| 0.0 : TOSS - The coin goes up for the first time in this series and it lands in the favour of Ben Stokes. England have opted to BOWL first. |
| West Indies (Playing XI) - Kraigg Brathwaite (C), Mikyle Louis (On debut), Alick Athanaze, Kirk Mckenzie, Kavem Hodge, Joshua Da Silva (WK), Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales. |
| England (Playing XI) - Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith (WK) (On debut), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson (On debut), Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson. |
| James Anderson's family will have the honour of ringing the 5-minute bell at Lord's. We are done with the National Anthems for both the teams and are now in all readiness for the game to begin! The two umpires make their way out to the middle. |
| 0.1 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, Kraigg Brathwaite and West Indies are underway! James Anderson steams in from over the wicket and goes full in search of swing. Gets a hint of away shape, around off, on a length, Kraigg Brathwaite gets half-forward and gets his bat out in front of the pads to push it to the left of cover for a single. |
| 0.2 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, Hurls it in just outside off, around the sixth stump line, on a fuller length, Mikyle Louis shuffles across and covers the line of the ball to defend it out off the outer half on the off side. |
| 0.3 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, Lands it in with an upright seam, on a good length, just a wee bit of away movement, on off, Mikyle Louis presents a straight bat and blocks it out down the deck. |
| 0.4 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, FOUR! Not in control but Mikyle Louis has the first boundary of his Test career. In and around the off stump, on a good length. Louis did well there not to push at the hard delivery with hard hands, resulting in the edge dribbling between gully and slip cordon for a boundary. |
| 0.5 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, FOUR! In complete control this time! A classy shot by the debutant. |
| 0.6 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 0.0 : Who will bowl from the other end? It will be Chris Woakes to share the new ball! |
| 1.1 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Woakes starts with a loosener, full and on the pads, Kraigg Brathwaite stays balanced in the crease and rolls his wrists to clip it in front of square on the leg side for a couple of runs. |
| 1.2 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, No run. |
| 1.3 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, In the corridor of off, on a short of a length, going away from the batter. Kraigg Brathwaite is happy to let that one go through. |
| 1.4 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Fuller and tighter as well by Woakes, on off, Kraigg Brathwaite gets a solid stride in and defends it right under his eyeline. |
| 1.5 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, 4 Leg byes. |
| 1.6 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Delivers it on a back of a length, on middle and leg, Kraigg Brathwaite waits and nudges it through square leg for a single. |
| 2.1 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, At 133 kph, on off, on a back of a length, Kraigg Brathwaite hops back and gets squared up as the ball holds its line but does enough to keep it out on the off side. |
| 2.2 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, No run. |
| 2.3 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, Goes full now does Anderson, attacking the stumps and it nips back in, Kraigg Brathwaite opts to stay back in his crease and gets his bat out in front to knock it back to the bowler. |
| 2.4 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, Varies his length does Anderson by dragging it back and gets good inward movement off the deck, on middle and leg, Kraigg Brathwaite hangs back and pats it on the leg side. |
| 2.5 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, On the sixth stump line, on a short of a good length, angling in, Kraigg Brathwaite gets right on top of the bounce and defends it out on the off side. |
| 2.6 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, A maiden by Anderson! Shaping in, on a hard length and over off, Kraigg Brathwaite rides the bounce nicely and presents a straight bat to push it down the deck. |
| 3.1 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, A big shout for LBW but looked to be going down leg. Yes, Chris Woakes indicates the same to the keeper, Jamie Smith. |
| 3.2 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, 1 run. |
| 3.3 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Hurries the batter up does Woakes, on a hard length, jagging back in, on the pads, Kraigg Brathwaite hops back to fend it down on the leg side. |
| 3.4 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Beaten! |
| 3.5 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, No run. |
| 3.6 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, This is bowled on a back of a length, on off, Kraigg Brathwaite gets on top of the bounce and stabs it down on the off side. |
| 4.1 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, Leg bye. |
| 4.2 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, At 131 kph, shaping in, on a hard length, over off, Kraigg Brathwaite hops back and pushes it out to cover. |
| 4.3 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, No run. |
| 4.4 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, A jaffa by Anderson! Slanting in, on a hard length with a wobble seam, in the corridor of off, Kraigg Brathwaite has a feel for the delivery and pushes at the delivery away from his body. Gets squared up before being beaten on the outside edge. |
| 4.5 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, And again! |
| 4.6 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, The West Indian skipper gets solidly behind this one! Shaping in, on a hard length, on off, Kraigg Brathwaite shuffles across and gets right behind the line of the ball to defend it out. |
| 5.1 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 5.2 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Swinging away from a good length, just outside off, Mikyle Louis gets a good stride in and blocks it out right under his eyeline. |
| 5.3 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Play and a miss! Nipping away after hitting the deck, on a back of a length, Mikyle Louis has a half-heated push at the away going delivery and is lucky not to nick this one behind. |
| 5.4 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Woakes pitches it up, on off, Mikyle Louis gets his weight on the front foot and times the drive to mid off. |
| 5.5 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 5.6 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, FOUR! Short and punished! Woakes goes wide of the crease on that over-the-wicket angle but errs in line and length. Bowls it short and wide on off, Mikyle Louis reaches out and cuts it past backward point for a boundary. |
| 6.1 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, Leg bye! Anderson slips on the pads, on a hard length, Kraigg Brathwaite gets into a bit of a tangle as he looks to fend this one away on the leg side. The ball comes off the thigh pad and rolls behind for a leg bye. |
| 6.2 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 6.3 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, Anderson bends his back and digs it in short, at the batter, Mikyle Louis gets rushed in his pull shot but does well to control the pull. Swivels and hits it along the ground past square leg for a single. |
| 6.4 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, At 134 kph, into the wicket and nipping back in, on off, Kraigg Brathwaite gets on his toes to ride the bounce and defends it back to the bowler. |
| 6.5 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, No run. |
| 6.6 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, Just outside off, on a short of a length, Kraigg Brathwaite stands tall and punches it along the ground but straight to cover. First half hour safely negotiated by the West Indies openers. |
| 7.1 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, A hint of away shape, on off, on a length, Mikyle Louis allows the ball to come to him and drops it with soft hands to the left of cover for a single. |
| 7.2 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Woakes goes into the deck, on off, Kraigg Brathwaite waits for the ball to arrive and hops to glide the ball late to the left of backward point for a couple of runs. |
| 7.3 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Good-length delivery, shaping away, outside off, Kraigg Brathwaite shuffles across slightly and leaves the ball alone. |
| 7.4 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Delivers it on a short of a length, outside off, Kraigg Brathwaite hangs back in his crease and stabs it down to backward point. |
| 7.5 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Nicely bowled! Angling in and then going away slightly from over the wicket, fuller and on off and middle, Kraigg Brathwaite gets right behind the line of the ball and taps it to mid on. |
| 7.6 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, An absolute beauty! Honing in and around the fifth stump line, on a fuller length, Kraigg Brathwaite hangs back to a delivery he should have played off the front foot. Presents a straight bat to keep it out but the ball nips away after pitching and zips past the bat. |
| 8.1 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 8.2 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, And again! |
| 8.3 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, Anderson goes wide of the crease and lands it fuller, on off, Mikyle Louis defends it right under his eyeline on the off side. |
| 8.4 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 8.5 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, Goes wide of the crease yet again does Anderson on that over-the-wicket angle. Tailing back in, on off, on a length, Mikyle Louis ekes out an inside edge onto the pads as he looks to defend it on the front foot. |
| 8.6 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, Almost dragged it on! |
| 9.1 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Confident leave! Full and swinging away, outside off, Mikyle Louis reads it well and gets a good stride in before shouldering arms. |
| 9.2 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Full again by Woakes and shaping away, Mikyle Louis is happy to leave the ball alone. |
| 9.3 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, This nips back in by Woakes, full and attacking the stumps, Mikyle Louis accounts for the ball coming into him and defends it out with a straight bat. |
| 9.4 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 9.5 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, SIX! Oh, hello! Where did that come from? Woakes errs in line and bowls it full, on the pads, Mikyle Louis does not miss out as he flicks it nonchalantly off his pads and clears the deep backward square leg fence for a six. |
| 9.6 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Good comeback by Woakes! |
| 0.0 : Will we see a bowling change from Ben Stokes? Yes, we will! The debutant, Gus Atkinson is introduced into the attack. |
| 10.1 : Gus Atkinson to Kraigg Brathwaite, Atkinson charges in from over the wicket and bowls it in the channel on off, Kraigg Brathwaite stands tall and punches it to cover. |
| 10.2 : Gus Atkinson to Kraigg Brathwaite, OUT! DRAGGED ON! What a start to the Test career for Gus Atkinson! |
| 0.0 : Kirk Mckenzie walks out to bat at number 3 for West Indies. |
| 10.3 : Gus Atkinson to Kirk Mckenzie, No run. |
| 10.4 : Gus Atkinson to Kirk Mckenzie, Gets a good yorker in, at 145 kph, on off, Kirk Mckenzie digs it out safely on the off side. |
| 10.5 : Gus Atkinson to Kirk Mckenzie, Going across the left-hander, on a length, Kirk Mckenzie extends his hands and defends it out in front of his body. |
| 10.6 : Gus Atkinson to Kirk Mckenzie, Gus Atkinson starts his Test career with a wicket-maiden! Drags the length back and slants it across the batter, Kirk Mckenzie shoulders arms. |
| 11.1 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Given caught behind but successfully overturned by Mikyle Louis! |
| 11.2 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Attacks the stumps on a fuller length, Mikyle Louis gets his bat ahead and blocks it well. |
| 11.3 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, 1 run. |
| 11.4 : Chris Woakes to Kirk Mckenzie, No run. |
| 11.5 : Chris Woakes to Kirk Mckenzie, No run. |
| 11.6 : Chris Woakes to Kirk Mckenzie, Fuller and on off, Kirk Mckenzie prods a bit and pushes it to mid off. |
| 12.1 : Gus Atkinson to Mikyle Louis, Play and a miss! Full and in the channel on off, Mikyle Louis goes for the drive but misses. |
| 12.2 : Gus Atkinson to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 12.3 : Gus Atkinson to Mikyle Louis, A tighter line, on a good length, on off, Mikyle Louis defends it right under his eyeline. |
| 12.4 : Gus Atkinson to Mikyle Louis, Bangs it on a hard length, outside off, Mikyle Louis drops his wrists and sways away from the line of the ball. |
| 12.5 : Gus Atkinson to Mikyle Louis, Jagging back in sharply, on a hard length, at 141 kph, on middle, Mikyle Louis fails to get his bat in the line of the ball and wears it on the thigh pad. |
| 12.6 : Gus Atkinson to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 0.0 : The Captain, Ben Stokes brings himself into the attack. |
| 13.1 : Ben Stokes to Kirk Mckenzie, Starts well does Ben Stokes! On a hard length, gets a good lift off the deck, on off, Kirk Mckenzie fends it down the deck. |
| 13.2 : Ben Stokes to Kirk Mckenzie, Goes full but slips it down leg, Kirk Mckenzie thinks about having a tickle but lets it go in the end. |
| 13.3 : Ben Stokes to Kirk Mckenzie, No run. |
| 13.4 : Ben Stokes to Kirk Mckenzie, Angling into the pads, on a good length, Kirk Mckenzie plays it late and rolls his wrists to clip it to square leg. |
| 13.5 : Ben Stokes to Kirk Mckenzie, Mckenzie is off the mark on his 12th ball! |
| 13.6 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 0.0 : DRINKS! At the halfway stage of the opening session, both teams have reasons to be satisfied with their performance so far. However, England might be slightly happier, having secured the breakthrough they were seeking after a resilient start from the West Indian openers. The bowling change worked wonders for Ben Stokes as Gus Atkinson struck on his second delivery, sending the opposing captain Kraigg Brathwaite back to the pavilion. Mikyle Louis is looking solid and will need to navigate |
| 14.1 : Gus Atkinson to Kirk Mckenzie, Comes from over the wicket and bowls it full with a scrambled seam around middle and off, Kirk Mckenzie drives it straight past the bowler and hits the stumps at the bowler's end. |
| 14.2 : Gus Atkinson to Kirk Mckenzie, OUT! CAUGHT! Gus Atkinson gets his second and West Indies are now in some sort of bother after a strong start. |
| 0.0 : Alick Athanaze is the new man in for the West Indies. A bit of rain in the air and it has gone dark. However, the play will continue for now. |
| 14.3 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Angles this one away on a fuller length again, outside off, Alick Athanaze leaves this alone. |
| 14.4 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 14.5 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 14.6 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, On a good length, outside off, Alick Athanaze is happy to let this one go through. |
| 15.1 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Pitches this on a length and outside off, Mikyle Louis leaves it alone for the keeper to collect. |
| 15.2 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, A beauty from Ben Stokes! |
| 15.3 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Angles it in, on a length and outside off, Mikyle Louis blocks it straight to point. |
| 15.4 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, A tad shorter in length and a hint of away movement, outside off, Mikyle Louis shoulders arms at it. |
| 15.5 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, LEG BYES! Looks to attack the pads but angles it in a bit more spraying down leg. Mikyle Louis looks to flick it away but gets beaten. The ball clips his pads and rolls away to fine leg for a single. |
