Bairstow's 109no propels England from 48-4 to 268-6 on day one of first Test against West Indies in Antigua; Yorkshireman hits second century in as many Tests after 113 against Australia in Ashes; England debutant Alex Lees out for four as Richards-Botham Trophy series gets under way
Wednesday 9 March 2022 06:27, UK
Jonny Bairstow's superb eighth Test century and second in as many matches rallied England after a familiar top-order collapse as the tourists closed day one of the series opener against West Indies in Antigua on 268-6.
Bairstow followed his 113 in the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney with a hard-fought score of 109 not out from 216 deliveries in the Caribbean, showing grit, technique, quick running throughout and belligerence later on as he lifted his side from a lowly 48-4.
The Yorkshireman put on 67 with Ben Stokes (36) for the fifth wicket, and then 99 with recalled wicketkeeper Ben Foakes (42) for the sixth, before going on to reach three figures from 190 balls with one of his 17 fours as he shared an unbroken seventh-wicket alliance of 54 with Chris Woakes (24no).
A 'red-ball reset' was the talk after England crumbled to a 4-0 Ashes defeat in Australia over the winter, a series in which they failed to reach 300 even once in 10 innings and six times were bundled out for less than 200.
The new era began in similar fashion as the tourists faltered after skipper Joe Root elected to bat, with debutant Alex Lees (4) out lbw to Kemar Roach from the ninth ball he faced and Root bowled by Roach offering no shot following his switch from No 4 to No 3 in the line-up.
However, Bairstow led the recovery, sedately at first as it took him 127 balls to reach fifty before moving through the gears with a battery of boundaries to show he should be crucial to England's Test fortunes moving forward, whoever ends up in decision-making positions on a permanent basis.
England's post-Ashes changes included the exits of head coach Chris Silverwood and director of cricket Ashley Giles - Paul Collingwood and Sir Andrew Strauss taking those roles respectively on an interim basis - and the surprise dropping of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Durham opener Lees was one of the players to come in, the left-hander partnering Zak Crawley at the top of the order with Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed also part of the cull following the Ashes debacle.
Lees, handed his cap by former Yorkshire team-mate Bairstow, got off the mark with a boundary fifth ball but was then trapped in front in the third over by Roach, who had bowled a series of away-swingers before bagging the wicket with a ball that skidded on past the inside edge.
Crawley (8) departed two overs later - caught brilliantly by West Indies wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva after inside-edging Jayden Seales behind - while Root had his off stump pinged by Roach's nip-backer in the ninth over, one ball after being grassed by Jermaine Blackwood at slip.
England fans would have been fearing the worst then and even more so when Dan Lawrence's punchy innings was ended on 20 as he snicked a Jason Holder outswinger to Blackwood amid Holder bowing five consecutive maidens during an excellent morning spell.
Bairstow, though, would not be shifted.
The 32-year-old top-edged over Da Silva early in his innings, was erroneously given out caught behind off West Indies seamer Veerasammy Permaul on 59 before successfully overturning the decision, and had a run-out scare on 95.
But there were few other nervy moments as he continued his excellent start to 2022 which also included an unbeaten 106 from 158 deliveries in England's sole warm-up match last week, with a more off-side stance appearing to be reaping dividends.
England were reduced to 115-5 when the sprightly Seales bowled Stokes off an inside edge with a full-swinging delivery in the second session - revenge for the seamer after Stokes had hit him for successive boundaries a few deliveries earlier.
The tourists did not collapse again, though, with Foakes - in the same England XI as Stokes and Woakes for the first time having usurped Jos Buttler as wicketkeeper - displaying his batting skill during a vibrant innings.
Foakes played a couple of coruscating drives off Roach early in his knock and his boundary count tallied eight when he was pinned lbw by the excellent Holder, who managed to maintain his sublime economy rate while his team-mates lost theirs - but Bairstow was the star of the day.
England and West Indies wore black armbands following the recent deaths of Australia's Shane Warne and Rod Marsh and West Indies' Sonny Ramadhin.
Two living legends are also being honoured in this series with the prize the two sides are playing for renamed the Richards-Botham Trophy after West Indies' Sir Vivian Richards and England's Sir Ian Botham.
Richards, who turned 70 on Tuesday, and Botham are attending the game at the stadium which bears Antigua local Richards' name and saw a seesaw first day.
England are targeting a first Test series in the Caribbean since 2004 and just a second since 1968 and, thanks chiefly to Bairstow, they have made a decent start.
Jonny Bairstow, speaking to BT Sport: "It feels amazing, to be honest. I've been fortunate enough to be on a few tours over here and it's an amazing place to come.
"To score a century in any Test match [is great] but especially here with the travelling fans who haven't been able to come for a couple of years. We're very fortunate to have them and what an occasion. It's great fun playing over here.
"We've spoken about partnerships and how crucial they can be, not just at the top but throughout the order. There were three big partnerships through the middle of the innings and they were crucial."
West Indies and England will resume the first Test at 2pm UK time on Wednesday. Follow over-by-over text commentary from 1.30pm on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
