Bairstow stars as England thrash West Indies

Jonny Bairstow hit an unbeaten 141 on Friday night to lead England to a nine wicket victory over the West Indies in the fifth one day international (ODI) in Southampton.

Jonny Bairstow hit his second century of the series in England's victory. Reuters/Paul Childs

The triumph was overshadowed by the scandal surrounding star all-rounder Ben Stokes. The 26-year-old was arrested on Monday in Bristol on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm and suspended from internationals until further notice.

That omission from the touring party to Australia came only after video footage emerged of the incidents outside a bar in Bristol.

England have lost two of their last three tours of Australia 5-0 and begin the defence of the Ashes trophy in Brisbane on 23 November.

Bairstow, who was named man-of-the-match in Southampton, said he would go into the tour full of confidence after scoring two hundreds during the ODI series.

"I'm pretty pleased," he said. "It's nice to finish a long summer with some runs. You wait a long time for a first hundred and when it comes you want to capitalise."

Liam Plunkett took 2 for 54 as the West Indies made 286 for 6 off their 50 overs. Shai Hope was their top scorer with 72 off 95 balls. In reply, England openers Jason Roy and Bairstow laid into the West Indies attack. Roy was out four runs shy of a century with the score on 156. Joe Root entered the fray and with Bairstow chased down the West Indies total and eclipsed it with 12 overs to spare.

Skipper Eoin Morgan said he was delighted with the performance over the series which England claimed 4-0. "We're spoiled for choice with the batsman that we have on offer. There are quality guys missing out, so certainly it raises the standard in the changing room.”

With uncertainty over Stokes’s participation in the Australia tour, there have been recalls for middle-order batsmen James Vince and Gary Ballance despite the pair's struggles during their previous Test stints.

"It takes a period of time for people to bed into an environment, to bed into a team, to bed into a role and learn a role," said Bairstow.

"We do need to learn quickly because we've got a huge series on the horizon. It's something that is going to be tough but at the same time we're ready for the challenges that are ahead."