| 15.6 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, Drags the length short and attacks the body of Alick Athanaze who tucks it nicely to deep square for a single to get off the mark. |
| 16.1 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Goes a touch fuller and outside off, Alick Athanaze leans on it well and drives it past point for a couple of runs. |
| 16.2 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 16.3 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, And again! This time on a fuller length outside off, Alick Athanaze is decisive and makes the leave. |
| 16.4 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, On a shortish length, over off, Alick Athanaze stands tall and defends it out with a high elbow. |
| 16.5 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Gets the line tighter and attacks the off stump, on a length, Alick Athanaze waits back and blocks it to the off side. |
| 16.6 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Too full and into the pads, Alick Athanaze tucks it well but finds the fielder at square leg. |
| 17.1 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Hurls from over the wicket and bowls this nice and full, onto that off stump line, Mikyle Louis gets his bat ahead and blocks it solidly to the off side. |
| 17.2 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 17.3 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Hits the length right but bowls it too wide for the batter to play at. Mikyle Louis hangs back and leaves it alone. |
| 17.4 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, A tad closer but still outside off, Mikyle Louis holds his bat high and makes the leave, again! |
| 17.5 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 17.6 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, On a good length and on off, Mikyle Louis blocks it to backward point. |
| 18.1 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Angles this across on a fuller length, outside off, Alick Athanaze shoulders arms at it. |
| 18.2 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 18.3 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 18.4 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 18.5 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Right off the meat of the bat but Ben Stokes does even better to stop it! |
| 18.6 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, On a good length, just outside off, Alick Athanaze leaves it alone. |
| 19.1 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, FOUR! Streaky but Mikyle Louis will take it! |
| 19.2 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Nicely bowled! Hits the length right and gets the ball to shape away off the deck, Mikyle Louis is tentative on the push and gets beaten. |
| 19.3 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 19.4 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, On a length and on off, Mikyle Louis blocks it well to the on side. |
| 19.5 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, An absolute jaffa of a delivery! Ben Stokes is making the ball talk! Hits the deck hard and bowls the inswinger just outside off, Mikyle Louis looks to play at it but is comprehensively beaten on the outside edge. |
| 19.6 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 20.1 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 0.0 : James Anderson returns to the attack, replacing Gus Atkinson. |
| 20.2 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Drags the length down and hurls it on middle and off, Alick Athanaze stabs it back onto the deck. |
| 20.3 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 20.4 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, A tad fuller and on off, Alick Athanaze pushes it to mid-wicket. |
| 20.5 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Errs in line and bowls it down leg and on a shorter length, Alick Athanaze leaves it alone. Jamie Smith does well behind the stumps to dive to his right and grab the ball. |
| 20.6 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, On a good length and into middle and leg, Alick Athanaze blocks it to mid-wicket. |
| 21.1 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Not the ideal start after the last over for Ben Stokes! Bowls it down leg and on a length, Mikyle Louis covers the line and leaves it alone. |
| Has that been taken? England are celebrating but the umpires have asked Mikyle Louis to wait. |
| 21.2 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, OUT! TAKEN! Harry Brook takes a screamer and West Indies lose Mikyle Louis! Ben Stokes steams from over the wicket and bangs the hard length attacking the stumps, the ball straightens off the deck as Mikyle Louis looks to block and the ball catches the outside edge flying to the right of the second slip. Harry Brook times his dive perfectly and takes a very low one-handed catch. |
| Kavem Hodge comes in at number 5. |
| 21.3 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, 1 run. |
| 21.4 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 21.5 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, Digs it short again and over middle and off, Alick Athanaze stays rooted in the crease and blocks it well. |
| 21.6 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, Switches to around the wicket for the last ball and bangs the deck on a short of a good length and over off, Alick Athanaze with an angled bat blocks it back onto the deck. |
| 22.1 : James Anderson to Kavem Hodge, Lands this full and around the fifth stump line, with some away movement off the surface, Kavem Hodge watches the line closely and makes the leave. |
| 22.2 : James Anderson to Kavem Hodge, Attacks the stumps on a fuller length, Kavem Hodge is hurried a bit but manages to get his bat down and blocks it to the off side. |
| 22.3 : James Anderson to Kavem Hodge, Full and on middle and off, Kavem Hodge pushes it back to the bowler with a straight bat. |
| 22.4 : James Anderson to Kavem Hodge, No run. |
| 22.5 : James Anderson to Kavem Hodge, Hits the hard length, on top of off, Kavem Hodge covers the line and blocks it with a straight bat. |
| 22.6 : James Anderson to Kavem Hodge, A single to end the over! James Anderson angles this into the right-hander on middle and leg, on a length, Kavem Hodge tucks it away to deep square leg for a single. |
| 23.1 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, A tad too full and into the pads, Kavem Hodge clips it nicely but straight to the fielder at mid-wicket. |
| 23.2 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, Full and outside off, Kavem Hodge is happy to make the leave. |
| 23.3 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, Bowls it wider on off and on a length, Kavem Hodge holds his bat high and lets the ball go through to the keeper. |
| 23.4 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, Attacks the stumps and bowls it fractionally fuller on a length, Kavem Hodge get closer to the line and blocks it back onto the pitch. |
| 23.5 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, FOUR! That's some shot! Ben Stokes serves it a touch too full and offers width outside off, Kavem Hodge gets low and crunches it over backward point for a boundary. |
| 23.6 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, On a length and swinging away, outside off, Kavem Hodge shoulders arms. |
| Just under 15 minutes to go for the Lunch interval. |
| 24.1 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Comes from around the wicket and bowls it on a good length and on off, Alick Athanaze stabs it down the deck. |
| 24.2 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Pitches it on a length and attacks the stumps, Alick Athanaze tucks it to square leg for a single. |
| 24.3 : James Anderson to Kavem Hodge, No run. |
| 24.4 : James Anderson to Kavem Hodge, A length delivery on middle and leg, Kavem Hodge looks to block and gets a thick inside edge to the right of fine leg where Shoaib Bashir does well and keeps it down to just two. |
| 24.5 : James Anderson to Kavem Hodge, No run. |
| 24.6 : James Anderson to Kavem Hodge, Hurls it on a good length around the off stump line, Kavem Hodge pushes it to mid-wicket. |
| 25.1 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, Well timed shot that from Alick Athanaze! Ben Stokes angles this across on a shorter length, just outside off, Alick Athanaze just times the punch through covers for three good runs. |
| 25.2 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, No run. |
| 25.3 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, On a good length and on top of off, Kavem Hodge gets closer to the line of the ball and blocks it back to the bowler. |
| 25.4 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, Goes a touch fuller and outside off, Kavem Hodge holds his bat up and makes the leave. |
| 25.5 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, Too full and down leg, Kavem Hodge looks to tickle it away but makes no connection. The keeper, Jamie Smith does well to dive to his left and grab the ball. |
| 25.6 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, Struggling with his line and length here! Hits the deck hard on a length and down leg, Kavem Hodge leaves it alone for the keeper to collect. |
| 26.1 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Comes from around the wicket and angles it into the left-hander on a fuller length and on off, Alick Athanaze presses ahead and blocks it to covers. |
| 26.2 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Drags the length a bit a bowls it on middle and leg, Alick Athanaze just tucks it to the leg side off the backfoot. |
| 26.3 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, On a length and into middle and leg, Alick Athanaze hops back and tucks it to deep backward square leg for a single. |
| 26.4 : James Anderson to Kavem Hodge, FOUR! Cut away nicely by Hodge! James Anderson bowls it short of a length and outside off, with no real pace behind it. Kavem Hodge hangs back and cuts it through backward point region for a nice looking boundary. |
| 26.5 : James Anderson to Kavem Hodge, No run. |
| 26.6 : James Anderson to Kavem Hodge, No run. |
| 27.1 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, Bangs this one short and angling down middle and leg, Alick Athanaze looks to pull but then withdraws the shot. |
| 0.0 : Last over before Lunch coming up. It will be Ben Stokes to bowl with deep backward square leg and deep square in place, signalling the short ball ploy to the left-hander Alick Athanaze. |
| 27.2 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, Fuller in length and outside off, Alick Athanaze pushes it straight to covers. |
| 27.3 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 27.4 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, A tad fuller in length, outside off, Alick Athanaze pushes it to point. |
| 27.5 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, Misses the line and length, yet again! Probably exhausted! Hits the deck on a shorter length and sprays it down leg. Jamie Smith does well to grab it on his right. |
| 27.6 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, Pitches it wider on off this time and on a shorter length, Alick Athanaze makes the leave and it will be LUNCH on DAY 1. |
| 0.0 : End of an attritional session of Test cricket, one where neither of the two sides will be too happy or too disappointed with the proceedings. West Indies started well but lost three quick wickets but one feels that they have gotten through the toughest phase of batting. Facing Anderson and Woakes in challenging conditions was always going to be a test for the West Indies openers. Mikyle Louis and Kraigg Brathwaite initially gave a good account of themselves, with Louis quick to punish loose |
| As far as England are concerned, they will be pleased with the way they fought back after a quiet first 40 minutes or so. James Anderson and Chris Woakes started the proceedings for England but were guilty of bowling too short, failing to induce false shots from the batters. This resulted in a wicketless first half hour for England on a slow, docile wicket. The introduction of extra pace did the trick for the hosts as debutant Gus Atkinson struck with his second delivery in Test cricket and to |
| ... DAY 1, SESSION 2 ... |
| Welcome back for the start of the second session. The skies continue to be overcast as Ben Stokes and his men head back out for the start of play. Kavem Hodge and Alick Athanaze are all set to resume their innings with the latter taking the first strike. |
| 28.1 : Gus Atkinson to Kavem Hodge, Four! |
| 28.2 : Gus Atkinson to Kavem Hodge, Hits the deck on a length and angles it into the right-hander on middle and off, Kavem Hodge blocks it back onto the deck. |
| 28.3 : Gus Atkinson to Kavem Hodge, Attacks the stumps on a fuller length, Kavem Hodge pushes it to mid on. |
| 28.4 : Gus Atkinson to Kavem Hodge, Hurls it on a back of a length and on off, Kavem Hodge hops back deep in the crease and blocks it to cover. |
| 28.5 : Gus Atkinson to Kavem Hodge, No run. |
| 28.6 : Gus Atkinson to Kavem Hodge, A fuller length delivery on off, Kavem Hodge pushes it to backward point. |
| Who will bowl from the other end? It will be Chris Woakes. |
| 29.1 : Chris Woakes to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 29.2 : Chris Woakes to Alick Athanaze, On a good length and on middle and off, Alick Athanaze blocks it to mid off. |
| 29.3 : Chris Woakes to Alick Athanaze, Angles it across on a hard length just outside off, Alick Athanaze transfers his weight back and punches it straight to cover. |
| 29.4 : Chris Woakes to Alick Athanaze, FOUR! Timed to perfection! |
| 29.5 : Chris Woakes to Alick Athanaze, FOUR! A little bit more power this time from Alick Athanaze, but the timing tops it! Fuller and outside off again from Woakes, Alick Athanaze leans on it and drives it through covers for back-to-back boundaries. |
| 29.6 : Chris Woakes to Alick Athanaze, Hits the length, on off, Alick Athanaze prods and blocks it dead straight under his eyes. |
| 30.1 : Gus Atkinson to Kavem Hodge, Nicley left! Angled in on a good length, on the fifth stump line. The ball nips back in a bit but Kavem Hodge knows where his off stump is and makes a deliberate leave. |
| 30.2 : Gus Atkinson to Kavem Hodge, Short of a length and around that off stump line, Kavem Hodge punches it straight to mid off. |
| 30.3 : Gus Atkinson to Kavem Hodge, Shorter again and wider of off stump, Kavem Hodge opens his bat face and steers it to the fielder at point. |
| 30.4 : Gus Atkinson to Kavem Hodge, Six! |
| 30.5 : Gus Atkinson to Kavem Hodge, Nicely timed shot but will only fetch him a single! Short of a length again, over middle, Kavem Hodge waits back and pulls it along the ground to deep square leg for one. |
| 30.6 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Slightly shorter than a length over off, Alick Athanaze just dabs it in front of cover and the batters scamper across for a quick single. |
| 31.1 : Chris Woakes to Alick Athanaze, Comes from around the wicket and lands it on a good length outside off, Alick Athanaze hangs back and rides the bounce well before driving it to left of point. |
| 31.2 : Chris Woakes to Alick Athanaze, On a good length and outside off again, Alick Athanaze blocks it to mid off. |
| 31.3 : Chris Woakes to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 31.4 : Chris Woakes to Alick Athanaze, Timed well but Chris Woakes does even better to get a hand to it! Full and swinging into the stumps, Alick Athanaze with a full face of the bat drives it sweetly straight down the deck. Chris Woakes get his left hand low and manages to divert the ball straight to the fielder at mid on. |
| 31.5 : Chris Woakes to Alick Athanaze, 1 run. |
| 31.6 : Chris Woakes to Kavem Hodge, No run. |
| 32.1 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, On a good length and into the stumps, Alick Athanaze blocks it straight back to the bowler. |
| 32.2 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Drags the length down a bit over off, Alick Athanaze dabs it to cover off the backfoot. |
| 32.3 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Four! |
| 32.4 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Counters with a good length delivery outside off, Alick Athanaze pushes it through covers for a single. |
| 32.5 : Gus Atkinson to Kavem Hodge, No run. |
| 32.6 : Gus Atkinson to Kavem Hodge, A fraction fuller than a good length and into the pads, Kavem Hodge clips it square of the wicket on the leg side and takes a single to retain the strike. |
| 33.1 : Chris Woakes to Kavem Hodge, Comes from over the wicket and bowls an away swinger, on a good length, outside off, Kavem Hodge waits back and pushes it to backward point. |
