Bairstow sparkles as England make sure of place in World Cup semi-finals

England locked down their place in the World Cup semi-finals, as Jonny Bairstow’s second successive century fired them to a dominant 119-run win over New Zealand.

Little more than a week after defeat to Australia left them fighting for their tournament lives, Eoin Morgan’s men were making plans for their first appearance in the last four since 1992.

They are now guaranteed to finish third in the table and will face either Australia or India at Edgbaston on Thursday.

That they do so with their identity crisis over and morale peaking owes much to Bairstow’s 106, a second bloody-minded hundred in four days that underpinned England’s 305 for eight.

If his previous effort against India was an emotionally-charged response to his minor spat with Michael Vaughan, the follow-up deserves to be remembered for nothing other than its sporting brilliance – 106 runs, 14 boundaries, one six and a thoroughly decisive contribution.

It has become increasingly apparent that his opening partnership with the fit-again Jason Roy (60) represents England’s ace in the hole, with the duo scoring their third consecutive three-figure stand and forging an advantage the Black Caps never wrestled back.

Dangerman Kane Williamson was run out backing up via the tiniest of touches off Mark Wood’s outstretched hand, with the seamer also helping himself to three for 34.

Morgan won the toss and chose to bat, allowing Bairstow and Roy to grab the initiative from the off.

Bairstow got things going by laying into Tim Southee on his first outing of the tournament, swatting five of the seamer’s first 10 balls to the ropes.

It was Southee’s seven for 33 that hastened England’s catastrophic defeat in Wellington in the 2015 World Cup but he has struggled in the fixture since,  his nine overs here costing 70.

The hundred – number 10 in their 31 outings as a twosome – ticked by inside 15 overs and by the 17th both men had 50. Each looked set fair to convert and Roy clearly agreed, hacking at the turf in anger after he lifted Jimmy Neesham to cover.

Bairstow refused to risk a similar lapse, easing into a series of well-directed pulls and England’s only six, launched right back over Southee’s head. He reached his landmark off the final ball of the 30th over before stretching his arms to bask in the moment.

Morgan ground out 42 while Ben Stokes laboured for 11, but the damage had been done.

New Zealand, eyeing a successful 300-plus chase for just the sixth time in their history, lost Henry Nicholls for a golden duck. Replays showed Chris Woakes’ ball clearing the stumps but by then the opener had already turned down a review.

Williamson’s exit for 27 was bad luck, Ross Taylor’s firm straight hit smashing into the non-striker’s stumps courtesy of a fractional flick off Wood’s finger.

Rather than shouldering the responsibility Taylor quickly burned his own bridges, taking on an optimistic two and falling foul of Adil Rashid’s fizzing throw from the deep.

Wood fared best of all, smashing the stumps of Neesham and Henry in more conventional fashion and trapping Santner leg before. Stokes got in on the act when Colin de Grandhomme mistimed a pull and Rashid ended things five overs early when Boult was stumped.

Bairstow’s team-mates would have winced to see his full-blooded dive on the ropes when the result was already long settled, hurting his shoulder in the process. However, his competitive spirit had already served them too well to complain.