Felt relieved and overjoyed: Bairstow admits after century in Sydney

Against all odds, especially after a tough start for England, Jonny Bairstow walking out to bat lower down the order turned the tides with a swashbuckling century. Despite suffering a nasty blow on his thumb, the right-hander continued his innings, forming a solid partnership with Mark Wood to bring up his century.

It was also England’s first century of the series, with an unbeaten century off 140 balls, a knock which consisted of eight fours and three sixes. For Bairstow, the start of the series also coincided with the 24th anniversary of his father David’s sudden death

"I'm extremely proud, I had to dig deep. It takes quite a bit to get me off the park. Yes, it was sore but the circumstances of the game, it was one of those where it was a decision I made to stay out there,” Bairstow said. 

“The medics can give you advice but you’re playing in an Ashes Test match, New Year’s Day Pink Test match at Sydney in front of a big crowd, it’s going to take a lot to get you away from that.”

Despite being in the Test scene for a while, Bairstow’s last Test century came in 2018, against Sri Lanka. 38 innings later, the wicketkeeper-batsman brought up his next Test century against Australia in Sydney. 

"I went back to some things with my technique which I used a couple of years ago. I was relieved and overjoyed," he added.

"I felt I was playing nicely in Melbourne (previous Test) but when you've not been out in the middle, you need time to get your rhythm going."