| 33.2 : Chris Woakes to Kavem Hodge, Another similar delivery a tad further away from the off stump line, Kavem Hodge blocks it to the off side. |
| 33.3 : Chris Woakes to Kavem Hodge, No run. |
| 33.4 : Chris Woakes to Kavem Hodge, Goes full and angles it into the stumps, Kavem Hodge blocks it well under his eyeline. |
| 33.5 : Chris Woakes to Kavem Hodge, Attacks the off stump on a fuller length, Kavem Hodge just covers the line and blocks it to cover. |
| 33.6 : Chris Woakes to Kavem Hodge, No run. |
| 34.1 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Pitches it up on off, Alick Athanaze drives it to mid off. |
| 34.2 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, OUT! CAUGHT! Gus Atkinson has three and this has been an exceptional start to his Test career! |
| 0.0 : Jason Holder walks out to the middle now. Only one recognised batter remaining after this for West Indies in the form of Joshua Da Silva. |
| 34.3 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, OUT! TAKEN! A golden duck for Jason Holder on his return to the side! Things just got from bad to worse for the West Indies! |
| Joshua Da Silva comes out to face the hat-trick ball. |
| 34.4 : Gus Atkinson to Joshua Da Silva, With the crowd behind him, Gus Atkinson bowls this on a length and on off, Joshua Da Silva presses ahead and blocks it back onto the deck. |
| 34.5 : Gus Atkinson to Joshua Da Silva, OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! Gus Atkinson making bowling look incredibly easy! A five-fer on debut! |
| 0.0 : The vice-captain Alzarri Joseph is the new man in. In the space of 4 balls, England are into the tail all of a sudden. |
| 34.6 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, Nasty blow on the helmet to end the over! Atkinson steams from over the wicket and bangs the deck hard on a shorter length on off, Alzarri Joseph is late on his duck and gets stung on the top of his helmet. Gus Atkinson ends with a 3-wicket maiden to put England well ahead in the game. |
| 35.1 : Chris Woakes to Kavem Hodge, No run. |
| 35.2 : Chris Woakes to Kavem Hodge, An outswinger outside off, Kavem Hodge holds his bat high and makes the leave. |
| 35.3 : Chris Woakes to Kavem Hodge, OUT! c Ollie Pope b Chris Woakes. |
| 0.0 : Gudakesh Motie is in at number 9 with the West Indies in tatters. |
| 35.4 : Chris Woakes to Gudakesh Motie, Bowls this outside off and on a length, Gudakesh Motie punches it to point. |
| 35.5 : Chris Woakes to Gudakesh Motie, Hits the length right over middle and off and gets the ball to nip back into the left-hander, Gudakesh Motie looks to keep it out but gets an inside edge onto his pads. |
| 35.6 : Chris Woakes to Gudakesh Motie, And again! Length delivery on off, Gudakesh Motie tries to push it through covers but gets an inside edge back onto his pads. |
| 36.1 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, Comes from over the wicket and bowls an away swinger outside off and on a fuller length, Alzarri Joseph watches the ball closely and leaves it alone. |
| 36.2 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, Four! |
| 36.3 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, FOUR! Two-in-two for Alzarri Joseph! Gus Atkinson errs in line and sprays it onto the pads and on a length, Alzarri Joseph covers the line and tucks it to fine leg fence for a boundary. |
| 36.4 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, Four! |
| 36.5 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, No run. |
| 36.6 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, Four! |
| 37.1 : Chris Woakes to Gudakesh Motie, No run. |
| 37.2 : Chris Woakes to Gudakesh Motie, No run. |
| 37.3 : Chris Woakes to Gudakesh Motie, Goes searching for the swing on a fuller length delivery on off, Gudakesh Motie drives it to mid off. |
| 37.4 : Chris Woakes to Gudakesh Motie, No run. |
| 37.5 : Chris Woakes to Gudakesh Motie, 1 run. |
| 37.6 : Chris Woakes to Alzarri Joseph, Takes pace off and attacks the pads on a fuller length, Alzarri Joseph clips it to deep square leg for a single. |
| 38.1 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, OUT! CAUGHT! Another one against the name of Gus Atkinson and this is starting to feel like a dream for the debutant! |
| 0.0 : Shamar Joseph walks out to bat. |
| 38.2 : Gus Atkinson to Shamar Joseph, A big shout for LBW, but it certainly did too much! Probably missing leg! Atkinson goes full and into middle and leg with an inward swing, Shamar Joseph looks to flick but is beaten onto his front pad. |
| 38.3 : Gus Atkinson to Shamar Joseph, OUT! CAUGHT! Another one bites the dust and Gus Atkinson is in the mood to shackle a few records on debut! |
| 0.0 : Jayden Seales is the last man in for the West Indies. Gus Atkinson has a shot at history here. No English debutant has taken 8 or more wickets on his Test debut. He is just one wicket away from achieving that feat. |
| 38.4 : Gus Atkinson to Jayden Seales, 1 run. |
| 38.5 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, Shorter in length and outside off, Gudakesh Motie leaves it alone. |
| 38.6 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, Hits the deck on a hard length, outside off, Gudakesh Motie looks to cut it square on off but gets beaten. |
| 39.1 : James Anderson to Jayden Seales, No run. |
| 39.2 : James Anderson to Jayden Seales, A loosener from James Anderson! Bowls this wayward on off and on a fuller length, Jayden Seales leaves it alone. |
| 39.3 : James Anderson to Jayden Seales, Gets the line right this time and lands it on a good length on middle and leg, Jayden Seales tucks it to the square leg region for a single. |
| 39.4 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, Four! |
| 39.5 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, Bowls it into the pads, on a fuller length, Gudakesh Motie looks to tuck it away but gets beaten onto his front pad. |
| 39.6 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, 1 run. |
| 40.1 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, FOUR! Adding gold to the scoreboard here is Gudakesh Motie! Served wider on off and on a fuller length, Gudakesh Motie lenas on it and drives it neatly through point for a boundary. |
| 40.2 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, Brings out the bouncer and digs it really short over middle and leg, Gudakesh Motie wasn't expecting this but does well to duck under it. |
| 40.3 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, No run. |
| 40.4 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, No run. |
| 40.5 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, Another top delivery and the ball beats the bat again! Pitches it on a hard length in the channel on off, Gudakesh Motie looks to play with a straight bat but gets beaten on the outside edge. Relatively closer than the previous one! |
| 40.6 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, Four! |
| 41.1 : James Anderson to Jayden Seales, Comes from over the wicket and bowls it on a length and into the pads, Jayden Seales blocks it to mid-wicket. |
| 41.2 : James Anderson to Jayden Seales, No run. |
| 41.3 : James Anderson to Jayden Seales, Pitches it on a length and just outside off, the ball nips back in sharply beating the inside edge of the bat and flies over the stumps. |
| 41.4 : James Anderson to Jayden Seales, OUT! LBW! A huge appeal and up goes the dreaded finger! James Anderson finally gets a wicket to wrap the West Indies for just 121 runs on the board. |
| 0.0 : Well, things escalated pretty quickly after Lunch, didn't they? This has been a collapse of some enormity for the West Indies. Gus Atkinson was the chief architect of the Windies collapse, returning figures of 7 for 45, including 5 maidens on Test debut. Nothing short of a dream debut for the 26-year-old right arm-pacer as he leads the England team back into the dressing room. Half an hour into the second session, West Indies were going along rather nicely with both Alick Athanaze and Kavem |
| Just as Athanaze and Hodge were beginning to put England under the pump through their intent, Atkinson struck thrice in a single over before Chris Woakes got into the act to reduce the West Indies from 88/3 to 88/7. Atkinson ran through the tail and then Anderson completed the formalities by picking the last wicket. West Indies will be very disappointed with their batting effort, especially after the way they started both sessions. With the skies likely to stay overcast, West Indies will hav |
| ... SECOND INNINGS ... |
| Welcome back for England's reply. |
| 0.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, No run. |
| 0.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Play and a miss! Much better by Joseph, making the batter play, on the sixth stump line, shaping away, Zak Crawley fishes at the delivery and gets beaten on the outside edge. |
| 0.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, A direct hit and Zak Crawley was a goner! |
| 0.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, No run. |
| 0.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, 1 run. |
| 0.6 : Who will bowl now? |
| Alzarri Joseph to Ben Duckett, No run. |
| 1.1 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, No run. |
| 1.2 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, No run. |
| 1.3 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Swinging away, fuller and outside off, Zak Crawley gets his weight on the front foot and pushes it out to cover. |
| 1.4 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Pulls the length back and bowls it outside off, Zak Crawley gets on his toes and dabs it down to backward point. |
| 1.5 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Going down leg, on the pads, on a length, Zak Crawley misses the tickle as the ball brushes his pads and rolls away to the keeper. |
| 1.6 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Honing in at the stumps, much fuller, Zak Crawley gets right behind the line of the ball and pats it to mid on. Seales starts with a maiden! |
| 2.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Ben Duckett, Joseph hits the hard length, on middle and leg, Ben Duckett gets on his toes and nudges it away to deep backward square leg for a single to get off the mark. |
| 2.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, On a shortish length, outside off, Zak Crawley stands tall to cut it away but chops it down on the off side and gets called through for a quick single by Ben Duckett. |
| 2.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Ben Duckett, Slanting away, fuller and on off, Ben Duckett gets on the front foot and defends it right under his eyeline. |
| 2.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Ben Duckett, Good-length delivery, straight at the stumps, Ben Duckett tucks it off the inner half of the bat to mid-wicket. |
| 2.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Ben Duckett, Changes his angle attack of does Joseph as he comes in from around the wicket and serves it on a good length, on off, Ben Duckett works it with the angle to mid-wicket. |
| 2.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Ben Duckett, So nearly chopped it on! Cramping the batter up for room, on a short of a length, on off, Ben Duckett is unable to free his arms to get the cut shot away and gets a bottom edge on it. The ball rolls past his feet but stays away from the stumps. |
| 3.1 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, At 138 kph, on a good length, just outside off, Zak Crawley blocks it out right under his eyeline. |
| 3.2 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Edged away! Angling in from over the wicket, on off, on a good length, Zak Crawley looks to push it down the ground but plays it with soft hands. Gets an outside edge that races past gully for a boundary. |
| 3.3 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Nothing streaky about this one! |
| 3.4 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Missed out! Too straight, full and on going down leg, Zak Crawley fails to glance it away off his pads. |
| 3.5 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Bangs it on a hard length, over off, Zak Crawley gets on his toes and dabs it down the deck. |
| 3.6 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Tighter line, over off, on a hard length, Zak Crawley rides the bounce nicely and punches it to cover. |
| 4.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Ben Duckett, Leg bye! Slanting in from around the wicket, on a hard length, on middle and leg, Ben Duckett goes for a short-arm jab but misses and the ball comes off his thigh pad. Rolls away on the leg side for a leg bye. |
| 4.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, 1 run. |
| 4.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Ben Duckett, DROPPED! Mikyle Louis shells it! Straight in and out. Short and outside off, Ben Duckett goes after it and slaps it hard towards point. It goes at a good height towards Mikyle Louis who fails to hold on as the ball hits his wrists and comes out. |
| 4.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Ben Duckett, No ball! |
| Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Attacking the stumps with a good-length delivery, Zak Crawley clips it well but picks out the man at mid-wicket. |
| 4.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Shouts of 'catch it' but it is well wide! |
| 4.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Goes full in search of swing and gets a good away shape, outside off, Zak Crawley leans on it and drives it through covers. Gets this one off the toe end of the bat and therefore, the ball does not have enough legs to reach the fence. |
| 5.1 : Jayden Seales to Ben Duckett, Sharp movement and bounce! This jags back in from Seales off a hard length, over middle, Ben Duckett hops and fends it down awkwardly off his gloves down the deck. |
| 5.2 : Jayden Seales to Ben Duckett, Going across the left-hander, on a back of a length, on off, Ben Duckett punches it wide of cover and takes a single. |
| 5.3 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, At 140 kph, touch fuller and shaping away, on off, Zak Crawley pushes it with a slightly open bat face towards point. |
| 5.4 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Keeps it in the channel on off, outside off and it is the away swinger again. Zak Crawley makes the leave watchfully. |
| 5.5 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Slanting in, on middle, on a hard length, Zak Crawley looks to work it across the line but closes the bat face early and gets a soft leading towards point. |
| 5.6 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Length delivery, shaping away, around off, Zak Crawley leans on it and drives it to the left of mid off for a single to keep the strike. |
| 6.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Nice shot! Joseph goes into the wicket, on off, Zak Crawley stands tall and presents a nice high elbow to punch it through covers for a couple of runs. |
| 6.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, No run. |
| 6.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Fuller and in and around the sixth stump line, Zak Crawley covers his off stump and shoulders arms. |
| 6.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Lovely shot! Joseph slips in a delivery that slants back in, on a good length, on middle and leg, Zak Crawley reads it well and stays balanced in the crease to clip it to the right of mid on for a boundary. |
| 6.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Crawley is lucky not to have nicked this one behind! |
| 6.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Bangs it on a hard length, outside off, Zak Crawley looks to drive it on the up again but miscues the shot back to the bowler. |
| 7.1 : Jayden Seales to Ben Duckett, Going across the batter, on off, on a good length, Ben Duckett goes for the drive away from the body and gets beaten on the outside edge. |
| 7.2 : Jayden Seales to Ben Duckett, OUT! EDGED AND GONE! Jayden Seales with the first strike for the West Indies! Gets his reward for keeping it full and making the batter drive. |
| 0.0 : Ollie Pope walks out to bat at number 3 for England. |
| 7.3 : Jayden Seales to Ollie Pope, Steams from over the wicket and hits the length right outside off, Ollie Pope holds his bat high and leaves this one alone. |
| 7.4 : Jayden Seales to Ollie Pope, Goes fuller in search of swing, on off, Ollie Pope presses ahead and drives it through covers for a single to get off the mark. |
| 7.5 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Lands it on a good length, outside off with some away movement, Zak Crawley watches the ball closely and leaves it alone. |
