Bairstow hits heights for England

JONNY BAIRSTOW rose to yet another new challenge last night with a brilliant display of hitting to blast England to an opening victory on their South African tour. He dropped down the batting order but that did not stop him rescuing England when it seemed South Africa would pull off a surprise win at Newlands. The hosts looked like they would make Eoin Morgan pay for choosing to chase on a slow pitch by posting a highly competitive 179 for six and then quickly knocking over England’s top three. But Bairstow’s unbeaten 86 off 48 balls helped them win with relative ease and four balls to spare. ‘Jonny had an unbelievable day out on a two-paced wicket,’ said Morgan.