Amazing place to come and score century: Bairstow after ton against Windies

St JOHN’s: England batter Jonny Bairstow said that he feels amazing after scoring a century against West Indies in the ongoing first Test in Antigua.

Bairstow’s unbeaten ton helped England fight back against West Indies on Day 1 of the ongoing first Test here at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. At stumps, England’s score read 268/6 with Bairstow (109*) and Chris Woakes (24*) at the crease.

“Feels amazing. Amazing place to come and score a century. 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. It was really great fun playing over here. We’ve spoken about partnerships and how crucial it can be. Not just at the top of the order but all the way through. It’s really important we continue that. Three big partnerships through the middle of the innings and they were crucial,” Bairstow said after Day 1 ended.

“There’s still plenty in it. We’ll reevaluate in the morning, see if we can bat well again in the morning session and see where we are. As many as possible. We still have some strong batters to come. When we come to bowl, it’s about being patient. It’s going to be a bit attritional,” he added.

After opting to bat first, England got off to a horrendous start as the side lost Alex Lees (4), Zak Crawley (8), Joe Root (13) and Daniel Lawrence (20) in quick succession and they were reduced to 48/4 in the 16th over.

Ben Stokes and Bairstow then got together and the duo put on 67 runs for the fifth wicket, but as soon as the duo started looking comfortable, Stokes (36) lost his wicket to Jayden Seales and this brought wicketkeeper Ben Foakes to the middle.

Foakes played a knock of 42 and he put on 99 runs for the sixth wicket along with Bairstow. In the end, Bairstow and Chris Woakes took England to stumps with four wickets in hand. (ANI)