Manchester: Jonny Bairstow said he was delighted to have joined an “elusive club” after finally scoring his maiden One Day International hundred as England beat West Indies by seven wickets in their series opener at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Bairstow finished on exactly 100 not out, getting to three figures six years after playing a winning hand on debut against India in Cardiff.
That Tuesday’s match was just Bairstow’s 28th ODI is a reflection both of the difficulty he has had in establishing himself in the white-ball set-up and England’s uncertainty over how to best deploy the man now firmly established as their Test wicketkeeper in the 50-over game.
But having brought in Bairstow as an opener in place of the struggling Jason Roy for their previous ODI, an eight-wicket Champions Trophy defeat by Pakistan in Cardiff in June, a match where the Yorkshireman’s 43 was a rare highlight for the hosts, they retained him as a specialist batsman at the top of the order on Tuesday, as Jos Buttler again kept wickets.
The selectors’ decision was rewarded by an expertly-paced innings from Bairstow, who ensured England made light work of chasing down West Indies’ below-par total of 204 for nine in a match reduced to 42 overs per side by a wet outfield.
“I’m really pleased,” said Bairstow, who put on 125 for the second wicket with Yorkshire colleague and England Test captain Joe Root (54).
“It seems a long time ago since I made my debut at Cardiff,” added the 27-year-old son of the late former Yorkshire and England wicketkeeper David Bairstow.
“I’m delighted to have scored my first one-day hundred for England.
“There aren’t many people who’ve done it — and to join that elusive club is something, when you make your debut at Cardiff against India, you want to do.
“So you’ve got to enjoy it when you do.”
Just over a month ago, Bairstow was dismissed for 99 during a Test against South Africa at Old Trafford.
