1st Test: Jonny Bairstow's century lifts England to 268/6 against West Indies on Day 1
England's Jonny Bairstow, his second in as many Tests, lifted the tourists back from the brink of disaster on the first day of their three-Test series against West Indies on Tuesday. After losing four early wickets in an all-too-familiar tale of woe at the top of the batting order, England for a while picked up where they ignominiously left off two months ago in their ill-fated 4-0 Ashes drubbing in Australia. But the visitors recovered to 268 for six at stumps in North Sound on the island of Antigua, with Bairstow (109) and Chris Woakes (24) unbeaten after seeing off six overs of the second new ball. Bairstow brought up the slowest of his eight Test centuries, his first against West Indies, shortly before the close in front of a healthy pro-England crowd. It was a perfect Caribbean day, with a stiff cross-breeze helping the bowlers extract some swing and the spectators some relief from the tropical sun. It was also a pretty good day for Bairstow, who scored most of his runs square of the wicket as he bided his time before punishing anything loose in a knock that included 17 fours.
