Jonny Bairstow took a swipe at his critics and outlined his determination to resume wicketkeeping duties after making a magnificent century on his return to the England Test side.

Bairstow was left out for the second match of the series after recovering from an ankle injury which ruled him out of the opener, with Ben Foakes keeping the gloves following an outstanding debut in Galle.

Foakes retained his spot for the third and final Test in Colombo, but there was also a recall for Bairstow and he grasped it with both hands.

The Yorkshireman became the latest player to be auditioned for the troublesome number three spot and rose to the challenge, crafting a superb 110 as the tourists closed on 312-7 on day one.

It would come as a surprise if Bairstow is not at the same place in the order in the West Indies following his sixth Test hundred, but he is not content to play solely as a batsman and hit back at criticism after a spell on the sidelines with an injury sustained playing football.

Passion.

Scorecard: https://t.co/GTvo9U2jKg#SLvENG pic.twitter.com/cdzNq1ks2G

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) November 23, 2018

He told Sky Sports: "It means a lot. There are different things you go through when you get castigated about being injured for doing x, y and z when people haven't actually seen what's gone on.

"The bits behind the scenes, when you're doing your rehab and sleeping on an ice machine, the things that people don't see and yet they have an opinion on it.

"It's all well and good when things are going well and people have an opinion on how well you're playing, but it's the hidden things that they don't see."

Bairstow added when asked about getting behind the stumps again: "There's conversations to be had. I've not given up my keeping, I want to make that very, very clear.

"I'm still working hard on my keeping because it's something I still want to do. I've worked hard for the last nine years so I'm not going to give it up after one or two games that you miss. It's fantastic to have the challenges ahead and I'm happy with my start.

"When challenges arise, you want people to rise with those challenges, and hopefully I've done that.

"You could quite easily take your bat home for whatever's gone on but putting things in perspective and what have you over the last couple of weeks has been massive."