| 7.6 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, An optimistic shout for LBW! That looked high and seemed to be going down leg. Nipping back in sharply, on a hard length, on middle and leg, Zak Crawley gets taken aback as the ball jags back in and catches him high on the thigh pad. That will be TEA on DAY 1! |
| 0.0 : End of a thrilling session, and England are firmly in control against the West Indies at the end of the second session on Day 1. It was debutant Gus Atkinson who turned the game around in the first session, and he did it again in the second. Just as a partnership was starting to build for the West Indies, Atkinson stepped in and took three wickets in a single over, putting England decisively in the driver's seat. Chris Woakes and James Anderson then contributed with a wicket each, wrapping |
| At the start of the second session, West Indies came out with an aggressive approach, finding the boundary with ease. Just when the partnership between Alick Athanaze and Kavem Hodge was beginning to flourish, Athanaze's wicket proved to be the turning point. After his dismissal, things quickly went from bad to worse as the team lost wickets in clusters. Alzarri Joseph attempted a counter-attacking approach but was soon dismissed, leading to West Indies losing 7 wickets for just 33 runs and bein |
| ... DAY 1, SESSION 3 ... |
| We are back with the final session of the day! The umpires make their way out to the middle followed by Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope who are set to resume their stay at the crease. Alzarri Joseph will open the bowling for West Indies. Here we go! |
| 8.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Ollie Pope, FOUR! A gift for Ollie Pope to start proceedings after Tea! Alzarri Joseph bowls it short and wide on off, Ollie Pope lets the ball come to him and cuts it late to the left of backward point for a boundary. |
| 8.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Ollie Pope, FOUR! Two in two for Ollie Pope. A confident start by England's number 3. Joseph compensates by bowling it full, on off, Ollie Pope leans on the drive and plays it to the right of mid off for four more runs. |
| 8.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Ollie Pope, More like it by Joseph! |
| 8.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Ollie Pope, FOUR! Third boundary of the over for Pope. Joseph hurls it on a good length, on off, Ollie Pope gets his weight on the front foot and caresses it past cover for yet another boundary. |
| 8.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Ollie Pope, 1 run. |
| 8.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Oh, that seemed to have kept a bit low! |
| 9.1 : Jayden Seales to Ollie Pope, Comes from over the wicket and hits the good length, outside the off stump line, Ollie Pope lets it go through to the keeper. |
| 9.2 : Jayden Seales to Ollie Pope, Angles this one back into the right-hander on a length and into the bodyline, Ollie Pope tucks it across the line to square leg. |
| 9.3 : Jayden Seales to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 9.4 : Jayden Seales to Ollie Pope, LEG BYES! Looks for the yorker but sprays it on leg, Ollie Pope wasn't expecting it and looks to flick but is late on his shot. The ball clips him low on the pad and trickles away to fine leg for a single. |
| 9.5 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Leg bye. |
| 9.6 : Jayden Seales to Ollie Pope, FOUR! Top shot by Pope! 4th boundary for Pope in 12 balls. Seales tries to bang it into the wicket, on off, not short enough to trouble the batter, Ollie Pope gets on his toes, rolls his wrists nicely and plays a controlled pull shot behind square on the leg side for a boundary. |
| 10.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Honing in and around the off pole, on a good length, Zak Crawley gets a good stride in and defends it right under his eyeline. |
| 10.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Slants it back in again, on off, on a length, Zak Crawley keeps his bat close to his front pad and blocks it down the deck. |
| 10.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, An absolute beauty by Joseph! Bowled with a scrambled seam by Joseph, on a good length, outside off, Zak Crawley makes the mistake of playing away from his body as he goes for it with a straight bat. The ball holds its line and zips past the bat. |
| 10.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Serves it on a back of a length, a hint of away movement, outside off, Zak Crawley thinks about having a go but withdraws his bat in the end and lets it go. |
| 10.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, No run. |
| 10.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Hurls it on a back of a length, outside off, Zak Crawley swivels for the pull but the ball climbs on him and Crawley cannot connect. |
| 11.1 : Jayden Seales to Ollie Pope, Seales attacks the stumps with a good-length delivery, on middle, Ollie Pope looks to defend in front of his body but gets squared up as the ball nips away slightly and squirts it off the outer half of the bat towards gully. |
| 11.2 : Jayden Seales to Ollie Pope, On a length, sliding onto the pads, Ollie Pope clips it wide of mid-wicket for a single. |
| 11.3 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Delivers it on a back of a length, around off, Zak Crawley stands tall and then presses forward to punch it through covers for a couple of runs. |
| 11.4 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Crawley misses out on the pull yet again! This comes at waist height, on off, Zak Crawley expects the ball to bounce a bit more and swings for the pull. He misses as the ball goes under the bat and goes over the off pole. |
| 11.5 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Almost chipped it back! |
| 11.6 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, A sharp bumper by Seales, over off, Zak Crawley reads it early, drops his wrists and sways away to let the ball go through. |
| 12.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 12.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Ollie Pope, FOUR! Nicely done! Joseph pounds the surface again but this sits up nicely for Ollie Pope who rolls his wrists on the ball and pulls it behind square on the leg side for a boundary. |
| 12.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Ollie Pope, NO BALL! This jags back in a long way, on a hard length, over middle, Ollie Pope fails to keep it out and wears it on the thigh pad. Joseph has overstepped. |
| 12.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Ollie Pope, 1 run. |
| 12.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Play and a miss! |
| 12.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Going away from the batter, on a hard length, Zak Crawley has a slight feel for the delivery but withdraws his bat at the last moment and lets the ball go through. |
| 13.1 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 13.2 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 13.3 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 13.4 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, Four! |
| 13.5 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, 1 run. |
| 13.6 : Shamar Joseph to Zak Crawley, Four! |
| 14.1 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 14.2 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 14.3 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, Four! |
| 14.4 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 14.5 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 14.6 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 15.1 : Shamar Joseph to Zak Crawley, No run. |
| 12.7 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, No run. |
| 15.2 : Shamar Joseph to Zak Crawley, Fuller and at the stumps, Zak Crawley firms the drive but picks out the man at mid on. |
| 15.3 : Shamar Joseph to Zak Crawley, 3 runs. |
| 15.4 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 15.5 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 15.6 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, Strays on the pads, on a length, Ollie Pope flicks it past square leg for a single. |
| 16.1 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, Comes from over the wicket and hits the good length outside off, Ollie Pope cuts it straight to the man at cover. |
| 16.2 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, FOUR! That's just a classic shot to bring up the 50-run stand between these two! Full and outside off, Ollie Pope just leans and creams it through point region for a boundary. |
| 16.3 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 16.4 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 16.5 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, Pitches it up and gets the ball to nip back in from outside the off stump line, Ollie Pope leaves it alone. |
| 16.6 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, On a fuller length and on off, Ollie Pope just blocks it back to the bowler. |
| 17.1 : Shamar Joseph to Zak Crawley, Hits the deck hard and angles it into the right-hander around the waist line, Zak Crawley mistimes his pull to deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 17.2 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, FOUR! Delicately placed! A tad too full in length, outside off, Ollie Pope plants his front leg out and waits for the ball to come to him before placing it beautifully through the gap behind backward point for a boundary. |
| 17.3 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 17.4 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, A top delivery! Draws Ollie Pope into the shot and beats his blade! Pitched on a hard length around fourth stump line and gets the ball to swing away as Pope tries to block it. |
| 17.5 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, An away swinger outside off and on a length, Ollie Pope leaves it alone for the keeper. |
| 17.6 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, Another away swinger but this time slightly closer than the previous one, Ollie Pope hops closer and makes the leave. |
| 18.1 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, Hits the deck outside off and on a length, Zak Crawley holds his stance and watches the ball go past to the keeper. |
| 18.2 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, Charges in and bowls the perfect line just outside off, Zak Crawley is tentative on his push but goes for it with a straight bat and gets beaten comprehensively on the outside edge. |
| 18.3 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Width on offer and Zak Crawley cashes in! Slightly overpitched outside off, Zak Crawley leans on it and drives it to the right of backward point for a boundary. |
| 18.4 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, Swing and a miss! Bangs it on a fuller length, just outside off, Zak Crawley looks to drive it through covers but gets beaten. |
| 18.5 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, A loud appeal for LBW and the Umpire is unmoved! Jason Holder after a long chat with the fielders around him asks the captain to send it upstairs. Comes from over the wicket and angles it into the right-hander on middle and leg. Zak Crawley looks to drag it across the stumps but gets beaten on his front pad. The UltraEdge shows no spike as the ball passes the bat. The BallTracking though shows that the angle was missing the stumps and sliding well beyond the |
| 18.6 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, No run. |
| 0.0 : UPDATE - 9.23 pm IST (3.53 pm GMT) - It has gone dark and the two umpires converge to discuss the light situation. The light meter is out. The umpires feel that the light is not good enough for the play to continue and the players are going off. A few West Indies players are still on the park but the rest have gone into their respective dressing rooms. This shouldn't be a long delay as the sky beyond the stadium looks clear. Stick around for further updates. |
| 19.1 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, Begins on a good length, outside off, it stays a bit low. Ollie Pope goes for the cut but misses. |
| 0.0 : Play all set to resume. |
| 19.2 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 0.0 : UPDATE - Great sign Folks! We now have a restart time. The play is set to resume at 9.45 pm IST (4.15 pm GMT). |
| 19.3 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, Drags the length back and bowls it in the channel on off, Ollie Pope leaves the ball alone. |
| 19.4 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 19.5 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 19.6 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, Short of a length, outside off, shaping away, Ollie Pope lets the ball go through. |
| 20.1 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, Goes full and on off, Zak Crawley drives it nicely but finds the man at mid on. |
| 20.2 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, Angles it into the pads, on a length, Zak Crawley just clips it all along the ground to deep square leg for a single. |
| 20.3 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, Takes some pace off and looks for the yorker into the stumps, Ollie Pope flicks it to mid-wicket. |
| 20.4 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, Pitches it outside off and on a good length, Ollie Pope leaves it alone. |
| 20.5 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, Gets the line closer to the fifth stump and bowls it fuller, Ollie Pope watches the ball well and shoulders arms. |
| 20.6 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, A slight misfield and the batters steal a quick run. Jason Holder bowls this nice and full onto middle and off, Ollie Pope drives it with soft hands to the fielder at cover who backtracks a bit and misjudges the bounce in front of him allowing the batters to scamper across for a run. |
| 21.1 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, A huge appeal for LBW by the bowler alone! Shamar Joseph bowls this full and angling in on middle and leg, Ollie Pope looks for the flick but misses it. The ball pings him flush on the pad. |
| 21.2 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 21.3 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, Fuller and just outside off, Ollie Pope drives it firmly to cover. |
| 21.4 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, Errs in line and bowls this wayward on off and on a length, Ollie Pope with absolutely no foot movement extends his arms and looks for the slash but makes no connection. |
| 21.5 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, Attacks the stumps on a full length, Ollie Pope flicks it neatly to deep backward square leg for a couple of runs. |
| 21.6 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, Goes full and on off, Ollie Pope drives it to mid off. |
| 22.1 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, Continues from over the wicket and lands this on a length outside off, Zak Crawley shoulders arms. |
| 22.2 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, Charges at the stumps on a fuller length at 127 kph, Zak Crawley eases it back to the bowler. |
| 22.3 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Jason Holder finally finds an edge but it dribbles past the second slip for a boundary. Goes full and angles it into the right-hander just outside the off stump line, Zak Crawley looks for the push and gets a thick outside edge past the diving second slip for four runs. |
| 22.4 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, On a length outside off, Zak Crawley leaves it alone. |
| 22.5 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, A tad fuller and onto middle and off, Zak Crawley firms his drive straight to the man at mid off. |
| 22.6 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, Hurls it on a good length, outside off, Zak Crawley waits for the ball and watches it go past to the keeper without offering any shot. |
| 23.1 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, FOUR LEG BYES! Shamar Joseph angles this into the right-hander but sprays it on leg, Ollie Pope looks to tuck it fine and misses. The ball brushes his thigh pad and races away to the fine leg fence for a boundary. |
| 23.2 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 23.3 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, Hurls this on a good length outside off, Ollie Pope leaves it alone. |
| 23.4 : Shamar Joseph to Ollie Pope, Attacks the pads on a fuller length, Ollie Pope misses out on the flick and the ball clips him on the front pad trickling away to square leg for a single. Leg byes called! |
