On March 7th, Jonny Bairstow will become the 17th English player to play 100 Test matches for the country. The batter from Yorkshire has had many ups and downs in his life. From losing his father, who was a former cricketer, when he was just nine years old to being dropped and written off multiple times in his career.
Now, as he is on the cusp of becoming one of the selected few to represent England for the 100th time, the batter has decided to dedicate it to his mother, Janet. Bairstow had lost his father (David) in 1998, and from then on, it was his mother who singlehandedly raised not only him but his two other siblings.
Jonny Bairstow on his mother’s struggles
To commemorate the special occasion, his mother, sister, wife, and son, along with some of his closest friends, have decided to attend the fifth Test in Dharamsala. Before his 100th Test, Jonny Bairstow talked with The Telegraph and shed some light on the difficulties his mother faced while trying to raise him and his sibling without his father. He said:
“When I play, there are times I think about Dad. But I think more about how hard Mum worked to make sure we were OK after everything that happened. To keep us together as a family. That has been my driving force.“
“I think also about my grandpa, my mum’s dad; he took me to so much cricket as a kid. Grandma and Grandpa really helped when Dad passed. It all comes into one, you are playing for that group. For everyone who helped Mum so much when everything happened.”
“My mum is the embodiment of strength. There was a determination there. She worked three jobs and had two kids that were under 10 at a difficult time. She was taking me to Leeds United [where he played youth football], to Headingley, all sorts of other places. It’s paying all that back, making sure they are OK, creating a life for my own family as well.“
“She had cancer twice. She’s a bloody strong woman, to get through that twice, before you even consider anything else she’s been through, and it shows the strength and determination of the woman.“
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