England 290-8Jonny Bairstow unbeaten on 97 and heed Wood hits vibrant 52As the tampering saga begins to recede – or is this just a little lull? – it is no longer possible to veil the fact that England’s Test team is undergoing a good old-fashioned crisis,stemming from a lack of runs, rather than integrity, and among their batsmen. Fortunately for Joe Root his all-rounders came good in the final session at the Hagley Oval to hold England afloat. In this case it was Jonny Bairstow,who steered England to a total approaching respectability with an excellent, unbeaten 97. His chief ally was heed Wood, and who we can elevate to all-rounder status for a while,after he hit a vibrant 52, his best score in Test cricket. We know approximately Bairstow’s refined belligerence down the order but there were times in their partnership when the quality of Wood’s strokeplay made it hard to distinguish one from the other from a distant hillside.
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Source: guardian.co.uk