| 23.5 : Shamar Joseph to Zak Crawley, Four! |
| 23.6 : Shamar Joseph to Zak Crawley, Lands it on a length and into middle and leg, Zak Crawley clips it through deep mid-wicket for a couple of runs. |
| 24.1 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 24.2 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 24.3 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, 1 run. |
| 24.4 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, Angling in, fuller at 128 kph, on off, Zak Crawley covers the line of the ball and blocks it out. |
| 24.5 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, Comes back in a long way, full and on off, Zak Crawley initially shapes up for the big booming drive but adjusts well to push it to mid off. |
| 24.6 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, Swinging away, on a length, in the channel on off, Zak Crawley watchfully leaves it alone. |
| 25.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Ollie Pope, Digs this fractionally short of a good length and hits the deck hard over off, Ollie Pope looks for the pull but is a bit too late on the shot. The ball crashes high onto his thigh. |
| 25.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Ollie Pope, Fuller and outside off, Ollie Pope stays deep in the crease and eases it to backward point. |
| 25.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 25.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Ollie Pope, 3 runs. |
| 25.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Ollie Pope, FOUR! What a nice shot to bring up his FIFTY! Alzarri Joseph overpitches this outside off, Ollie Pope leans on it and drives it through point region for a boundary. |
| 25.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Another boundary and it is Zak Crawley that gets to his FIFTY this time! Alzarri Joseph digs it short but not short enough to trouble the batter. The ball sits up nicely as Zak Crawley picks up the length and pulls it along the ground to deep mid-wicket fence for a boundary. |
| 26.1 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, No run. |
| 26.2 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, FOUR! Easy pickings this for Ollie Pope! Jason Holder slants this one into the right-hander on a fuller length and into the pads, Ollie Pope flicks it beautifully through square leg for a boundary. |
| 26.3 : Jason Holder to Ollie Pope, OUT! LBW! Jason Holder gets the much needed breakthrough for West Indies! Comes from over the wicket and bowls a full length delivery into the stumps, ranging into middle and leg. Ollie Pope looks to flick this one away too but fails to make the connection. The ball wears him low on the front pad and the umpire raises his finger. Ollie Pope sends it upstairs for a review and the UltraEdge shows no spike. The Ball Tracking confirms all three reds and the onfie |
| 0.0 : Joe Root is in at number 4. |
| 26.4 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Goes full and outside off, Joe Root prods ahead and leaves it alone. |
| 26.5 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Full and into the stumps, Joe Root flicks it to mid on and gets a single to get off the mark. |
| 26.6 : Jason Holder to Zak Crawley, Full again and on off, Zak Crawley drives it well to the left of mid off who does well to stop and keep it down to just a single. |
| 27.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Shaping away, on a back of a length, outside off, not close enough to make the batter play. Zak Crawley lets it go through. |
| 27.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Fuller and swinging away, at 137 kph, on off, Zak Crawley goes for the drive but the bat turns in his hand and he ends up dragging the shot to mid on. |
| 27.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Width offered and Crawley makes it count! On a short of a length, wide on off, Zak Crawley stands tall and reaches out to slap it through covers for a boundary. |
| 27.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Honing in at the stumps, on a good length, Zak Crawley gets his bat out in front of the pads and clips it to the right of mid on where Shamar Joseph makes a tumbling stop keep it down to one. |
| 27.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, No run. |
| 27.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, Too straight, on the pads, on a short of a length, Joe Root flicks and misses. |
| 28.1 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, Comes into the attack and fires it full and on off, Zak Crawley pushes it through point for a single. |
| 28.2 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Angles a fuller-length delivery into the stumps, Joe Root tucks it straight to mid-wicket. |
| 28.3 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, FOUR! A freebie for Joe Root and he doesn't miss out! Seales bowls this wider on off and on a length, Joe Root waits on the backfoot and punches it past backward point for a boundary. |
| 28.4 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Goes full and on off, Joe Root with a full face of bat drives it straight back to the bowler. |
| 28.5 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Fractionally short of a length around the fifth stump line, Joe Root hangs back and punches it to backward point. |
| 28.6 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Gets the ball to straighten a bit off the deck on a length and just outside off, Joe Root looks to poke at it but gets beaten on the outside edge. |
| 29.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, No run. |
| 29.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Lovely shot! Alzarri Joseph attacks the stumps on a slightly fuller length, Zak Crawley waits for the ball and whips it through mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 29.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Full again outside off, Zak Crawley drives it to cover. |
| 29.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Not very convincing but gets the desired result! On a length and just outside off, Zak Crawley looks to drive it on the up but gets a thickish outside edge that flies straight through the gap between gully and the slip cordon for the second boundary of the over. |
| 29.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, NO BALL! Alzarri Joseph has overstepped! Pitches it on a length outside off, Zak Crawley looks to play at it but gets beaten. |
| Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Switching gears quickly is Zak Crawley! Too full and outside off again from Alzarri Joseph, Zak Crawley frees his arms and slashes it over backward point for another boundary. |
| 29.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Zak Crawley, Digs it short and outside off, Zak Crawley sways away letting the ball go through to the keeper. |
| 30.1 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Honing in at the stumps, on a good length, Joe Root gets on the back foot and pushes it back to the bowler. |
| 30.2 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Just outside off, on a length, Joe Root shuffles across, covers his off stump and lets the ball go through. |
| 0.0 : Drinks break! Zak Crawley has switched gears and looks to be in fine touch as England extend their lead to 27 runs. The West Indies bowlers haven't been able to hit tight lines, allowing the batters to settle in, leaving them reeling in the game. The visitors will be hoping that this break brings them the fortune needed to pick up quick wickets. |
| 30.3 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, In at the pads, on a short of a length, Joe Root hops to glance it away but misses as the ball thuds his pads and rolls away on the leg side for a leg bye. |
| 30.4 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Shot of authority! Seales digs it on a back of a length, Zak Crawley is waiting on the back foot and pulls it in front of square on the leg side for a boundary. |
| 30.5 : Jayden Seales to Zak Crawley, OUT! b Jayden Seales. |
| 0.0 : Harry Brook walks out to bat at number 5 for England. |
| 30.6 : Jayden Seales to Harry Brook, Greets Brook with a short delivery but the line is down leg. Harry Brook lets it go. |
| 31.1 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, A bit of late inward movement, on a good length, on off, Joe Root covers the line of the ball and defends it out with a straight bat. |
| 0.0 : Shamar Joseph seems to have pulled a muscle and is down. The physio is out and it looks to be a cramp around his groin. Right then, after a few stretches, Shamar Joseph is up and ready to continue his over. |
| 31.2 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, At 134 kph, on a back of a length, around off, Joe Root hangs back and plays it late to dab it down to backward point.. |
| 31.3 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, No run. |
| 31.4 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, Errs in line as this is on the pads, on a full length, Joe Root helps it down to fine leg and crosses over. |
| 31.5 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, No run. |
| 31.6 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Attacks the stumps, full and straight, Harry Brook's bat turns in his hands and therefore, he does not get the timing right. The ball rolls towards mid on and Joe Root sets off for the run but retreats in time. |
| 32.1 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Length delivery, outside off, Joe Root leans on it and times the drive through covers for a couple of runs. |
| 32.2 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Short and shaping away, outside off, Joe Root thinks about throwing his hands at the delivery but resists and lets the ball go through. |
| 32.3 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, At 134 kph, on a back of a length, outside off, Joe Root shoulders arms. The ball just about carries to the keeper, Joshua Da Silva. |
| 32.4 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Nipping back in, on a hard length, on off and middle, Joe Root waits back to keep this one out with a straight bat. The ball jags back in to catch the inside edge and dribbles down to fine leg for one. |
| 32.5 : Jayden Seales to Harry Brook, A bit too straight, on a short of a length, Harry Brook stays back and turns it in front of square leg for a single. |
| 32.6 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Good-length delivery, on the off pole, Joe Root defends it right under his eyes and the ball goes towards point. A loud shout of 'no' by Root to Brook who was about to take off for the run. |
| 33.1 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Angling into the pads, on a good length, Harry Brook nudges it off his pads to mid-wicket. |
| 33.2 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Play and a miss! In the corridor of uncertainty, on a hard length, Harry Brook pokes at the delivery and gets beaten on the outside edge. |
| 33.3 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Missed out! Full and going down leg, Harry Brook gets inside the line early but fails to get any bat on the tickle. |
| 33.4 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, This is on a back of a length, on middle, Harry Brook watchfully tucks it to mid-wicket. |
| 33.5 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, A bit too full and the line is around the pads, Harry Brook clips it nicely well wide of mid-wicket for a couple of runs, taking England's lead to 39. |
| 33.6 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, FOUR! Good shot! Joseph keeps it full and this is just outside off, Harry Brook gets on the front foot and lets his hands flow into the shot. Drives it through covers and picks up a boundary. |
| 34.1 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, NO BALL! Goes wide of the crease straight away does Holder on that over-the-wicket angle. Pitches it on a length, outside off, Joe Root walks across his crease and covers his off stump before leaving the ball alone. |
| Jason Holder to Joe Root, Full and slanting in, on off, Root presses forward and pushes it out to cover where the fielder makes a sliding stop to his left. |
| 34.2 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Pulls the length back slightly but continues to angle it in, Joe Root offers a solid front foot defence. |
| 34.3 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Full and on the off stump line, Joe Root wrists this one to the right of mid on and takes off for a quick single. The fielder misses the shy at the bowling end but Root was anyway in. |
| 34.4 : Jason Holder to Harry Brook, FOUR! Skillfully done! |
| 34.5 : Jason Holder to Harry Brook, No run. |
| 34.6 : Jason Holder to Harry Brook, Bowls it on a back of a length, on off, Harry Brook gets on top of the bounce and punches it square to backward point where there is a slight fumble but the batters do not risk the run. |
| 35.1 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, Hits the deck on a length and into the pads, Joe Root tucks it to mid-wicket. |
| 35.2 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, Drops it short and over middle and leg, Joe Root swivels across and pulls it off the upper half of the bat to fine leg for just a single. |
| 35.3 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Picks it up beautifully but only gets two runs off it. This is short of a length over off, Harry Brook reads the length right and whips it aerially over mid on for a couple. |
| 35.4 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Another bouncer dug in short outside off, Harry Brook sways out of the line and the keeper does well to grab it diving to his right. |
| 35.5 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Not a very convincing pull but gets two more does Harry Brook. Shamar Joseph digs this just short of a length over off, Harry Brook pulls it off the upper half of the bat straight past the bowler for a couple more. |
| 35.6 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, FOUR! Runs coming thick and fast now! Shamar Joseph overpitches this into the pads, Harry Brook flicks it beautifully through the gap at mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 36.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Starts from around the wicket and bowls it full and outside off, Joe Root takes a big stride out and drives it to the left of the bowler. |
| 36.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, 1 run. |
| 0.0 : First look at spin in this Test as Gudakesh Motie comes on to bowl. |
| 36.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Harry Brook, No run. |
| 36.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Harry Brook, No run. |
| 36.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Harry Brook, No run. |
| 36.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Harry Brook, A slight hint of spin as this is floated up on off, Harry Brook presses ahead and blocks it out. |
| 37.1 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, No run. |
| 37.2 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, On a length outside off, Joe Root hangs back and pushes it to backward point. |
| 37.3 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Hits the deck on a good length and just outside off, Joe Root takes a step out and blocks it back onto the pitch. |
| 37.4 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, A fraction fuller than a length and on off, Joe Root presses ahead and nudges it past point for a single. |
| 37.5 : Jason Holder to Harry Brook, Angles it into the right-hander on a length and into the pads, Harry Brook tucks it along the ground to deep square leg for a couple of runs. |
| 37.6 : Jason Holder to Harry Brook, Nips one back in sharply from a length and on off, Harry Brook gets surprised by the movement off the deck but manages to dab it out. |
| 38.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Skids this one through on a fuller length and angling into the off stump line, Joe Root waits back and gets his bat down in time to keep it out. |
| 38.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, No run. |
| 38.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Fractionally short and outside off, Joe Root rocks back and punches it through covers. The fielder chases the ball and throws a dive to keep it down to just two. |
| 38.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Tossed up and on off, Joe Root blocks it well. |
| 38.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Another tossed up delivery on off, Joe Root offers a solid front foot defence. |
| 38.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, No run. |
