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Bairstow's century a ton of emotion

Jonny Bairstow's home-ground century on Friday came laced with poignancy, meaning and emotion

Jonny Bairstow’s century on the second day of this first Test against Sri Lanka in Leeds was much more than a brilliant innings that rescued England.

For Bairstow it was the realisation of a childhood dream – a dream that kept him going during the nightmare period that followed the tragic death of his father, David, when Jonny was just eight.

This was Bairstow junior’s second Test hundred, his first coming at Newlands back in January.

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That, with his mother Janet and sister Becky watching on, was an emotional moment.

This one, though, was laced with even more poignancy, meaning and emotion coming as it did at Headingley, the ground the whole Bairstow family know as home. It was home too for his dad, also a Yorkshire and England wicketkeeper and who committed suicide in 1998.

Bluey, as he was affectionately known, only played four Tests for England and never managed a century in that time.

Jonny has already eclipsed his father’s achievements. The family couldn’t be prouder.

When Bairstow reached his first Test hundred on English soil shortly before lunch, he punched the air, removed his helmet then looked to the sky.

Image Id: ~/media/2241E77AEF6445C399C398E57F7A8392 Image Caption: Bairstow reaches triple figures at Headingley // Getty 

On a ground where he was allowed to play in the home dressing-room as a kid such was his father’s status at Yorkshire, Bairstow had achieved something that transcended this match.

This was special.

The circumstances surrounding his dad’s death, with his mother also battling cancer at the time, are heartbreaking.

In the run-up to this Headingley Test, Bairstow, speaking about his childhood for the first time in detail, told the Daily Mail: "It wasn’t easy to take what happened to my dad because you don’t really know what’s going on at seven, like my sister Becky was, or eight like me.

"But we knew my mum, Janet, had cancer when dad died because she’d lost her hair.

"It was mum’s birthday the day after it happened but she sent us to school as if to say, 'Right, ok, we’ve got to deal with it, carry on.' It’s fair to say mum is a special human being and going through that has made us stronger. It’s just that dad was taken away from us far too early.

"I have heard so much about my dad from people who knew him or played with or against him all around the world and I’ve never heard a bad word said about him. Everyone has a story and they’re all positive. It’s heart-warming really.”

Since his breakthrough innings in Cape Town at the start of the year, Bairstow has grown in confidence.

The attacking style that characterised his innings in Leeds, where he scored 140 from 183 balls, promises to give England something they have been missing on a consistent basis since the retired Matt Prior last played in 2014.

Alastair Cook’s side were 5-83 when Bairstow walked out to bat on day one. He then went on to score almost half of the runs in England’s eventual total of 298.

Jos Buttler, currently on Indian Premier League duty with Mumbai Indians, has barely been mentioned and it was only last December, before the Test series in South Africa began, that many were calling for Buttler to be recalled in place of Bairstow.

There is no doubt Bairstow’s keeping is far from perfect, with several expensive drops in South Africa prompting England’s Australian coach Trevor Bayliss to admit the Yorkshireman was a "work in progress" behind the stumps.

But he could almost move back up to No.5 in the order later in the summer – where he batted for much of last year - so much more accomplished has he become as a Test batsman since then.

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Such a move would allow Buttler to retake the gloves at seven and debutant James Vince to move up to three, his regular county position, in place of Nick Compton, who is surely living on borrowed time.

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Wherever Bairstow eventually ends up in the long term, it’s clear he has a bright future with or without the gloves.

"Mum never put pressure on me to play cricket which was important because I had to follow my own path," he said. 

"Keeping wicket just happened, too. It was never a conscious thing to follow dad.

"He left an amazing legacy. He’s in the top five for most appearances for Yorkshire and took over a thousand dismissals. He was captain at a difficult time for the county and had an incredible career but I’d like to think so far he would have been pleased about the way things are going for me."

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