‘It’s Like Playing Brian Lara Cricket On Cheat Mode’-Alastair Cook Is Stunned With Jonny Bairstow’s Century At Trent Bridge
Jonny Bairstow was the man of the hour on the last day of the second Test match between England and New Zealand. He amassed 136 runs off of 92 deliveries, which moved his side closer to claiming the series victory. As a result of the same, the 32-year-old is receiving a lot of acclaim from the likes of former England captain Sir Alastair Cook, who likened Bairstow’s knock to the famous Brain Lara’s display on ‘cheat day.’
Bairstow came in to bat at a very crucial stage because the home team had lost their top-order batters, including Zak Crawley, who was dismissed for a duck, and the centurions from the first innings, Ollie Pope and Joe Root, who both crumbled early. But Bairstow’s scorching hit altered the course of the game, as he recorded the second-fastest century by any English batsman, accomplishing the feat in only 77 balls. This transformed the complexion of the game completely.
“I’m probably the least qualified person in the room to remark on what’s just taken place in the last hour. So, to conclude, I’ll just say it all in one statement. What Jonny Bairstow has just performed is like playing Brian Lara’s Cricket on cheat mode,” Cook made this observation while providing commentary for BBC Test Match Special.
Alastair Cook heaps praise On Jonny Bairstow for his remarkable century
The centuries scored by Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes, both of whom were undefeated, were key factors in England’s victory in the second test match.
It took Bairstow just one extra delivery to unlock the achievement, as the record is held by a former English batter named Gilbert Jessop, who scored a hundred in just 76 balls, which is the fastest (Tests) in the history of English cricket. After England bowled out the New Zealand batsmen at the beginning of the final day of play, they set England the task of trying to score 299 runs to win the match. Bairstow got off to a sluggish start and reached his half-century after 51 deliveries, but he eventually found the rhythm and was able to grab a century in the following 26 balls he faced.
Bairstow was joined on the pitch by the team’s captain, Ben Stokes, and the two of them created havoc. The pair scored a staggering 179 runs for the fifth-wicket stand, which allowed their team to cut the chase short and carry the winning energy from the first Test into the second match. Stokes stayed undefeated throughout the innings and scored a 70-ball 75* to push his side over the line, which allowed them to take an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the series. While Bairstow was eventually dismissed by Trent Boult, Stokes remained unbeaten throughout the innings.