| Do we have time for one more over? Yes, we do. It will be Jason Holder to bowl the last over of the day. |
| 39.1 : Jason Holder to Harry Brook, Goes full and attacks the stumps, Harry Brook flicks it to mid-wicket. |
| 39.2 : Jason Holder to Harry Brook, Another fullish delivery into the stumps, Harry Brook stays put and drives it straight back at the stumps on the bowling end. |
| 39.3 : Jason Holder to Harry Brook, Keeps the line straight and attacks the off stump, Harry Brook blocks it right under his eyes. |
| 39.4 : Jason Holder to Harry Brook, No run. |
| 39.5 : Jason Holder to Harry Brook, 2 runs. |
| 39.6 : Jason Holder to Harry Brook, Angled into the pads, Harry Brook tucks it straight to Gudakesh Motie at square leg who spills it out and allows the batter two runs to finish the day at 189/3 with a lead of 68 runs. |
| 0.0 : SESSION SUMMARY - 32 overs, 159 runs and 2 wickets. England take the opening day honours and find themselves in a strong position at the end of the opening day's play. As for the West Indies, they are left playing catch-up for the rest of the Test and are right up against it early in the game. Earlier in the day, after Ben Stokes won the toss, he had no hesitation in opting to bowl first. Put into bat under overcast conditions, Kraigg Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis got the West Indies off to a st |
| The second session began promisingly for the West Indies, with Alick Athanaze and Kavem Hodge displaying intent from the outset. However, Gus Atkinson opened the floodgates for England, striking thrice in the same over. This triggered a massive collapse, with the tourists losing their last seven wickets for just 33 runs, ending their innings at 121. As soon as the English openers came out to bat, the sun appeared, neutralizing the overhead conditions that could have favoured the Windies' pacers. |
| In the third session, Ollie Pope made his intentions clear right away, hitting a couple of early boundaries to get going. Pope capitalized on loose deliveries and kept the scoreboard ticking for England, while Zak Crawley was less fluent. It didnât take long for Shamar Joseph and Jason Holder to pose tough questions to the batters. Holder trapped Pope in front of the stumps, only for the decision to be overturned as the ball was going down leg. Pope eventually fell for 57, with Holder getting |
| Right then, the opening day proceedings of the 2024 Richards-Botham Trophy have drawn to a close with England firmly in the driver's seat. Leading by 68 runs and with 7 wickets in hand, England will look to bat for as long as they can and bat the West Indies out of the Test. As per Stuart Broad on air, Day 2 at Lord's is the best day to bat in Test cricket and if indeed that is the case, West Indies are in for a long day at the office. That said, early wickets in the first session will help |
| ... DAY 2 ... |
| The stage was set. A 41-year old bloke from Lancashire, playing his 188th and last Test match at Lord's - his favourite venue. Opposition - the West Indies, against whom he averages in the low 20s and strikes roughly once every 9 overs. And when daughters Lola and Ruby rung the bell at Lord's on Wednesday, James Michael Anderson knew - the time for one final outburst had come. Overcast conditions. Toss in his favour. And so, went the imaginary headlines - Anderson rips through inexperienced Win |
| Can't blame you if you were also feeling the same way for the whole of Wednesday, especially the first over, when Anderson was serving bananas in terms of swing while the West Indies were looking for apples. The ball beat the outside edge, inside edge, missed the stumps, squared the batters and did everything that Jimmy asked it to do - except, get a wicket. Ironically, the visitors batted out the toughest period brilliantly, seeing off Anderson and Woakes in the first hour, but when the conditi |
| If you are checking the scorecard now, it would have read no different from what most would have predicted after the toss - West Indies bowled out under 200 and England either into the lead or close to getting one at the end of the day. But, there was a slight change in the way it all transpired. By no means is this guy new to international cricket - having played 12 white-ball games by the age of 26 - but it was the first time he had the red cherry in his hand. And boy, it was an honour to see |
| 12-5-45-7 - these were the figures which summed up GUS ATKINSON'S performance - with just one blemish. Had that last wicket of Jayden Seales been taken by Atkinson, he would have become the first English player to take an 8-fer on Test debut. But how could the Lord of Lord's go wicketless? And as it would be, Jimmy ended up picking that final wicket. But it all started post that Lunch session when things went down spiralling for the West Indies. They were 88/3 and looking okay, but Atkinson nic |
| So who is Gus Atkinson? A Chelsea fan, (no, that's just an assumption, since he was born in Chelsea), he made heads turn in the 2023 edition of The Hundred and then made those heads rotate as he was announced in the ODI World Cup squad of England to follow that year. The reason was given by Ben Stokes, who was impressed by the 26-year old's breakthrough performances in red-ball cricket, albeit little and wanted raw pace as early as possible in the national side. And on Wednesday, the Lord's crow |
| With Broad done for, Anderson hanging up his boots, Archer spending more time on predictions and the Wood-Robinson duo spending more time in rehabilitation, England are short of tearaway fast bowlers and with the next Ashes series scheduled in Australia in November 2025, who better than Strauss to know the bowlers needed to win games over there? After all, he was the captain when England last won an Ashes series Down Under, way back in 2010 and that time, the side had giants in the form of Chris |
| Right. Done with the prelude. Where does this Test stand? One would feel, on the doorstep of another 4-day finish. And if Bazball has its way, this could become a 3-day finish with the scorers and commentators in lieu to get the weekend off. England have pulverized West Indies totally, knocking them off for 121 and getting 68 ahead as well, before Stumps were drawn. West Indies would be happy with the 3 wickets taken but after seeing what transpired in the Ashes, especially on the opening day, w |
| Crawley, Duckett and Pope are back in the pavillion, with Duckett being the lone failure, while Root and Brook are already amidst a 36-run stand in 55 balls. To follow? Ben Stokes - eager to forget the post-Ashes scores, Jamie Smith eager to demonstrate his skills along with Woakes and Bashir eager to get some batting practice. In a pre-2023 Ashes scenario, one would have felt Root would be the stem of this innings while the others would be the brances playing alonside him, but post the Ashes, t |
| Aren't we playing? Chides a fan from Barbados. Why is this sounding so biased in favour of one side? No, mate. We totally understand that cricket is a sport played between two countries but the level of cricket between the two teams is so afar that unless someone special stands up for the visiting side, they are all set to go under the pile by the end of Day 2. They have a ray of hope in Shamar Joseph, who has gone for 42 so far in his 9 overs. The problem is - usually in England, the pitches ge |
| And now, an important thing. If there is one villain who stands between the guys covering the game and a weekend break, it is the weather. It was a touch gloomy on Day 1, with play interrupted a couple of times but the forecast for Thursday looks pretty good. It is a glorious day in London, with not a cloud in the sky AT THE MOMENT. West Indies would hope for some overcast help, so that they can get the ball to move and trouble the English batters. Hopefully, we get all the 90 overs in without i |
| All set for play to begin on Day 2 then. |
| 40.1 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, Here we go. Shamar Joseph starts the Day 2 with a length delivery, that angles into the right-hander. Joe Root hangs back, closes the face a tad and tucks it into the leg side, for no run. |
| 40.2 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, Joseph goes fuller this time, but once again working with the same angled, Joe Root negotiates it well with an angled bat. |
| 40.3 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, No run. |
| 40.4 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, No run. |
| 40.5 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, Make that 5 now! Shamar Joseph has started quite positively here. Good-length, on top of off. Joe Root stays back and defends it out watchfully. |
| 40.6 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, Much fuller this time, outside off. Root comes down the pitch, taps it into covers and races to the other to get the first run on the board here for the hosts on Day 2. Root will retain the strike. |
| 0.0 : A good start to Day 1 for West Indies. |
| 41.1 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Joe Root stays back to this length ball, which is delivered on off stump. Root shuffles a bit and defends it out solidly. |
| 41.2 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Another dot now. The seventh one of Day 2 so far. West Indies are keeping it very tight here. This one angles into the right-hander on a good-length. Root stays inside the crease and deals with it, like he loves to, the defensive way. |
| 41.3 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, No run. |
| 41.4 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Much fuller this time, on off. Root stabs it into covers. West Indies are going to find it difficult to induce a false shot from Root, that is for sure. |
| 41.5 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Shortish this time, outside off. Some width on offer this time. Root stays on his back foot and looks to cut it away but it catches the inner half and dies towards backward point. |
| 41.6 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Jayden Seales dishes a full one, wide outside off. Joe Root leans in, drives it but fails to find the gap at covers. Jayden Seales starts his spell on Day 2 with a maiden here. |
| 42.1 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Harry Brook comes on strike for the first time this morning. Shamar Joseph goes with the same approach as he did against Root. Angles in a length ball, but Brook just hangs back and defends it out solidly. |
| 42.2 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, No run. |
| 42.3 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, 2 runs. |
| 0.0 : Normally, in Test-match cricket at Lord's. you usually see three slips and a gully for a fast bowler, especially at the start of the day's play or towards the end. But you might wanna have an extra fielder, probably a second gully, in a run-saving position for Root. He likes that dab-to-deep-third shot to keep accumulating runs and Brathwaite would do well to cut off that shot. |
| 42.4 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Joseph serves this one in the channel, on a good length. Brook stays back and dabs it down to deep third for one. |
| 42.5 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, 3 runs. |
| 42.6 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Some runs now come for England in this over. 7 runs come off it. Fuller one, outside off. Brook leans in and pushes it to deep point for a single. |
| Fielding is going to be an important aspect in this game. England were brilliant yesterday while the West Indies have already dropped a catch and missed a run out. Cannot afford to let your shoulders droop at any time in the Test match. |
| 43.1 : Jayden Seales to Harry Brook, FOUR! A gorgeous cover drive this time by Brook. Jayden Seales serves a half-volley, outside off. Brook stays still and creams it through the gap at covers for a fine boundary. First boundary on Day 2 for England. |
| 43.2 : Jayden Seales to Harry Brook, Good length, on top of off. Brook stays behind the crease to defend it out. Keeping it balanced out there for now, Brook. |
| 43.3 : Jayden Seales to Harry Brook, Shortish this time, outside off. Brook cuts it late to the left of deep backward point. The batters come back for the second run easily. |
| 43.4 : Jayden Seales to Harry Brook, Pitched up this time, on the fourth stump line. Harry Brook drives it gently to extra covers. |
| 43.5 : Jayden Seales to Harry Brook, Harry Brook comes down the pitch this time to this length ball, gets inside the line and clips it through the gap at mid-wicket for two more. |
| 43.6 : Jayden Seales to Harry Brook, No run. |
| 43.5 : Problem with the ball? Yes, say the West Indies. No, says the umpire. And for a reason too. The ball is passed through the 8-shaped guage and it passes the test. |
| 0.0 : Short-ball ploy? |
| 44.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, Alzarri Joseph now comes into the attack and starts with a fuller one, into the pads. Root flicks it into mid-wicket for a single. |
| 44.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Harry Brook, Much straighter this time, on a length, around middle and off. Brook comes on his front foot to defend it out watchfully. |
| 44.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Harry Brook, Joseph once again goes full, aiming for the pads. Brook stays back, closes the face and works it in front of mid on for no run. |
| 44.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Harry Brook, Alzarri Joseph serves a short delivery, in the channel this time. Brook stays on his back foot and dabs it towards backward point. |
| 44.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Harry Brook, Four! |
| 44.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Harry Brook, On a good-length, outside off. Brook throws his blade at it, but fails to connect this time. A decent start for Alzarri Joseph here on Day 2, but that boundary surely spoils the over for him. |
| 45.1 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Four! |
| 45.2 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Fuller and straighter, pushed back by Root. |
| 44.6 : Has the yorker gone out of fashion? One would feel so, in Test cricket. A batter usually expects good length, full length or balls from a short length. But the yorker is presumably expected more in white-ball cricket. It can serve as a terrific purpose. The last time India toured England, Jasprit Bumrah had got rid of Ollie Pope wiith a terrific yorker. Completely took him by surprise. |
| 45.3 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, FOUR! LOVELY! A classic cover drive by one of England's finest. Overpitched wide outside off, Joe Root leans and drives it beautifully through the covers. Getting to that stage when you get the feeling that the bowling side needs to be more disciplined. Get a 7-2 off side field and stop bowling overpitched deliveries. |
| 45.4 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, No run. |
| 45.5 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, There comes that indipper, but JR is ready for it. Flicks it away, albeit finds short mid-wicket. |
| 45.6 : Jayden Seales to Joe Root, Full and just outside off, a good solid block offered by the former England skipper. |
| One good thing in this innings so far has been the lack of reverse scoops. BazBall has been like a double-edged sword with people calling out for some kind of control. |
| 46.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Harry Brook, A length ball, around middle, Harry Brook looks to tuck it away but misses. The ball hits his hips and deflects away to the leg side. A leg bye taken. |
| 46.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, Outside off, on a good length, Joe Root pushes it behind point for a single. |
| 46.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Harry Brook, Full and wide outside off, Brook laces this through cover-point but there is a protection in the form of a sweeper. A run taken. |
| 46.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, FOUR! There is the short ball but this is very nicely controlled by Root. Around off, Joe swivels, plays the pull, rolls his wrists over the ball and keeps it nicely, getting it in front of square on the leg side. |
| 46.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, FOUR MORE! Alzarri goes for the indipper but sprays it on the pads. Joe Root just falls over a touch but is in control as he flicks this through mid-wicket. |
| 46.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, Full and wide outside off, JR eases this through the covers for a couple. 13 from the over, 21 from the last 2. |
