There was something utterly inevitable about Jonny Bairstow notching up a century against India, even if the celebration that followed it was, outwardly at least, less pointed than some might have expected.
In Perth, during England’s doomed Ashes campaign of 2017‑18, he greeted three figures by butting his helmet – a nod to his infamous nightclub greeting for Australia’s Cameron Bancroft at the start of the tour. And in Colombo last year, when plonked at No 3 against his wishes and shorn of his beloved Test wicketkeeping gloves, came the beetroot-faced guttural roar.
But here, with the stakes for England impossibly high and his name having dominated the buildup, any pent-up anger remained largely in check. Dropping Hardik Pandya into the leg side for the single he needed, Bairstow tossed his helmet to the ground, pumped his fist in delight, offered a thumbs-up to the dressing room and then soaked up the sunshine with his arms outstretched.
The very fact that Bairstow was centre-stage and a century to the good was no shock. From the moment the Yorkshireman sat down during the week to discuss his views on the coverage of England’s World Cup campaign, only to see his assertion that “people were waiting for us to fail” dominate the back pages and start a bit of back and forth with Michael Vaughan, a score felt very much on.
As it happens, the majority of the 24,200-strong crowd at Edgbaston were willing him to fail. This largely pro-India audience had to wait 109 balls for it to occur, however, with the 111 from Bairstow an exhibition of both his fearsome ability to bludgeon a cricket ball – he crunched 10 fours and six sixes – and his bloody-minded determination.
This is what Bairstow does. A kind-hearted soul, but one who is sometimes prone to misreading others and getting wound up unnecessarily, he is never more dangerous with a bat in hand than when he has a point to prove or feels personally under attack, be it genuine or otherwise.
While rightly soaking up the personal satisfaction of his eighth one-day century, the nod to his teammates was shrewd. Bairstow’s comments went down poorly in an England dressing room that has experienced unprecedented support from fans and its board. Most understand that the tenor of the media coverage they receive is results driven but this is not Bairstow’s strong point.
Take his innings against Afghanistan. In compiling 90 risk-free runs he laid the ideal platform from which Eoin Morgan exploded in a record-breaking blaze of 17 sixes. But Bairstow felt the reporting of this innings as his slowest ODI half-century from opener – coming from a none-too-shabby 61 balls – was unduly negative. Somehow a fact became an opinion and a slight.
Each player reacts differently to the pressures of the international spotlight, of course, and Bairstow’s well-documented backstory means some understanding should be afforded. He was also keen to stress, after the 31-run win over India, that his words had been misinterpreted and added: “at no point have I said that the public are not behind us. There’s nothing you can change about the past ... yesterday’s news is today’s fish and chip paper, that’s the saying isn’t it?”
How best to induce a repeat against New Zealand at Chester-le-street on Wednesday? Perhaps the team management can tickle his ego by pointing out there were contributing factors to his success here. After three days of sunshine the Edgbaston pitch was largely benign, offering none of the turn witnessed between New Zealand and Pakistan in midweek. Just ask the much-hyped Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who shipped 160 runs from their 20 overs.
And at the other end was Jason Roy. Despite a stroke of fortune on 21 when MS Dhoni talked his captain, Virat Kohli, out of a review for a caught behind, the right-hander’s return from a hamstring tear with a 57-ball 66 aided his partner. England are much weaker without Roy and Bairstow feels it more than most.
They might also gently suggest he left a few runs out there. While he followed his century with a couple of sweetly struck reverse-swept fours, Bairstow then lost his way a touch, pinching just three singles from 13 deliveries and losing his timing before eventually slashing Mohammed Shami to deep cover. These are essentially just facts about an otherwise excellent World Cup century. But if they can whip up this hugely talented cricketer into producing another “screw you” innings, who knows, they might be worth a go.
