England batsman Jonny Bairstow can't wait for the "biggest summer" of his cricket career to get underway with the World Cup this month but he also expects it to be the most gruelling as the Ashes is lined up just a few weeks later.
Bairstow, who scored 445 runs from 10 matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad in his debut IPL season, will be a key player for the England in the World Cup starting May 30 in the United Kingdom. The World Cup will end on July 14 and the Ashes, against arch-rivals Australia, will start August 1.
"It is huge. It is the biggest summer I will ever be involved in. It is the biggest ever summer for English cricket full stop," he told 'The Daily Telegraph'.
"A World Cup and an Ashes; it is going to be amazing. You dream of winning them. If you can't dream about that and think what that is going to feel like then what is the point (of playing)?
Speaking of his impressions of the controversial but swashbuckling batsman from Down Under, Bairstow said, "I think that experience (ball-tampering) can only change you as a person. He was a very good team-mate, he passed on a lot of knowledge about local bowlers, game-plans, pitches, everything. He was excellent."
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