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David Bairstow, the chunky wicket-keeper from Bradford, was one of the
reasons Mike Brearley's side was able to keep English dignity alive in
the first official World Series in Australia in 1979-80. Australians,
convinced they were way ahead of the poor old Poms with their floodlit
cricket and other innovations, were ready to scoff. England were set to
be the clowns of the floodlit circus. The intellect of Mike Brearley and
the heroics of people like Bairstow stopped that. They got up
Australian noses, particularly when, in one tight finish, wicket-keeper
Bairstow was sent to long stop and every England fielder was on the
boundary. 'Bluey' Bairstow - so called for his red hair - was ideally
suited for one-day cricket, smashing boundaries with his strong
forearms, so it was a pity he was never found a World Cup place.
He
played in all the one-day internationals on Brearley's first tour in
1978-79, although Bob Taylor kept wicket in all the Tests. He was run
out cheaply in both his innings and his only real mark was to catch
Hilditch off Ian Botham in Melbourne. He got a Test match against India
at the Oval in 1979, scoring 59 in the second innings. At Headingley
against the West Indies in 1980 he made 43, top score in England's
paltry 143. He also played in the Centenary Test at Lord's and got one
Test in Barbados with Ian Botham's team to West Indies. He played some
soccer for Bradford City, but his finest hour was under the lights at
Sydney when, with England under the Australian thumb, he and Yorkshire
team-mate Graham Stevenson bashed a quick 35 to record an unlikely
victory. (Bob Harragan)
After retirement from playing in 1990, Bairstow became a popular radio commentator. However, he engaged in arguments with the Yorkshire management and suffered from depression. In late 1997, Bairstow took an overdose of tablets, and although he survived, a few weeks later he hanged himself at his home in Marton-cum-Grafton, Yorkshire. The coroner in the case recorded an open verdict, saying that he was not convinced Bairstow had meant to kill himself, and that his actions may instead have been a "cry for help". He left his wife wife, Janet and their three children, Andy, Jonathan and Becky.
His son Jonny became a regular wicket-keeper and batsman with Yorkshire and followed in his father's footsteps by representing England when he made his ODI debut against India in 2011 and test debut against the West Indies in 2012.
Another son, Andrew, played first-class cricket for Derbyshire.
David Bairstow and Mike Gatting pictured on 31st. May 1984 enjoying a jovial moment.
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