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England head coach Brendon McCullum confirmed that struggling batter Jonny Bairstow will be playing the fifth and final Test against India at Dharamshala, which will also be his 100th appearance in whites.
The fifth and final Test of the Test series against India will be played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala from March 7 onwards. England is down 1-3 in the series. Speaking to the reports, McCullum said that Bairstow "loves a milestone" and will be playing. He also said that the match will be an "emotional" one for him and the team looks to share the moment with him. "Yes, he will be playing his hundredth Test. Jonny loves a milestone too. He won't shy away from that. He will play. It will be really emotional for him. Everyone knows Jonny's story and as you guys will know he is quite an emotional character at times and big milestones like that do mean a lot to him. It will be a really emotional time for him and we look forward to sharing it with him," McCullum said. In 99 Tests and 176 innings, Bairstow has made 5,974 runs at an average of 36.42, with 12 centuries and 26 fifties. His best score is 167*. But this series has not been great for Bairstow so far, scoring just 170 runs in four Tests and eight innings at an average of 21.25, with the best score of just 38 runs. Under the leadership of skipper Stokes and McCullum, Bairstow has been one of the main faces of the duo's aggressive, positive and result-oriented 'Bazball' brand of cricket. In 16 Tests under them, he has made 1,173 runs at an average of 46.92, with four centuries and four fifties in 28 innings. His best score is 162. McCullum also said that despite losing the series, the team is at a better place than it was 18 years back and it is not a bad time to be an England coach. "There are times in games where we have not quite screwed down our method just yet. We have lost here, did not win the Ashes, but we are a better team than 18 months ago and we have got an opportunity in the next 18 months to do something special. We will keep chiselling away at those rough edges. It is not a bad time to be coach of the England team," he said. Under Stokes and McCullum, England has played 22 Tests, winning 14 and lost seven. One match ended in a draw. A notable highlight of their tenure was drawing the Ashes series at home by 2-2 after being down 2-0. (ANI)
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