Jonny Bairstow may have missed the final Test against South Africa after suffering a freak injury while playing golf, but the 32-year-old was rightly named Player of the Summer after an outstanding run of form with the bat.
Across six Tests, Bairstow struck 681 runs at an average of 75.66 and a strike rate of 96.59. He also scored four hundreds, notably guiding England to wins over New Zealand and India.
And Bairstow has been hailed as "frightening to watch" by captain Ben Stokes, having "really come of age as a Test batter". Speaking to BBC Test Match Special after England wrapped up a 2-1 series win over South Africa, Stokes said: "Jonny has been incredible.
"He's been a huge reason for why we stand here at the end of the summer with the success that we've had. Batting at five is a position that can be quite difficult to read, you can be 200-3 or 30-3, but he's played at the same tempo throughout the summer.
"The hundreds he's got have been frightening to watch and he's really come of age as a Test batter. He's really taken confidence from the clarity that we've been able to give this changing room."
Bairstow has previously spoken about enjoying cricket again after enduring a 'tough couple of years' in strict Covid bubbles. "It's just about having the enjoyment factor of it, not being afraid of failing, going out and playing in a way that puts the pressure back on the opposition," he said back in July.
"We're here to win games of cricket, that's all we want to do. You're going to lose games along the way if you play in the way in which we are, but hopefully the positive brand that we're playing is exciting for people to watch.
"It's certainly exciting to play in and we'll have a bit of craic along the way. The last couple of years have been tough.
"I'm not a big fan of the bubbles, I'm not someone that likes to sit in a room and play computer games. It's been tough on me but the last few months have been fantastic."