JONNY SHOULD HEAD UP THE ORDER NOW
JONNY BAIRSTOW made headlines for all the right reasons by scoring his first Ashes hundred.
And the cheeky celebration with a mock headbutt of his helmet provided some light relief on what has been a taxing, stressful and emotional tour for the keeper-batsman.
The move up the order from seven to six was an instant success, prompting questions as to why he was not there from the start.
If England leave Perth with a win, or a draw, there has to be a serious case for Bairstow moving further up the order.
But he said: “I don’t think it makes too much difference where I bat. I’m just delighted to score the runs I did in this innings and hopefully it can be carried forward into the second innings and beyond.”
Bairstow (119) and Dawid Malan put on 237 for the fifth wicket, a record for England against Australia.
But once the bubble was burst with Malan’s departure for 140, six wickets fell for just 35 runs and England were 403 all out, an all too familiar tale of batting fragility that has plagued the team for some time.
Bairstow’s first Ashes hundred was a special moment for him after all the off-field drama he has been involved in. He added: “I’ve played in many Ashes series now and to score an Ashes hundred is something you dream about as a kid. It had eluded me until now.
“There is a huge amount of pride that comes from it.”