Fired-up Bairstow leads England to vital victory

Captain hails battling batsman as hosts close in on semi-finals

Jonny Bairstow’s match-winning hundred against India was a result of “fire in the belly”, according to England captain Eoin Morgan.

Back-to-back defeats by Sri Lanka and Australia left England in a tight spot heading into their stiffest challenge yet, with Bairstow’s suggestion that critics were “waiting for us to fail” only serving to crank up the tension.

It was fitting, and slightly predictable, that he would be the man to underpin a crucial 31-run victory at Edgbaston, putting himself back in the spotlight for all the right reasons with a fluent 111.

There were key supporting roles for two returning figures, the fit-again Jason Roy (66) and the recalled Liam Plunkett (three for 55), as well as Ben Stokes, who steered the side to 337 for seven in the closing stages.

But Bairstow deservedly took centre stage, summoning all his fighting spirit to catapult England back into the top four and leave qualification for the semifinals in their own hands.

“He does tend to get fired up and that suits him, regardless of what’s happened in the week,” said a beaming Morgan.

“He likes a bit of fire in his belly and I don’t mind when he comes out and plays like that. We’re delighted for him.”

Bairstow hopes his reputation for thriving in adversity does not lead to a rough road in the future, and insisted his previous comments had been “misinterpreted”.

“Look, I’m not saying I want everyone to come out and abuse me. By no means am I saying that,” he said when informed of Morgan’s assessment.

“At no point have I said the public is not behind us. The interview had taken place with six, eight, 10 journalists in a very jovial, relaxed manner. To read how it was taken was very disappointing.

“But there’s nothing you can change about the past...yesterday’s news is today’s fish and chip paper, that’s the saying isn’t it?”

England’s win means they are not reliant on results elsewhere and head into their closing group game against New Zealand at Chester-le-Street certain of progressing to the semi-finals with another victory.

Their performance against India has strengthened Morgan’s belief that they could be timing their run to perfection.

“I’m delighted. The manner in which we played, particularly with the bat, was outstanding,” he said. “It’s come at a really good time and against an extremely strong team, so we’re delighted.

“Having played how we did today is very encouraging for us. The closer we get to playing our A-game, the more chance we have of going all the way. If we were scraping along I wouldn’t be as confident.”

Roy’s return was particularly significant after three games and four innings on the sidelines with a hamstring tear but he took a blow on his arm while batting which precluded his involvement in India’s reply.

Morgan played down any fears over the opener, adding: “He should be fine. Having him back in the team is quite a big confidence-booster for everybody, particularly when he plays the way he did.

“He’s very intimidating, hard to bowl to.”

Picture: PA. Jonny Bairstow hits a six during his innings of 111 at Edgbaston yesterday.

Jason Roy: added 66 on his return from a hamstring injury.