# David Bairstow
**David Leslie Bairstow** (1 September 1951 – 5 January 1998) was an English cricketer, a wicketkeeper-batsman who spent his entire 21-season first-class career with [Yorkshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/yorkshire), captained the county from 1984, and played four Tests and 21 one-day internationals for England.[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-bairstow-1137245.html) • [2](https://yorkshireccc.com/news/throwback-thursday-fifty-years-ago-yorkshires-debutants/) He is the father of the England wicketkeeper-batter [Jonny Bairstow](https://www.edgepedia.org/jonny-bairstow).[3](https://www.icc-cricket.com/rankings/502/david-bairstow)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 1951, Horton, West Yorkshire; 5 January 1998, Marton-cum-Grafton, North Yorkshire[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-bairstow-1137245.html) |
| Yorkshire career | 21 seasons (1970–1990); county captain for three years from 1984[2](https://yorkshireccc.com/news/throwback-thursday-fifty-years-ago-yorkshires-debutants/) |
| First-class record | 13,961 runs at 26.44, 10 centuries, highest score 145 v Middlesex at Scarborough, 1980; 961 catches and 138 stumpings[4](https://i.imgci.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/1998/JAN/424778_WISDEN_01JAN1998.html) |
| England career | Four Tests (1979–1980/81) and 21 ODIs; ODI debut 24 January 1979 v Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground[5](https://www.cricketweb.net/statsspider/player/542582.php) |
| Famous debut | First-class debut v Gloucestershire at Bradford, June 1970, aged 18, after sitting an A Level exam early that morning[2](https://yorkshireccc.com/news/throwback-thursday-fifty-years-ago-yorkshires-debutants/) |
| Fielding record | Took 11 catches in a first-class match for Yorkshire v Derbyshire at Scarborough in 1982, equalling a first-class record[6](https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Articles/0/201.html) |
| Distinction | The only cricketer to score at least 10,000 first-class runs for Yorkshire and make over 1,000 dismissals for the county[2](https://yorkshireccc.com/news/throwback-thursday-fifty-years-ago-yorkshires-debutants/) |
## Early life and debut
Bairstow was born in Horton, Bradford, and was a stocky schoolboy of 17 when Yorkshire first called him into the side.[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-bairstow-1137245.html) The opportunity arose because Jimmy Binks, the county's long-serving wicketkeeper, had retired at the end of the 1969 season; Yorkshire began 1970 with Neil Smith keeping wicket, but Smith's loss of form gave Bairstow his chance.[7](https://yorkshireccc.com/news/throwback-thursday-50-years-ago-the-end-of-an-era/)
His debut became part of Yorkshire cricket folklore. He first appeared in a John Player League game against [Nottinghamshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/nottinghamshire) at [Sheffield](https://www.edgepedia.org/sheffield) in late May 1970, and made his first-class debut at the start of June against [Gloucestershire](https://www.edgepedia.org/gloucestershire) at his native Bradford, aged 18, having completed an A Level exam early on the morning of the match at Hanson Grammar School so that he could reach the ground for the start of play.[2](https://yorkshireccc.com/news/throwback-thursday-fifty-years-ago-yorkshires-debutants/) • [1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-bairstow-1137245.html) He retained his place for most of the rest of the season.[7](https://yorkshireccc.com/news/throwback-thursday-50-years-ago-the-end-of-an-era/)
## Yorkshire career
Bairstow played for Yorkshire for 21 seasons, from 1970 to 1990, and became one of the most popular figures in the county's history.[2](https://yorkshireccc.com/news/throwback-thursday-fifty-years-ago-yorkshires-debutants/) Squat, heavy-set and red-headed, he was an instantly recognisable figure, known to team-mates as "Bluey", a nickname coined by John Hampshire after his blue eyes and red hair.[6](https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Articles/0/201.html) • [1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-bairstow-1137245.html)
His first-class career brought 13,961 runs at an average of 26.44, with 10 centuries and a highest score of 145 against [Middlesex](https://www.edgepedia.org/middlesex) at [Scarborough](https://www.edgepedia.org/scarborough) in 1980, and behind the stumps he caught 961 victims and stumped 138.[4](https://i.imgci.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/1998/JAN/424778_WISDEN_01JAN1998.html) [Yorkshire County Cricket Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/yorkshire-county-cricket-club) records him as the only cricketer to score at least 10,000 first-class runs for the county while also making over 1,000 dismissals.[2](https://yorkshireccc.com/news/throwback-thursday-fifty-years-ago-yorkshires-debutants/) In 1982 he equalled a first-class record by taking 11 catches in a match for Yorkshire against Derbyshire at Scarborough, 11 of the 1,091 dismissals of his career.[6](https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Articles/0/201.html) The Independent's obituary notes that only David Hunter among his Yorkshire predecessors had more first-class victims, and that Bairstow was the only Yorkshire wicketkeeper to pass 1,600 runs in a season three times.[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-bairstow-1137245.html)
