picking up an injury.
He was the pick of the bowlers because he's that little bit taller and he hits the pitch hard, compared to James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Woakes.
Overton slammed the ball into the surface and got a little bit out of it, so if he's injured then it's a big blow for England.
Part of me would like to think England are ahead but I'm just with Australia because of Smith. However, if England can get him out early on day three they will be ahead. The stats say only one team has lost a Test match in Perth when they've scored over 400 in the first innings.
History is with England but with Smith at the crease, it's hard to look past Australia. They will have to bat well, though, to get up close to England. We've seen a little bit of up-and-down bounce and the second new ball is not too far away.
We can't write England off just yet but it could have been much better for them if they'd made their way to the 450, 500-mark.
