David Bairstow

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Personal information
David Bairstow

England
Batting style	Right-hand bat
Bowling style	Right-arm medium
Career statistics
	Tests	ODIs
Matches	4	21
Runs scored	125	206
Batting average	20.83	14.71
100s/50s	-/1	-/-
Top score	59	23*

Balls bowled	-	-
Wickets	-	-
Bowling average	-	-
5 wickets in innings	-	-
10 wickets in match	-	n/a
Best bowling	-	-
Catches/stumpings	12/1	17/4
As of 1 January 2006 Source: [1]

David Leslie Bairstow (born 1 September 1951 in Bradford, Yorkshire; died 5 January 1998 in Marton-cum-Grafton, Yorkshire) was an English cricketer.

At school he excelled in several sports, and he played football several times for Bradford City, but eventually he settled on cricket, and played his first county match against Gloucestershire in 1970 while taking his A-levels.

He played for Yorkshire throughout his career, and captained the club from 1984 to 1986, though this was a far from happy period^[1]. Nicknamed 'Bluey' on account of his fiery red hair, Bairstow was as influential for his aggression and never say die attitude on the field as for his playing statistics. In 459 first-class cricket matches he scored 13,961 runs at an average of 26.44 with a highest score of 145. He snared 961 catches and 137 stumpings and perhaps stands second only to Jimmy Binks in the annals of Yorkshire wicket keeping. He played 429 one day matches, scoring 5,439 runs at 20.68 with one century. No game was a lost cause while Bairstow was at the crease and he was a universally popular figure with the Yorkshire crowds.

He played four Test matches, though was usually behind first Bob Taylor and later Paul Downton in the selectors' minds. He had more opportunities in One Day Internationals on the strength of his batting in domestic cricket - he made ten first-class centuries - but consistently failed to break through, and never scored more than 23 in his twenty ODI innings.

He played for Griqualand West, during the winters of 1976 and 1977, appearing rather surprisingly as a seam bowler on two occasions and taking 3-82 against Transvaal B.^[2]

After retirement from playing in 1990, Bairstow became a popular radio commentator. However, he engaged in arguments with the Yorkshire management, and also 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. 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". His wife, Janet, and children, Jonny and Becky, soon left Marton-Cum-Grafton and moved to Dunnington where they still live.