Jonny Bairstow has secured spot at top of England's ODI order, says Bumble

By David Lloyd, Cricket Expert & Columnist @BumbleCricket

'Man of the Match' Jonny Bairstow reflects on his maiden one-day century with Michael Atherton

David Lloyd says Jonny Bairstow has cemented his spot at the top of England's ODI batting order after his maiden ton against Windies.

Bairstow, picked over Jason Roy as Alex Hales' opening partner, clubbed 100no from 97 balls as England thrashed Jason Holder's side by seven wickets at Old Trafford.

Bumble believes the Yorkshireman showed a "touch of class" as he stroked 11 boundaries and topped his previous best ODI score of 83no against New Zealand in Durham in 2015.

"He was terrific," said Bumble after Bairstow's hundred, in his 28th ODI, eased England to a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

"He grabbed his chance and I thought there was a calmness and an authority at the top of the innings. It wasn't frenetic at all.

Advertisement
Watch the best of the action from the first ODI between England and Windies from Old Trafford

"He'd been knocking the door down, England couldn't not pick him and they have found a slot for him. He is a wonderful player in any format.

"The way he has played here means he is there for a long, long time - there was a real touch of class."

Also See:

Bairstow had been pinned lbw for 99 at Old Trafford in the Test match against South Africa earlier this summer and suffered a scare on the same score against Windies as he stumbled while completing his third run.

The 27-year-old, who put on 125 with Yorkshire colleague Joe Root (54) for the second wicket as England chased down Windies' 204-9 to win their first ODI since defeat to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy semi-finals in June, says he was delighted to contribute.

"That wasn't happening again," said Bairstow about his edgy moment on 99. "It wasn't a great time to slip so I was delighted to get back for the third!

England captain Eoin Morgan reflected on a strong all-round performance, finished off by a 'hungry' Jonny Bairstow

"It seems a long time ago I made my debut in one-day cricket and there have been ups and down along the way. When you do come in, it's important you try and take it.

"With the strength in depth we have in the England side at the moment and things being so settled for over a year now, the opportunities are few and far between.

"That [strength] is why we've gone from scoring 250 to 350, 400 - we didn't do ourselves justice in the Champions Trophy, so going forward in this series and to the World Cup we need to rectify that."

James Anderson was part of the Sky Sports Cricket commentary team at Old Trafford and believes there was a huge gulf between England and Windies - but expects the visitors to respond in the second game, at Trent Bridge, on Thursday.

Live One-Day International Cricket

"I thought England outclassed the Windies in every department," said England's leading Test wicket-taker. "They rotated the strike when they batted, pushed the fielders and made them make mistakes.

"England also didn't give Windies pace to be able to run the ball down when they bowled - I thought it was really clever, particularly from Chris Woakes who started it off and got the crucial wicket of Chris Gayle.

"England won't be satisfied, there are still areas to improve, and as we saw in the Tests, Windies won't rest either. They will want to bounce back and show people they have got fight and the ability to beat England - which they have."

Watch the second ODI, from Trent Bridge, live on Sky Sports Cricket (channel 404) from 12pm on Thursday. You can also follow over-by-over commentary and in-play clips on on our live blog.

Outbrain