## Captaincy
Bairstow captained Yorkshire from 1984 to 1986, taking over a dressing room disillusioned by years of internal strife during the Boycott era and doing much to restore confidence in the county.[6](https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Articles/0/201.html) He wore the distinction with enormous pride, but with a weakened team, at a time when Yorkshire still adhered fiercely to its birth qualification rule, he could not quite muster sufficient strength at vital moments; his side came close in a 1984 semi-final lost to [Warwickshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/warwickshire) by three runs.[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-bairstow-1137245.html) His leadership was remembered as "a series of uphill cavalry charges".[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-bairstow-1137245.html)
## England career
Bairstow was rarely England's first-choice Test wicketkeeper. When first chosen he backed up Bob Taylor, and later lost out to Paul Downton, but he played more one-day internationals, where his batting was thought to outweigh any deficiencies in his wicketkeeping.[6](https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Articles/0/201.html) His four Tests came between 1979 and 1980/81, and his 21 ODIs began with the match against Australia at the [Melbourne Cricket Ground](https://www.edgepedia.org/melbourne-cricket-ground) on 24 January 1979.[5](https://www.cricketweb.net/statsspider/player/542582.php) On his Test debut he made his highest England score, 59.[4](https://i.imgci.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/1998/JAN/424778_WISDEN_01JAN1998.html) He toured the [West Indies](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-indies) in 1981 as England's first-choice wicketkeeper but lost his place through injury.[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-bairstow-1137245.html) He blossomed under [Mike Brearley](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-brearley)'s captaincy, and was remembered for a floodlit innings at Sydney in which he and Graham Stevenson hit the Australian fast bowlers straight for sixes to silence the Hill.[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-bairstow-1137245.html)
## Beyond cricket
Bairstow also had a football connection with Bradford City: he had trials with the club and, in the 1971-72 season, played for it 10 times.[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-bairstow-1137245.html) • [8](https://www.cricketweb.net/tangled-up-in-blue/) After retiring in 1990 he found a niche as a radio cricket commentator, though he found retirement difficult, battling depression and falling into dispute with the county club.[6](https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Articles/0/201.html)
## Death and legacy
Bairstow took his own life at the family home in Marton-cum-Grafton, North Yorkshire, on 5 January 1998, at the age of 46.[4](https://i.imgci.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/1998/JAN/424778_WISDEN_01JAN1998.html) • [1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-bairstow-1137245.html) He was twice married, with two sons and one daughter.[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-bairstow-1137245.html) His son Jonny followed him as wicketkeeper-batter for both Yorkshire and England, and Yorkshire CCC notes that his legacy continues through his family's ongoing connection with the club.[2](https://yorkshireccc.com/news/throwback-thursday-fifty-years-ago-yorkshires-debutants/) [Geoffrey Boycott](https://www.edgepedia.org/geoffrey-boycott), his friend and team-mate, described him as the sort of bloke you would want guarding your back in a dark alley.[8](https://www.cricketweb.net/tangled-up-in-blue/)
## References
1. [Obituary: David Bairstow, The Independent (Derek Hodgson, 7 January 1998)](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-bairstow-1137245.html)
2. [Throwback Thursday: Fifty Years Ago – Yorkshire's Debutants, Yorkshire County Cricket Club](https://yorkshireccc.com/news/throwback-thursday-fifty-years-ago-yorkshires-debutants/)
3. [David Bairstow, Player Profile, ICC](https://www.icc-cricket.com/rankings/502/david-bairstow)
4. [Larger Than Life, Wisden (January 1998)](https://i.imgci.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/1998/JAN/424778_WISDEN_01JAN1998.html)
5. [David Bairstow, Cricket Web Stats Spider](https://www.cricketweb.net/statsspider/player/542582.php)
6. [A profile of David Bairstow by Dave Liverman, CricketArchive](https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Articles/0/201.html)
7. [Throwback Thursday: 50 Years Ago – The End of an Era, Yorkshire County Cricket Club](https://yorkshireccc.com/news/throwback-thursday-50-years-ago-the-end-of-an-era/)
8. [Tangled up in Blue, Cricket Web (Martin Chandler, 19 January 2012)](https://www.cricketweb.net/tangled-up-in-blue/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Cricket › Cricket people and teams › People › English county and national counties players*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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