Jonny Bairstow: 'I used to over-analyse, now I'm relaxed'

England star reflects on his Lord's century

Jonny Bairstow described the first day of the Third Test against Sri Lanka 'special' after he scored a third Test ton to help guide England to 279-6

Jonny Bairstow was the standout player for England on day one of the third Investec Test at Lord's, hitting a punchy unbeaten 107 as the hosts closed on 279-6 against Sri Lanka at Lord's.

The Yorkshireman described his first Test century at HQ - and third in his last eight innings - as 'amazing' and 'something every boy dreams of' during a post-innings chat with Ian Ward.

Bairstow also discussed in depth how shedding a technical mind-set and focussing on being 'relaxed' at the crease has helped him boost his form.

We've picked Bairstow as our player of the day after his century on the first day of the third Test against Sri Lanka.

The right-hander is averaging over 106 in his six Tests in 2016 at a strike rate of 69.35.

"I was overanalysing things and getting far too technical," said Bairstow. "Now, though, I am standing relaxed at the crease, watching the ball, and letting the flow of the bat go through the ball.

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"I used to play the ball slightly further in front of me and push at the ball, but now I am playing it underneath my eye line a bit later.

"It's been a journey - I've gone away, worked on things, re-evaluated and trusted myself. If I get left out now I've gone about it the way I want to go about it, not how other people want to go about it."

Also See:

Watch Bairstow reach his first century at Lord's

Watch the video above to see Bairstow's interview, in which he also reflects on getting out for 95 at Lord's against South Africa in 2012.

Watch live coverage of day two of the third Investec Test from 10.30am on Friday on Sky Sports 2. Before then, catch highlights from day one at 8pm on Sky Sports 2, followed by The Verdict - with Charles Colvile, Bob Willis, Jonathan Trott and Russel Arnold - at 9pm on the same channel.

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