England vs West Indies: Jonny Bairstow hits fine century to hand hosts victory
England 210-3 (30.5 overs) Windies 204-9 (42 overs): Root hit a half-century in a strong partnership with Bairstow
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Your support makes all the difference.Jonny Bairstow has waited patiently for his chance to take centre stage for England in one-day international cricket so it was fitting that his brilliant maiden century in this format proved the difference in this series opener against West Indies.
Bairstow is a mainstay of England’s Test team as wicketkeeper and a dynamic middle-order batsman, but it appears his future in 50-over cricket lies as a specialist opener after his unbeaten 100 guided Eoin Morgan’s team to their target of 205 with 67 balls to spare in a match that was reduced to 42 overs per side.
The Yorkshireman was told by limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan on the eve of this five-match series he would be given an extended run at the top of the order in place of Jason Roy.
He was given his chance after a run of four 50-plus scores in his previous six ODIs and he repaid that faith spectacularly with an innings that laid the foundations for an ultimately comfortable seven-wicket win.
This has been a long time coming for a man who has been in and out of the team since making his ODI debut in 2011.
Bairstow had first replaced Roy for England’s Champions Trophy semi-final defeat by Pakistan in June and if continues like this then he will surely remain in that position until the 2019 World Cup on home soil.
Whether or not West Indies will be at that tournament remains to be seen after this defeat condemned the two-time former winners to a qualifying event to book their place in England.
Despite being given a fast start by the returning Chris Gayle, who was playing his first ODI since the 2015 World Cup, the tourists were never really in a contest whose start was delayed for two hours by the overnight rain that left large damp patches on the outfield.
The ‘Universe Boss’, as he likes to be known, cuts an intimidating figure at the crease such is his sheer height and size.
And he went through the gears to reach 32 from 17 balls inside four overs after he was dropped on nought by Joe Root at second slip.
Root and England were left fearing the worst as Gayle hit his first six in a third over from Chris Woakes that went for 17 runs and then another two in the next bowled by David Willey.
Thankfully Woakes got rid of Gayle for 37, Root redeeming himself with a brilliant running catch from mid-off.
It left West Indies, who had already lost the dangerous Evin Lewis to Moeen Ali’s spin, 53 for two in the ninth over.
That total moved past 100 in the 21st over thanks to a solid if stodgy 50-run partnership Shai Hope and Marlon Samuels.
Both fell quickly, though, at the hands of Ben Stokes to leave West Indies on 107 for four.
Hope, the leading runscorer in the recent Test series between these teams, was caught spectacularly by Bairstow in the deep.
Yet for Stokes it was the dismissal of Samuels, caught behind on review, that would have meant the most given the pair’s long-running feud.
A counter-attacking 42-run stand between Rovman Powell and Jason Mohammad put this contest back in the balance.
Yet once that was broken, Adil Rashid dismissing Mohammad on 18, West Indies made just 55 runs from the final 9.4 overs as England’s bowlers, of whom Stokes was the pick with three for 43, slowed down their progress with regular wickets.
England were always favourites to chase down a target that looked well below par. They were 31 for one in the fifth over their reply, Alex Hales out for 19 after slashing Jerome Taylor to point.
But in Bairstow they had a man who looked determined to see his team home.
The hosts were just 106 shy of victory when Bairstow reached 50 in 52 balls in the 16th over of the innings.
Just 49 were needed by the time Root, bowled by Kesrick Williams, fell for 54 from 53 balls to end a 125-run third-wicket stand with his fellow Yorkshireman.
Morgan fell cheaply as England slipped to 175 for three in the 28th over of their chase.
But the hosts were just three shy of victory by the time Bairstow ran three off the spin of Ashley Nurse to bring up his hundred. Stokes then sealed victory with a towering six.
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