Watch: Jonny Bairstow is no stranger to unbelievable feats of white-ball batting brilliance, but even for him his T20 Blast century against Worcestershire Rapids was extraordinary, with the Yorkshireman suffering what looked a serious and painful ankle injury halfway through the knock, and carrying on anyway.
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The Yorkshire Vikings and England opener started off briskly enough, whistling along to 56 off 33 balls by the end of the 11th over. However, the single he ran to end that over saw him hobbling as he passed the crease, with a lengthy delay as he collapsed in pain and was attended to by the Yorkshire medical team.
The game was stopped for more than five minutes as running repairs were applied to Bairstow, but the belligerent right-hander was only able to resume with a runner. If anything, however, the ailment freed him up, with the wicketkeeper standing stock still as the ball was delivered and swinging from the hip. Bairstow couldn’t run, and he didn’t need to either, smoking 56 runs off his next 17 balls before falling in the 17th over. In total, he hit 10 sixes.
Yorkshire Vikings won the game comfortably, but Bairstow didn’t take to the field, and is now a doubt for England’s T20I series against Sri Lanka. “His ankle has blown up,” said Andrew Gale, Yorkshire’s coach. “Hopefully it’s not ligament damage.” Still, even on one leg Bairstow is more fearsome than most batters on two. If he ever crawls to the crease and takes guard on his knees, beware.
Watch Bairstow smash a century on one leg below:
Jonny Bairstow scored 55 off 34 balls before collapsing in pain while running a single. He then smashed 57 off his next 17 balls, bringing up his third T20 hundred.
An incredible innings from an incredible player 💥#CountyCricket2021 pic.twitter.com/lipLJvxIsW
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 16, 2021