[WATCH] Jonny Bairstow consoles Jamie Overton after he falls three short of a debut Test hundred
England batter Jonny Bairstow consoled and patted Jamie Overton after the latter was dismissed three short of a debut Test hundred on day 3 of the Headingley Test against New Zealand on Saturday (June 25).
On 97, Overton nicked Kiwi left-arm seamer Trent Boult and was caught at slip. The debutant had joined Bairstow with England in all sorts of trouble at 55 for 6 in response to New Zealand's first-innings total of 329.
Overton faced 136 balls during his excellent knock and struck 13 fours and two sixes. He was involved in a massive seventh-wicket stand of 241 with Bairstow.
Following Overton's heartbreaking dismissal, Bairstow went up to him and put a hand around his shoulder. After sharing a few words of encouragement, he patted him on the back, acknowledging his contribution to the fantastic partnership.
England Cricket's official handle shared the video of Bairstow consoling Overton as the latter headed back to the pavilion. The clip was shared with the caption:
"Hold your head high, Jamie. A sensational innings and a record-breaking partnership when we needed it most. Those three runs don't change any of that. #ENGvNZ."
Hold your head high, Jamie.
A sensational innings and a record-breaking partnership when we needed it most.
Those three runs donโt change any of that.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ #ENGvNZ ๐ณ๐ฟ https://t.co/nzny37oj1s
Bairstow and Overton's partnership is now the highest seventh-wicket stand by an English pair in Tests, beating a 62-year-old record - 197 by Mike Smith and Jim Parks v West Indies in 1960.
"Go and impose yourself on the game" - Jonny Bairstow on coach Brendon McCullum's mantra
When Bairstow walked out to bat on Friday, England were in tatters at 17 for 3, which soon became 21 for 4 as Joe Root perished to Tim Southee for 5. However, Bairstow, fresh from his Trent Bridge antics, displayed immense confidence in cracking his second consecutive ton.
Speaking after the end of the second day's play in Leeds, the aggressive batter asserted that England were confident of fighting back. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said:
"'Fancy doing another Trent Bridge?' was the first thing that we said. That was it: 'OK, let's crack on'. Sometimes it's a simple game that we complicate. That's all we're trying to do: strip that complicated nature of it back, allow people to go out and express themselves in a way that will bring the best out of them as individuals and also as personalities."
Taking a dig at armchair critics, the 32-year-old added:
"There is sometimes a lot of rubbish spoken about a lot of different things. Sometimes it gets into your mind and clutters it; sometimes you have to just flick it. You have to listen to the people that matter to you and right now I am doing that. The most important thing is me being me. Literally all Brendon (McCullum) has said is 'go and impose yourself on the game'."
A fitting ovation for a special performance ๐
Well played, @JBairstow21 ๐
Scorecard/clips: ms.spr.ly/6013bWe7D
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ #ENGvNZ ๐ณ๐ฟ https://t.co/cECk5VoBPL
The right-handed batter was dismissed for a brilliant 162 off 157 balls on Saturday, a knock which featured 24 fours. He was the ninth man out in the innings with England's score reading 351. Their innings ended on 360 after 67 overs.