Nothing was going to stop an emotional Jonny Bairstow from realising his ambition of scoring an Ashes century in Australia—not even a nasty blow on his thumb during the fourth Test in Sydney on Friday. 

Bairstow typified the grit of a counter-punching 128-run partnership with injured Ben Stokes to raise his first Test century in Australia, and England’s first on a demoralising tour with the Ashes relinquished inside 12 days.