| 47.1 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Slower ball, on a length, outside off, Harry Brook is early into his cut and mistimes it towards point. |
| 46.6 : Change of ends for Shamar Joseph. He replaces Jayden Seales. 11-1-50-0 so far. |
| 47.2 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, No run. |
| 47.3 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Pulls the length back a touch, gets it to move away slightly, Harry Brook seems to be squared up but adjusts well to meet the ball properly with the open face of his blade, guiding it towards gully. |
| 47.4 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Full and straight, Brook walks into the shot and shows the full face of his bat as he drives this straight back to the bowler. |
| 47.5 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Full and just outside off, Harry defends it watchfully towards cover. |
| 47.6 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, SIX! WHAM! Into the crowd it goes and sails away. First six of the day. |
| An extra fielder goes back now, after that six, at deep backward square leg. A lot of deliberation going on between Brathwaite, Holder and Alzarri Joseph. Inconsistency has been the reason for West Indies' performance with the ball so far. There has been less than half of the swing today, compared to yesterday but worryingly, West Indies have not been able to stick to one plan consistently enough. |
| 48.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, No run. |
| 48.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, Overpitched, wide outside off, Root leans and drives it through the covers for a single. |
| 48.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Harry Brook, Half an appeal for a catch but nothing in seriousness. |
| 48.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Harry Brook, 2 runs. |
| 48.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Harry Brook, On a good length, outside off, Borok looks to dab it behind the stumps on the off side but misses. |
| 48.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Harry Brook, Down the leg side, Harry lets it be. |
| 49.1 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, Full, outside off, Joe Root walks across and flicks it wide of mid on. Sets off for a single but then sends Brook back, realizing that he had hit it too well. |
| 49.2 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, 1 run. |
| 49.3 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, A bouncer, outside off, Harry Brook lets it pass. |
| 49.4 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Tight line, around the off stump, on a good length, Brook defends. |
| 49.5 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, Fuller, outside off, pushed straight to over. |
| 49.6 : Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, On a good length, outside off, jags back in a long way, HB misses his tuck and is hit on the pads. |
| 21st Test inning for Harry Brook. |
| 50.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, 3 runs. |
| 50.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Harry Brook, A bit shortish this time, on the fifth stump line. Harry Brook defends it out from inside the crease here. |
| 50.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Harry Brook, Alzarri Joseph serves a good-length delivery, on top of the stumps here. Brook pushes forward to block it away with full face of the bat. |
| 50.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Harry Brook, OUT! CAUGHT AND BOWLED! The short-ball ploy does work for West Indies. The on-air commentators have been talking about it for a while now, and finally the message has been passed out to the bowlers as well. West Indies strike for the first time on Day 2 to break this solid partnership. Harry Brook gets an ovation on his way back for his well-made fifty. |
| 0.0 : In comes the talisman, Ben Stokes, at number 6, replacing Brook. The problem for England is - the talisman works only against Australia most of the time. |
| 50.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Ben Stokes, Short ball this time. Stokes ducks under it. |
| 50.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Ben Stokes, No run. |
| 51.1 : Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, Shortish, outside off. Root stabs it towards backward point for one. |
| 51.2 : Shamar Joseph to Ben Stokes, Shamar Joseph now comes 'round the wicket and serves a length ball, wide outside off. This one stays away as well. Ben Stokes leaves it alone. |
| 51.3 : Shamar Joseph to Ben Stokes, Joseph now uses the angled and dishes a full one, drifting into the off stump. Ben Stokes gets his blade down in time to deal with it. |
| 51.4 : Shamar Joseph to Ben Stokes, Pitched up once again, on off. Ben Stokes knocks it gently to mid off. Three dots in a row now. |
| 51.5 : Shamar Joseph to Ben Stokes, West Indies trying to apply some pressure on the new batter. Joseph serves a short delivery, on the fourth stump line, coming in with the angle a bit. Ben Stokes gets behind the and blocks it with full face. |
| 0.0 : It will be interesting to see how Ben Stokes bats in this innings. Stokes is a terrific absorber of pressure, does not let the pressure get onto him but one issue of that, he has only two gears in cricket. He blocks, leaves, blocks, leaves and keeps on doing this till England have exhausted all their batters. And then, when he realizes that there is no more recognized batter left, he catapults into fourth gear and scores at a strike rate of 200. The problem comes at the other end, because his pa |
| 51.6 : Shamar Joseph to Ben Stokes, 2 runs. |
| 52.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, Alzarri Joseph fires it full, around off, coming into the right-hander. Joe Root steps down the wicket and blocks it into the pitch. |
| 52.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, Joe Root now gets on his front foot to this fuller delivery to defend it into covers. |
| 52.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Ben Stokes, Pitched up, on the pads. Stokes stays back and clips it to deep square leg for one more. |
| 52.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, Short ball, attacking the pads. Root swivels and tries to flick it away but gets an inside edge on the pads. The ball rolls out behind square on the leg side and the batters cross. |
| 52.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, Much fuller, but outside the off stump. Root leans in and drives it into covers but only to find the fielder. |
| 52.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root, Back of a length, around middle. Joe Root pulls it to deep square leg for just a single. For a second I thought the crowd might just start the chant for their ex-skipper, but the ball finds the fielder in the deep for Joe Root to move to 47. |
| 0.0 : DRINKS BREAK. 61/1 in 13 overs in the first hour of the day. England have not overly attacked while the West Indies have not even looked to attack.They did get the wicket in the form of some attacking bowling but the good balls have been few and far in between. It seems like they have thought about a dozen plans and want to execute all of those at once, rather than sticking to one plan and try to create pressure. There has been nothing for the bowlers this morning, but have to say, they haven't |
| 53.1 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Jason Holder starts his spell on Day 2 with a length delivery, angled in around fourth stump. Root puts his front foot across and defends it out. |
| 53.2 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, No run. |
| 53.3 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Three dots on the trot here for Holder. Pitched up this time, outside off. Root comes down the wicket and drives it gently into the off side to find the fielder at extra covers. |
| 53.4 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Fuller one, angled into the pads. Joe Root clips it into mid-wicket. Shamar Joseph there makes a solid stop, to not let Root off the strike. |
| 53.5 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, A length ball, outside off. Root gets on his front foot and blocks it out watchfully. |
| 53.6 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, A maiden for Jason Holder to start with here. Good-length delivery, outside off, shaping in a touch. Joe Root shoulders arms at it. |
| It will be interesting to see how physically fit are the two Josephs. They have been playing white-ball cricket primarily post that 'Gabba Test but looking at the conditions today, they might have to bowl plenty of overs in this innings. |
| 54.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Ben Stokes, A bit short, around middle. Stokes pulls it to deep square leg for one. |
| 54.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Flatter this time, around off. Root stays back and chops it to deep backward point for two runs. He moves to 49 now. |
| 54.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Short ball, on top of off. Root defends it out from inside the crease. |
| 54.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, FIFTY FOR ROOT! |
| 54.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Ben Stokes, No run. |
| 54.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Ben Stokes, OUT! TIMBER! The off stump goes for a walk here. Gudakesh Motie with a peach of a delivery here to get rid of the English skipper, that too, cheaply. |
| 0.0 : And now, into total inexperience. Jamie Smith walks out as the first of that lot, at number 7, replacing his skipper, Ben Stokes. |
| 55.1 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, On a good length, outside off, coming in, shouldered arms to. |
| 55.2 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Tailing into the right-hander, Joe Root leans and tucks it away through mid-wicket for a couple. |
| 55.3 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Full and just outside off, solidly defended towards cover. |
| 55.4 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, FOUR! Not a bad ploy from Holder and he nearly had his man. He targets the yorker but just about misses the length, getting it as a full ball. Because he is such a tall man, many batters struggle to pick the ball out of his hand. Joe Root too, picked that very late, as he got across to flick and just about manages to get his bat down in time to flick it to the fine leg fence. Holder appeals for LBW but there was only bat involved. |
| 55.5 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Around off, watchfully blocked out. |
| 55.6 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Fuller, just around off, JR walks into the shot and blocks. |
| 56.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, The arm ball, around off, Jamie Smith goes back and defends. |
| 56.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Fuller, around off, Smith comes forward this time and blocks. |
| 0.0 : Jamie Smith was brilliant yesterday, with the gloves on, but in reality, he has been selected for his batting. Importantly, he has had a very good first-class season but many times, when you do well in one department, it helps you in another. Smith was very good yesterday and the confidence might just seem through today. |
| 56.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Fractionally short, in line of the stumps, Jamie is back to keep it out. |
| 56.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Fuller, around off, JS lunges to push this back to the bowler. |
| 56.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Around off, dead-batted again. |
| 56.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 57.1 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, That lifted out of nowhere. On a good length, outside off, Joe Root looked to push at that but missed due to the steep bounce. |
| 0.0 : Smith has been with Surrey from the age of 9. He likes to come forward and meet the ball and play more of the drives. He has been with Surrey probably 5 years longer than most kids of his age would be and Surrey are usually known to produce quality cricketers. Let's see if this is another one in that list. |
| 57.2 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, 2 runs. |
| 57.3 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, No run. |
| 57.4 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Outside off, Root walks into the shot again, only to find cover. |
| 57.5 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Good length, just outside off, Joe pushes it back to Holder. |
| 57.6 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, Full, outside off, hint of outswing, JR has it covered and drives it straight to extra cover. |
| 58.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, FOUR! That's a bit of a gift for Jamie Smith to score his first runs in Test cricket. In fairness to Gudakesh Motie, he saw Smith charging at him and dragged the length back. But he ended up dragging it a bit too far and Jamie pulled it wide of Jason Holder at mid on. The stand moves to 12 from 19 balls. |
| 58.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Fuller, around off, watchfully defended. |
| 58.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Oohhh.... need to be careful. |
| 58.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 58.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Keen to use his feet, is Smith, coming down again and bunting the ball to cover. |
| 58.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 59.1 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, 1 run. |
| 59.2 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, Full and outside off, Jamie Smith uses his feet, gets across his stumps and flicks the ball straight to mid-wicket. |
| 59.3 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, Fuller ball again, just outside off, this time Jamie stays put and defends it from the front foot. |
| 59.4 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, Angled in a bit too straight, JS tucks it towards mid-wicket. This is one good thing with Jason Holder. He is very accurate. |
| 59.5 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 59.6 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, Again he walks across the stumps and pushes the ball towards mid on. |
| Roughly 30 minutes to go for Lunch. West Indies have bowled much better in this hour and will hope for one more wicket before the break. |
| 60.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Quicker and fuller, around middle. Root nudges it into the leg side. |
| 60.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, No run. |
| 60.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, 2 runs. |
| 60.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, FOUR! Easy pickings for Root. Gudakesh Motie errs in his line here as he goes full, but down the leg side. Joe Root bends his knee and sweeps it down to fine leg for a fine boundary. |
| 60.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Around off, Root blocks it back to the bowler. |
| 60.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, A bit short, around off. Root goes back and punches it to extra covers for one. |
| 0.0 : It is lovely to watch Joe Root when in full flow. He is definitely not the most powerful as compared to the other batters but he still keeps the scoreboard ticking with his hustling. And he can be a great role model for all youngsters on how to play spin. |
| 61.1 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, A loud appeal for LBW but the umpire is unmoved here. Good-length delivery, tailing into the right-hander from outside off. Joe Root shuffles and looks to defend it out but takes a blow on his thigh pads. Holder seemed interested, but the extra bounce he generates could easily take the stumps out of the equation here. |
| 61.2 : Jason Holder to Joe Root, 1 run. |
| 61.3 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 61.4 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, Good length, around off. Smith continues with his defensive approach. |
| 61.5 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, Fuller one, on middle and leg. Smith wrists it powerfully into mid-wicket, but only to find the fielder once again. |
| 61.6 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, A length ball, in the channel this time. Jamie Smith stabs it out and crosses for a quick single. A tight over from Jamie Smith comes to an end here. |
| 62.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, A bit flatter, around off. Smith works it into the off side for one. |
| 62.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Pushed through quicker, full and around leg. Root gets low and sweeps it into the leg side but fails to find the gap here. |
