England have recorded a five-wicket victory over New Zealand in the second Test match at Trent Bridge courtesy of a quite remarkable 136 from Jonny Bairstow.
Holding a 1-0 lead from the first encounter, England could have comfortably played out a draw after being set a target of 299 from a minimum of 72 overs.
Given the perception that Test batting has become too aggressive, a disciplined draw after New Zealand's 553 in the first innings would have been perceived to be a respectable outcome.
However, Bairstow produced the innings of his life, the Yorkshire batsman not even reaching his fifty before tea on an absorbing day in front of a capacity crowd.
A period of incredible hitting saw England hit 60 runs off the first 26 deliveries of the final session, the majority coming from Bairstow, and 38 minutes into the session, he had recorded the second fastest ton by an Englishman in Test cricket, taking just 77 balls to achieve three figures.
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The demolition job continued as Bairstow eyed 150, but the 32-year-old had to make do with 136 off 89 deliveries after edging behind off the bowling of Trent Boult.
Ben Stokes - who was dealing with a knee injury - was still at the crease, mixing resilience with the kind of power-hitting that Bairstow had previously showcased alongside him.
Wicket-keeper Ben Foakes played an important part at the end, keeping things ticking over with 12 from 15, but it was Stokes who got his team over the line with a cut away for four.
The skipper ended with 10 fours and four maximums for a knock of 75 from 70 balls, while Bairstow bludgeoned 14 fours and seven sixes during his two-and-a-half hours at the crease.
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Speaking to TMS, Bairstow said: "It's really good fun. The plans after tea was let's go one of two ways. With the short side and the stand how it is, there's no point in going down. You just have to keep going up. There were times you had to get yourself in. I think I was 10 off 27 balls but once you're in you have to capitalise.
"We always said if we needed 160 in the final session, 160 off 35 overs, you back yourself to get that. I know we were four wickets down but the belief was still there. We've had people come out and play special knocks and that's what we firmly believed when we came to the ground this morning.
"We wanted to take some wickets and that's what we did. They played well all the way down. Fortunately we were brave enough to take this challenge on, and we took it on straight from the horns."
Earlier in the innings, opener Alex Lees made a solid 44 after Zak Crawley was out for a four-ball duck, and Joe Root also lasted just four deliveries after being caught and bowled by Boult.
The third and final game of the series - which has already been won by England - is due to start at Headingley on June 23.
Darren Plant
