Cricket World Cup 2019: Fired up Jonny Bairstow happy to let his bat do the talking

Bairstow is at his best when he comes out fighting, when he has been wronged, when he wears the chip on his shoulder as a badge of honour. That’s the Bairstow we saw at Edgbaston on Sunday

There are more talented players in this England side than Jonny Bairstow. There are certainly bigger hitters, more sumptuous stroke-makers. There are definitely more prolific match-winners. But there isn’t another player who embodies the very essence of this England team quite like him.

Every player has a different motivation. Some are willed on by winning. Others are motivated not to lose. Some want to prove themselves right. Others, like Bairstow, want to prove other people wrong. Bairstow is at his best when he comes out fighting, when he has been wronged, when he wears the chip on his shoulder as a badge of honour. That’s the Bairstow we saw at Edgbaston on Sunday.

"He does tend to get fired up and that suits him," captain Eoin Morgan observed afterwards. "He likes a bit of fire in his belly and I don't mind when he comes out and plays like that."

This match-defining century was Bairstow at his finest as he and the returning Jason Roy surveyed the lay of the land before stepping forward into the teeth of the Indian attack to set the platform for a win that could well turn England’s World Cup around.

It’d been a combative week for Bairstow with his comments that England’s critics were "waiting for them to fail" in the wake of back-to-back defeats to Sri Lanka and Australia only serving to crank up the tension ahead of a game that already had been hyped to breaking point.

A brave and equal parts belligerent 111 that set the tone for what would end in a 31-run victory was the perfect response then in a result that catapults England back into the top four and leaves qualification for the semi-finals still firmly in their own hands.

“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 afterwards.

“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 may not need to beat New Zealand on Wednesday to seal their progression to the knockout phase, but they go into their last group game knowing nobody can stop them if they do.

Bairstow's 100 put England in control against India (AFP/Getty)

“It was obvious over the last few weeks that we hadn’t necessarily played our best cricket,” Bairstow would admit. “We knew this was going to be a very, very tough game. It was a game that keeps us in the World Cup. It keeps it in our own hands rather than wanting other people to win different games. We’ve got a big game coming up in Durham. We’ve got to win that game.”

So what of his critics now? “I’ll leave them to it,” says a man content to let his bat do the talking once again.