Watch: In doubt for 1st South Africa T20I, England’s Jonny Bairstow lifts Sam Curran in unusual gym video
An injury doubt for the first T20I vs South Africa, England's Jonny Bairstow was filmed carrying Sam Curran on his shoulders in an unusual gym workout session.
With Jonny Bairstow an injury doubt for the first T20I vs South Africa, Reece Topley took to social media to show the batter performing an unusual training exercise that saw him carrying teammate Sam Curran on his shoulders in the gym. Topley posted the video on Instagram and since then, it has gone viral on social media. Here is the video:
Bairstow departed a training session on Tuesday after ice packs and strapping around his left knee. He was reported to have been walking in discomfort on his way back to the locker room, but an official statement regarding his participation in the first T20I hasn't been released yet. Also in the video, Bairstow could be seen grimacing while he completed the workout.
The first T20I of the three-match series is scheduled for Wednesday at the Bristol County Ground, in Bristol. The second T20I will take place on Thursday, at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, followed by the final fixture on Sunday, at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
Recently England all-rounder Ben Stokes announced his ODI retirement, but teammate Bairstow stated he wanted to play in all three formats 'for as long as possible'. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said, "I don’t know if it’s good or bad that I’m one of the last all-format players".
"But naturally there are challenges, we’ve seen that over a period of time now. We only had to look at the Test series this summer when there was the one-day squad in Holland at the same time. I think even if you look at the back end of this summer as well, there are the seven T20s in Pakistan that pretty much overlap with the last Test match. And it even goes back to the last World Cup where then you fly straight to the Ashes with a week’s preparation after quarantining, then straight into the Test match."
"But you know me well enough now: I’ll be trying to play all of them for as long as possible. I’ll be going all out for as long as I can. There might come a time when you do have to make a decision for different reasons, but that’s part and parcel of life and cricket, but in the near future I can’t see me making a choice because I’m loving being part of all three squads. They’re all individual squads and they’re great to be a part of. It’s exciting. You go into a new one and you’ve got a freshness and new faces and energy around them, because you’re going into a new format", he further added.