Jonny Bairstowmade good on Ben Stokes’ promise to provide England fans with even more entertainment this week with yet another extraordinary hundred.
Whether the punters had enjoyed plenty of hospitality during the day, or whether they left the ground stone cold sober, they would all have been wondering ‘what the hell have we just watched?’ It was that kind of day.
From the depths of despair at 55-6, rather than be cowed by the situation Bairstow took up the fight and continued to swing his bat like a blacksmith striking an anvil and boy did it work. With Jamie Overton joining in the fun on debut to wallop 88 not out in a record-breaking seventh wicket partnership that stands at 209 so far, England closed the day on 264-6, and within range of New Zealand’s 329 all out.
