Jonathan Marc Bairstow is an English cricketer who plays internationally for England in all formats. He represents Yorkshire in domestic cricket and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues, including the Indian Premier League for Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings. He displayed early talent, being chosen as the inaugural winner of the Young Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year award after scoring 654 runs in 2007 for St Peter's School. Bairstow also played for the Leeds United youth football team.

During the 2008 season, Bairstow played second-XI cricket for Yorkshire, scoring 308 runs at an average of 61.60 in six championship matches. Although called up to the first-team squad for the final County Championship match of the season against Sussex, he did not make the starting eleven but signed a two-year contract with Yorkshire. In 2009, Bairstow made his first-class debut against Somerset, scoring an unbeaten 82 in the second innings. He became a regular in the Yorkshire team in 2010, playing 16 first-class matches and scoring 918 runs, leading to his selection for the England Performance Programme squad to tour Australia in 2010/11.

Bairstow took over wicketkeeping duties for the 2011 season and scored his first century against Nottinghamshire in May, finishing on 205. He was the only Yorkshire batter to score over 1000 runs that season, which led to his call-up to the England one-day squad.

Bairstow made his One Day International (ODI) debut in September 2011 against India, scoring an unbeaten 41 off 21 balls and being named Man of the Match. In February 2012, he was named Man of the Match in the second T20I against Pakistan. Following a successful start to the 2012 season with Yorkshire, he was named in the England squad for the Test series against the West Indies, making his debut at Lord's. Bairstow scored 95 runs in the first innings of the third Test against South Africa in 2012 and 54 in the second innings, receiving praise despite England losing the series.

Bairstow was part of the England squad for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20, playing critical roles in the matches against Afghanistan and New Zealand. He played in the 2013 Test series against New Zealand and the Ashes, scoring important runs and taking crucial catches.

Bairstow played in the 2013 Tour to New Zealand and the 2013 Ashes series, contributing with the bat and behind the stumps. He was selected for the 2013-14 Ashes series and played in the fourth Test, becoming the first father/son combination to keep wicket for England. He struggled with the bat but performed well behind the stumps.

After an 18-month absence from the England team, Bairstow returned for the 5th ODI against New Zealand in 2015, scoring 83* and helping England win a series. He was named England's first-choice wicketkeeper in Test cricket during the 2015-16 South Africa series, scoring his maiden Test century in Cape Town and setting a world-record sixth-wicket partnership with Ben Stokes.

Bairstow's form continued in the 2016 series against Sri Lanka, where he was named Man of the Match in the first Test and jointly awarded Player of the Series. He played a crucial role in the series against Pakistan, scoring important runs and taking vital catches.

In 2016, Bairstow became the first English batsman to score three consecutive centuries in ODIs and was named in the World ODI XI by the ICC and ESPNcricinfo.

Bairstow was part of the England squad that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup, scoring crucial runs in the group stages and helping England reach the semi-finals and final. He played in the 2019 Ashes series but was dropped from the Test squad for the tour of New Zealand.

In 2020, Bairstow was named in England's squad for the ODI series against Ireland and played all three matches, scoring 88 runs. He was the first England batsman to be dismissed by hitting his wicket in a T20 international match against Australia.

Bairstow played in the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup and the 2021-2022 Ashes series, scoring England's only century in the fourth Test. He scored a century in the first Test of England's tour of the West Indies in 2022 and played a match-winning innings of 136 off 92 balls against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.

Bairstow has played for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League and Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League. He set a record in the T10 League in Sharjah, scoring 84 not out of 24 balls. In the 2022 IPL Auction, he was bought by the Punjab Kings and signed for Welsh Fire in The Hundred for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Bairstow holds the world record for the highest sixth-wicket stand in Tests with Ben Stokes: 399 against South Africa during England's 2015-16 tour. He has received several awards for his performances, including the Professional Cricketers' Association Men's Cricketer of the Year award and the Cricket Writers' Club Bob Willis Trophy in 2022. He was nominated for the 2022 Men's Test Cricketer of the Year title and named in the ICC Men's Test Team of the Year.