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Jonny Bairstow hopes his latest headbutt is taken the same way as the first – a lark.
The English batsman celebrated his Test ton against Australia on Friday by gently headbutting his helmet in a nod to his Ashes controversy.
Bairstow was embroiled in a furore for headbutting new Australian opener Cameron Bancroft in a Perth bar before the start of the Ashes series.
The Englishman maintains there was no malice in what he called an act of tomfoolery.
After scoring a breakthrough century in the third Test, Bairstow leapt high in celebration before removing his helmet and playfully headbutting his headgear.
“It was a bit of lighthearted fun, wasn’t it, with everything that has gone on – and that is exactly the way it should be taken,” Bairstow said.
The wicketkeeper-batsman’s 119 at the WACA Ground was his first ton against the Aussies and his fourth in Test cricket.
The milestone comes after he was subjected to sledging by the Australians in the series opener in Brisbane because of his headbutt on Bancroft.
And the 28-year-old hopes his knock proves he has responded to the verbals in style.
“Chat is chat. It’s something that comes and goes,” he said.
“To be honest with you, you can say it gets inside people’s heads … but you don’t actually know whether it effects people or not.
“In many ways it actually spurs people on and gees them up a bit and makes them even more determined to succeed.
” … Hopefully it’s a positive reaction to it that I have given in this innings and hopefully moving forward too.”
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