'It's England v Australia but we'll still shake hands' - Bairstow on Warner friendship

David Warner and Jonny Bairstow may have formed a blistering opening partnership in this year's IPL, but Bairstow expects that will all be forgotten on the field once the pair line up on opposite sides for the first Ashes Test, which begins on Thursday at Edgbaston.

The pair combined for an IPL opening partnership record when they smashed 185 runs in 16.2 overs for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the World Cup. It was an eyebrow-raising combination, not just because of the brutal power-hitting on display but that it came after the 2017-18 Ashes series in Australia, during which rumours swirled about excessive sledging aimed at Bairstow by the Australian.

"I've spoken about batting with Dave a few times," Bairstow said before a training session with partially sighted cricketers in Birmingham on Monday. "It's still England v Australia. Part and parcel of franchise cricket around the world - you'll play with people, it's something you get used to doing. He'll be wanting to win for Australia, I want to win for England, but we'll still shake hands off the field. Know what I mean?

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"A lot of cricket, a lot of things have happened since Brisbane. It's so long ago. They will be looking to target people, of course they will. They will be looking for areas in people's games - like we analyse them. It is part of professional sport."

Earlier in the day, Ashley Giles spoke about England dealing with a World Cup "hangover" and Bairstow was one of several players who backed up from the Lord's final by playing in the Test against Ireland and struggling with the bat, making a pair for the first time in Tests. But Bairstow said he had no qualms about playing in the match and was particularly eager to get back into the rhythm of wicketkeeping ahead of the Ashes.

"I didn't want to be going into the first Ashes Test having not kept - I wanted to get back keeping and the rhythm of my keeping and that was the main reason for playing in the Ireland Test," he said.

"Keeping in white ball is different to keeping in red ball - back into the rhythm, the shuffles, the moving, getting your angles with the fields - the general gist back into the swing of red-ball cricket again. Everyone was bedding back in - we haven't played it for a few months."

Bairstow is relishing the challenge of being behind the stumps for the express pace of Jofra Archer at some stage during the series, having only briefly kept to the newest member of England's bowling attack after subbing for the injured Jos Buttler against Bangladesh during the World Cup.

"Jos was having a laugh about it, saying, 'Good luck!' I've not kept to him [much] yet but it's exciting," Bairstow said. "That's another decision that has to be made - whether he starts. He's put the body through a fair bit."

While the memories and euphoria of winning the World Cup are still fresh in the mind, Bairstow believes it's important that England capitalise on the feel-good factor during the Ashes.

"I don't think that will be lost if we didn't win the Ashes," he said. "There have been series since the 2005 Ashes but everyone remembers it fondly, there have been World Cups since the rugby win in 2003 but the impact of it wasn't lost. But it is important to keep the momentum going 100%. It could be the biggest summer in the history of English cricket if we win the Ashes and the World Cup."

Jonny Bairstow trained with the Birmingham Vision partially-sighted cricket team ahead of the Specsavers Ashes Series opener at Edgbaston