Jonny Bairstow hailed a special group of players at the heart of England’s one-day revolution after his nerveless unbeaten 83 led them to a thrilling three-wicket, series-sealing win over New Zealand at Chester-le-Street.
The Yorkshire wicketkeeper, drafted into the squad 24 hours earlier after Jos Buttler injured a hand, revived Eoin Morgan’s side from 45 for five to chase down a rain-revised target of 192 in 26 overs, for a 3-2 one-day series win over the tourists that leaves England’s hapless World Cup a distant memory.
“It’s a fantastic turnaround, and it’s been great to come back into a carefree atmosphere and just play cricket. I’m really, really happy with the way that I’ve been striking the ball after coming back from the tour of the Caribbean and this is the icing on the cake.”
Bairstow added: “The amount of hard work and belief the guys have shown this series is fantastic. For me to come into this dressing room and put in a little performance, in what has been such a huge series, is unbelievable.
“A massive hats off to the guys who have put in some serious hard work. It’s something very special and this group is very special. We’ve got a very long way to go to see how good we can be and that is exciting.”
Bairstow dedicated the knock to his grandfather, who died this month, adding: “It’s never nice losing someone in your family. It was a tough time for us but it shows how strong us Bairstows are. It’s a trait that we have and I’m sure those who watched my dad play will have seen that. It runs in the blood.” David Bairstow played for Yorkshire and represented England in four Tests and 21 ODIs. He died in 1998 aged 46.
Reflecting on the series win, the captain, Morgan, said: “There has been some incredible cricket played over the five games. All credit to New Zealand – they’ve played some fantastic cricket. We’ve come out of left field.
“Jonny Bairstow was incredible – in what was our worst batting display of the series, he stuck his hand up and won us the game. Everything that has happened in this series has been stuff that we’ve been striving for over the past few years. As we’ve gone around the country the support has been magnificent and we’ve managed to deliver some entertaining cricket.”
Speaking about his own returns – four scores over 50 before a first-ball duck in England’s chase – Morgan said: “I had an immensely dry spell up until this series and I managed to make some contributions which was great, but it was a huge team effort. Let’s hope going into the Ashes that we maintain that level.”
The New Zealand captain, Brendon McCullum, tipped England to challenge for the World Cup in four years, saying: “I think England’s an exciting group – fast forward four years and provided they stay true to that style, they’ll be a dangerous team.”
Asked if, at 33, he may consider retiring from one-day cricket, McCullum replied: “It’s been a year and at the World Cup we scaled heights we haven’t done before. I have certainly enjoyed the last two years. The body is a bit sore but we’ll see what happens in time to come.”
