England vs India: Jonny Bairstow a marked man as he nears fitness for fourth Test

India have warned the Yorkshireman they will target his fractured finger if he does win his fitness battle to be fit for the fourth Test in Southampton

Bairstow should be fit to play in the fourth Test in Southampton (PA)

Jonny Bairstow appears to be winning his race to be fit for this week’s fourth Test in Southampton but India have warned the Yorkshireman they will target his fractured finger if he does play.

Bairstow looks likely to play only as a specialist batsman after he appeared to be informed by coach Trevor Bayliss during training on Tuesday that the broken middle finger on his left hand would prevent him from keeping wicket.

Despite that, the 28-year-old’s presence in the team as a batsman is still a boost to Joe Root’s team given they arrived on the South Coast with further injury concerns over Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes.

Woakes appears the most serious worry, the Warwickshire all-rounder a major doubt for the match that starts at the Ageas Bowl on Thursday after missing training on Tuesday with tightness to the problematic right quad that ruled him out of a large chunk of cricket earlier in the summer.

Bairstow injured himself at Trent Bridge (Getty Images)

Stokes did train but had heavy strapping on his right knee, an injury that flared up during England’s defeat in the third Test in Nottingham last week and saw the 27-year-old play only as a specialist batsman in Durham’s T20 Blast quarter-final defeat by Sussex on Friday night.

Whether he will be able to bowl during the Test remains to be seen but England’s injury concerns means it’s almost certain that Sam Curran, dropped for the Nottingham defeat, will be named in the team for this upcoming match that will begin with the hosts 2-1 up in the series with two to play.

Despite taking part in some light keeping drills on Tuesday it looks like Bairstow has been told he will play only as a specialist batsman at best following a 15-minute conversation with Bayliss on the outfield at Southampton on Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking before that chat, Bairstow gave an indication he should he fine to bat despite it being little over a week since he sustained his injury keeping during the third Test.

“The finger feels good,” said Bairstow. “The swelling’s gone down and it’s a lot better than I thought it was going to be. I’m confident that I’ll be able to do some things because I can grip now, I can grip bags and that’s a good sign I think.”

Bairstow is winning his race to be fit (PA)

Bairstow’s importance as a batsman to England cannot be underestimated. Yet the frank admission by Mohammed Shami that India’s bowling attack would target his injury will surely raise heckles in the home dressing room.

“When you see that a batsman has a weakness and he feels uncomfortable in some way, you’d prefer to work on that aspect,” said Shami. “It’s not just me, any fast bowler will want to target his weak zone. So we will definitely look at that.”

Shami’s words, however ill chosen, were probably just a clumsy attempt at mind games by an India team who believe they now have a real chance of winning this series following their dominant display at Trent Bridge.

“It will be a great contest,” said Bairstow. “India did play well at Trent Bridge but we’re 2-1 up in the series and they have to win the next two games in order to clinch the series. It will be a fantastic game and we’re full of confidence still. It might not harm us not to put in our best performance halfway through the series because it makes us want to come back and put the record straight.”

Given how delicately poised this series is, it does seem a strange time to be debating the merits of Bairstow being stripped of the wicketkeeping gloves on a full-time basis so he can fulfil his potential as a specialist batsman.

India are ready to target Bairstow this week (PA)

But his injury has brought the issue out into the open and Jos Buttler, who is now expected to keep in the fourth Test, has been touted as a full-time answer to the wicketkeeping position.

However, Bairstow has no plans on giving up the gloves without a fight even if he does lose them this week. “If you look at the stats they suggest I’m better [batting] if I keep wicket,” he said. “I’d like to keep my spot as keeper because I like to think it’s gone well over the last 38 or 39 Tests since I’ve been keeping for England.

“I don’t know what the conversations are that are going to be had but it’s a difficult one because you put so much hard work into keeping wicket over a sustained period of time. It would be like saying to you do you want to give up your lap-top and write everything free hand again?

“There were a lot of questions asked in my early career as a keeper. I remember being asked time and again whether I want to do it and for the last couple of years I don’t think you’ve mentioned or questioned my keeping once. Before that I would cop a barrage every other Test and for me that’s a huge feather in my cap, the fact people are not asking questions of my keeping any more. If you’re not asking questions then that’s a good thing.”