For the 2013 Ashes series, Bairstow was named in the squad as Nick Compton was dropped which allowed Joe Root to open the batting and leaving the number six spot free for Bairstow. . He was selected as the number six batsman for the 1st Test where he made scores of 37 and 15. In the 2nd Test, he made 67 off 146 balls in the first innings and 20 runs in the second innings helping England gain a 2–0 series lead.