Leeds: In the current series, Bairstow has missed six catches, including ones from Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne at Headingley. He shares the series record for dropped catches with Joe Root, dropping four, while Alex Carey of Australia has dropped just two. With the bat, Bairstow built up scores of 20, 16, 10, 12, and 5 in addition to his 78 in the first innings in the Edgbaston Test. Boycott argued that this record no longer justifies a position over Foakes, a key player in England's Test side until last summer, in his most recent piece for The Telegraph.

Geoffrey Boycott, the former captain of England, urges the team's management to make a decisive choice and leave Jonny Bairstow off the starting lineup for the July 19 commencement of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford.

“My experience of playing at the highest level for so long and my common sense tells me that Jonny Bairstow is not fit,” Boycott wrote of Bairstow in his column.

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“He isn’t moving 100 per cent right and is short of competitive batting and wicketkeeping. He has been selected on last summer’s marvellous match-winning batting, but at this moment in time is a shadow of his best.”

Boycott also claimed that playing Bairstow was an English gamble that “hasn’t worked”. 

“It is very sad and outwardly he may show he is upbeat and full of exuberance, but when you fail on the big stage in the full glare of publicity there is nowhere to hide and deep down it affects your confidence,” he wrote.

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“Someone needs to be brave for him and take him out of the limelight.”

Bairstow has only averaged 23.50 in three Tests, unable to make up for his subpar glovework.

Before the match at Old Trafford, England had nine days in between Test matches to consider their selection decisions. Foakes will have finished a Championship game for Surrey at The Kia Oval in that period, having made 46 against Nottinghamshire on day one.

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