Bairstow’s 109th propels England from 48-4 to 268-6 on day one of first Test against West Indies in Antigua; Yorkshireman reaches second century in as many Tests after 113 against Australia at Ashes; England debutant Alex Lees is out by four as Richards-Botham Trophy series begins
Jonny Bairstow of England celebrates after his century against the West Indies (AP)
Jonny Bairstow’s superb Test eighth century and second in as many matches rallied England after a familiar first-rate collapse as the Tourists closed out the opening day of the series opener against the West Indies in Antigua 268-6.
Bairstow followed up his 113 at the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney with a hard-fought score of 109 that is not out of 216 deliveries in the Caribbean, showing grit, technique, fast running and belligerence later when he lifted his side from a lowly 48-4 .
The Yorkshireman put up 67 with Ben Stokes (36) for the fifth wicket, and then 99 with the remembered wicketkeeper Ben Foakes (42) for the sixth, before reaching triple figures of 190 balls with one of his 17 fours as he shared an alliance. unbroken seventh wicket of 54 with Chris Woakes (24th).
A ‘red ball restart’ was the talk after England collapsed in a 4-0 defeat of the Ashes in Australia over the winter, a series in which they failed to reach 300 even once in 10 innings and six times they were eliminated by less than 200. .
The new era began similarly as the tourists faltered after captain Joe Root chose to bat, with debutant Alex Lees (4) out lbw Kemar Roach from the ninth ball he faced and Root pitched for Roach offering no shot after his change from No. 4 to No. 3 in the lineup.
However, Bairstow led the comeback, quietly at first, as it took him 127 balls to reach fifty before moving through the gears with a battery of limits to show that he should be crucial to Test fortunes. England advance, whoever ends up in decision-making positions. permanently.
England’s post-Ashes changes included the departures of head coach Chris Silverwood and director of cricket Ashley Giles (Paul Collingwood and Sir Andrew Strauss taking on those roles respectively on an interim basis) and the surprise departures of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Durham starter Lees was one of the players brought in, the southpaw teaming with Zak Crawley at the top of the order with Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed also part of the sacrifice following the Ashes debacle.
Handed his cap by former Yorkshire teammate Bairstow, Lees went off the mark with a fifth ball at the boundary, but was then caught in front in the third by Roach, who had thrown a string of swingers earlier. of pocketing the wicket with a ball that slipped past the inside rim.
Crawley (8) set off two overs later, caught brilliantly by West Indies wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva after Jayden Seales went from behind, while Root was hit on the stump by Roach in the ninth over, a ball after Jermaine passed the grass to him. Blackwood in slip.
England fans would have been fearing the worst at the time and even more so when Dan Lawrence’s hard-hitting innings ended in the 20th when he fired a Jason Holder outswinger to Blackwood in the middle of Holder bowing to five straight maidens during an excellent spell. morning.
Bairstow, however, would not change.
The 32-year-old outplayed Da Silva early in their innings, was mistakenly caught behind West Indies closer Veerasammy Permaul at 59 before successfully overturning the decision, and had a career scare at 95.
But there were a few other nervous moments as he continued his excellent start to 2022, which also included an unbeaten 106 from 158 deliveries in England’s only warm-up match last week, with more offside stance appearing to be reaping dividends.
England fell to 115-5 when the sprightly Seales dropped Stokes from an inside rim with a full pitch in the second session – payback for the closer after Stokes had beaten him down successive bounds a few deliveries earlier.
The tourists didn’t cave in again, though, with Foakes, in the same England XI as Stokes and Woakes for the first time having usurped Jos Buttler as wicketkeeper, showing off his batting ability during a vibrant innings.
Foakes played a couple of sizzling shots against Roach early in his slam and his limit count hit eight when he was pinned with lbw by the excellent Holder, who managed to keep his economy rate sublime while his teammates were losing theirs, but Bairstow it was the star. of the day
England and the West Indies wore black armbands following the recent deaths of Shane Warne and Rod Marsh of Australia and Sonny Ramadhin of the West Indies.
Two living legends are also being honored in this series with the prize both sides are playing for, renamed the Richards-Botham Trophy after Sir Vivian Richards of the West Indies and Sir Ian Botham of England.
Richards, who turned 70 on Tuesday, and Botham attend the game at the stadium named after the Antigua Richards venue and saw a seesaw on day one.
England are targeting a first Test series in the Caribbean since 2004 and only a second since 1968 and, thanks mainly to Bairstow, they are off to a decent start.
Jonny Bairstow, speaking to BT Sport: “It feels amazing, to be honest. I’ve been lucky enough to be on a few tours here and it’s an amazing place to come.”
“To score a century in any test match [is great] but especially here with the traveling fans who haven’t been able to come for a couple of years. We are very lucky to have them and what an occasion. It is very fun to play here.