| 62.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Root prods to this full ball and defends it out watchfully. |
| 62.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, On a length, around off. Joe Root blocks it out solidly. |
| 62.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, No run. |
| 62.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Just a single run coming from this over. It is full and on off. Root defends it back to the bowler. |
| Joshua Da Silva has been chirping for a while now, from behind the stumps. It will be hard for Jamie Smith to get used to that chirp and pressure, especially with the break approaching. But for even someone as experirenced as Joe Root, it is not going to be easy either. With so much experience, he will have plenty of voices in his own head, on what to play, what not to play before the break. Jayden Seales retuns for a burst before Lunch. 12-2-47-2 so far. |
| 63.1 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, Jayden Seales dishes a length ball, on teh fifth stump line. Smith hangs his blade away from the body and sees it off. |
| 63.2 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, Much fuller this time, wide of off. Smith thinks about freeing his arms with the width on offer, but it catches the inner half instead and dies instantly. |
| 63.3 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, Quicker one this time, tailing in around off, on a length. Smith shuffles a touch to defend it away. |
| 63.4 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, Jamie Smith steps down the wicket this time to the full one and tucks it towards mid on. Four dots in a row now for Seales. |
| 63.5 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 63.6 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, A good-looking straight drive from Smith but only to disturb the stumps at the other end. Seales attacks the batter with a full ball tailing into him. Smith deals with it nicely, but is unfortunate to not get any runs off it. |
| What is the toughest thing to handle at Lord's outside the boundary? The crowd of course, when it is in full capacity. If you are in the opposition, then definitely, you will be a bit overawed by the English support but what could make matters worse if it is a full house and the guys at the MCC end come in colourful clothing. It is very difficult to pick the red ball from a multi-coloured background. |
| 64.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Back of a length, outside off. Root hangs back and pushes it towards long off for a single. |
| 64.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 64.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 64.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Jamie Smith prods to this full ball and blocks it into the deck. |
| 64.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Great throw from the fielder at mid on, but Jamie Smith seems to be in at the non-striker's end. Jamie Smith dances down the track to this full ball, clips it to the right of mid on and races to the other end. The throw is accurate but Smith is quick between the wickets here. |
| 64.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Floated and full, around off, blocked. |
| 65.1 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, On a good length, outside off, pushed straight to point. |
| 65.2 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, On a length, outside off, Jamie Smith comes forward and punches it on the up straight to cover. |
| 65.3 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, FOUR! That was a Zak Crawley type shot. |
| 65.4 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, FOUR! MAGNIFICENT! One brings two for Smith. |
| 65.5 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, On a good length, just around off, watchfully defended from the crease. |
| 65.6 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, A short ball, down the leg side, Jamie Smith looks to pull but misses. There is an appeal from someone but the man who matters the most - the umpire - is not interested. 8 from that over, Seales' figures read 14-3-55-2. |
| 66.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Full and around off, worked away towards short mid-wicket. |
| 66.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Outside off, full again, driven straight to cover. |
| 66.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, OUT! BOWLED! He has done it again. He got Stokes after Drinks and now he has got Root moments before Lunch. |
| Chris Woakes walks in at number 8, replacing Joe Root, with not much time left for the break. |
| 66.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Chris Woakes, FOUR! MAJESTIC! Not a bad way to start. |
| 66.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Chris Woakes, Around middle, watchfully defended. |
| 66.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Chris Woakes, Fuller, around off, pushed out. |
| 67.1 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, On a good length, around off, Jamie Smith stays back and defends. |
| 67.2 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, Back of a length, outside off, Smith stays back and defends again. |
| 67.3 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, This one stays low. Just short of that fuller length, outside off, Jamie stays back to push at that and ends up doing it in a hurry. |
| 67.4 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, A short ball, outside off, JS thinks about the pull but then bails out. |
| 67.5 : Last ball before Lunch. |
| Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, A quick short ball, down the leg side, Jamie Smith swivels and this time, does play the pull shot. Gets it down to long leg for a single. |
| 67.6 : Jayden Seales to Chris Woakes, Nicely done. Short in length, outside off, Chris Woakes gets on top of the bounce and plays the Nataraja shot, with one leg in the air - the left. Gets it towards deep mid-wicket for a run. LUNCH ON DAY 2, ENGLAND ARE 293/6, LEAD BY 172! |
| 0.0 : A super riveting session of Test cricket comes to an end here. All the players head out of the field to a standing ovation from the fans for this gripping contest. SESSION SUMMARY looks something like this, 28 overs were bowled, in which England scored 104 runs to extend their lead to 172 runs, although West Indies fought back really hard, and picked up three important wickets to head into the break with some belief. |
| Day 2 at Lord's during a Test match is considered to be a good-outing for the batters, especially with the overhead conditions being sunny. It was sure that the task for the West Indies bowler's was cut out here. All West Indies had to do was remain patient and that's what they did. The seamers started the action for them, but Root and Brook negotiated the early phase really well, and then started to keep the scoreboard ticking with the run-rate being around 5 almost throughout. The West Indie |
| Then came a period after the Drink's break, where England found it difficult to score runs at will, compared to what they were doing in the first hour of the morning session. Jamie Smith then joined the ever experienced, Joe Root in the middle on his debut and stabled the innings with a well-worked stand of 34 runs, and just an over to go for Lunch, Gudakesh Motie pulls a rabbit out of the hat, and gets the better of Joe Root to put England in some kind of bother. Surely, England would've |
| With just 4 wickets in hand now, West Indies would wish to bowl out England before Tea, and not let them take the lead to anywhere near 250, ideally, but if the BazBall switches on, you never know what will happen. Gudakesh Motie was critical for West Indies to get them back in the contest. Will the spinner continue to haunt this English outfit? Let us find out soon, as the players will return on the field for the second session around 6.10 pm IST (12.40 pm GMT). Do stick around. |
| ... DAY 2, SESSION 2 ... |
| Hmmm... what transpired in the first half of the previous session certainly did not prolong in the second half, thankfully and hence, even though England are miles ahead in this Test match, that last hour has just made things exciting. By no means do England possess any 9, 10 and a jack these days but West Indies will back themselves to bat for the second time in two days. They may be a long way behind, but that's what England's Bazball approach does - give plenty of time to their bowlers to tak |
| That's for later though. Let's talk about this pitch for now. It seems like a batting beauty which it is, but it is definitely not a Lahore or a Karachi or a Multan where batters can carry beds with them along with their batting equipment onto the pitch. There is good bounce if you bend your shoulders and there is some turn in the surface as well. Given that Gudakesh Motie has picked up 2 wickets in 7 overs this morning, a thought might cross Kraigg Brathwaite's mind to think about the second |
| 68.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Chris Woakes, No run. |
| 68.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Chris Woakes, No run. |
| 0.0 : The players are back on the field. The over rate has been pretty good, as a result of which, we have 62 overs remaining in the day. That should not see us go into too much of overtime, unless plenty of wickets fall. It will be Gudakesh Motie getting things underway, to Chris Woakes. If England bat through this session, that lead could swell close to 300. |
| 68.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Chris Woakes, No run. |
| 68.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Chris Woakes, A touch shorter, quicker as well, punched back to the bowler. |
| 68.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Chris Woakes, Full, around middle, Chris reaches out and drives it back to Motie. |
| 68.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Chris Woakes, On middle and leg, CW works it past short leg throug backward square leg for a single. |
| 0.0 : Who bowls from the other end? |
| 69.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Chris Woakes, FOUR! A gentle loosener, short and down the leg side, Chris Woakes just tickles it down to fine leg. The stand moves to 11 from 16 balls with Woakes into double digits. |
| 69.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Chris Woakes, A better short ball, at the body, Woakes jumps across and nudges this uncomfortably through square leg for a single. |
| 69.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Jamie Smith, Full and around off, Jamie Smith defends. |
| 69.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Jamie Smith, On a good length, around off, Smith stays back to block. |
| 69.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Jamie Smith, A lovely ball. Fuller length, going up the slope, Jamie looks to defend but the ball straightens and beats the outside edge. |
| 69.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Jamie Smith, Down the leg side, helped through fine leg for a single. 300 UP FOR ENGLAND, with the lead reading 179. |
| 70.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Four! |
| 69.6 : Plenty of chat still going on about that Joe Root dismissal. Apparently, the word from the English dressing room is that Joe Root was trying to explain to Ben Stokes and other mates about his surprise on his dismissal. As per him, he played for the arm ball and covered the line. The ball curved through the air into him, but after landing on the seam, it deviated a little, or shall we say, straightened a touch. So is that something to do with the deck or is it the bowler's ability? How can an |
| 70.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 70.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, 2 runs. |
| 70.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Outside off, a touch short, punched straight to cover. |
| 70.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Full, on middle, Jamie comes forward and whips it towards long on for a single. |
| 70.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Chris Woakes, Quicker, perhaps the arm ball, on middle, Chris Woakes dead-bats it. |
| 71.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Jamie Smith, A short ball, around off, Jamie Smith looks to punch it through the off side but misses. |
| 71.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Jamie Smith, Loose, a bit too loose from the debutant. Short and outside off, Smith has a waft at that from his crease but misses due to lack of feet movement. |
| 71.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Jamie Smith, Again, staying away from the line of the ball, punching it towards cover. |
| 71.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Jamie Smith, That's an unusual shot. Shortish again from Alzarri Joseph and it looked like Jamie Smith was trying to flat-bat it over mid on. He was early into his stroke and miscued it over mid off instead. Luckily for him, in Tests matches, teams usually do not keep a standard mid off and mid on. The ball lands into the gap and a couple of runs are taken by the time the mid off fielder mops it up. |
| 71.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Jamie Smith, 1 run. |
| 71.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Chris Woakes, Around off, on a length, Chris Woakes defends. An eventful over. Sign of things to come - either a flurry of runs or wickets. |
| 72.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Full and around middle and leg, good flight, Jamie Smith defends it back to the bowler. |
| 72.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, A touch short, around off, Smith goes back and punches it straight to point. |
| 72.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Full and around off, Jamie defends it coming forward. |
| 72.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, A low full toss, around leg stump, pushed straight to mid on. |
| 72.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Full and on middle, JS defends it towards the bowler. |
| 72.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Comes down the track this time and pushes the ball to the off side. |
| That was a very good over from Motie. Varying his pace from ball to ball. Also, Jamie Smith needs to understand his forward defense on this pitch. He is tall and has this habit of crouching a little while looking to defend. On this pitch, where the ball is staying low, Smith might just need to be that extra careful. |
| 73.1 : Alzarri Joseph to Chris Woakes, Down the leg side, Chris Woakes gets into a tangle as he looks to flick but misses. NO BALL signalled. The lead touches 190. 56 overs left in the day after this one. |
| Alzarri Joseph to Chris Woakes, Around off, Woakes looks to pull but gets a bottom edge onto the deck. |
| 73.2 : Alzarri Joseph to Chris Woakes, A length ball, outside off, Chris pushes at it but misses. |
| 73.3 : Alzarri Joseph to Chris Woakes, EDGED, FOUR! Lucky for Woakes. Alzarri bends his back and generates some away movement off a good length, around middle. Woakes is squared up and gets a thick outside edge. It flies behind, but well wide of the lone man at slip - Jason Holder - to the deep third fence. The field is set for a short ball, with a leg gully in place, but they can afford an extra slip for the double bluff of full. |
| 73.4 : Alzarri Joseph to Chris Woakes, Around off, on a length, worked straight to square leg. |
| 73.5 : Alzarri Joseph to Chris Woakes, He is getting into some good rhythm now, is Alzarri Joseph. On a fuller length, outside off, Chris pushes at it without moving his feet and misses. |
| 73.6 : Alzarri Joseph to Chris Woakes, No run. |
| 0.0 : This could be an important series for Chris Woakes. He is 35 at present. |
| 74.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 74.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 74.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 74.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Short and down the leg side, Jamie Smith flicks it straight to short leg. |
| 74.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Pitched outside leg, Smith looks to sweep but misses and is hit on the pads. A polite appeal for LBW is turned down. |
| 74.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Another one down the leg side, Jamie misses his flick. Not a massive amount of rough outside that leg stump, but still something to work with for Motie. |
| 75.1 : Shamar Joseph to Chris Woakes, No run. |
| 74.6 : Huh? We spend a whole over talking about Alzarri getting into rhythm and the next over, the captain changes the music itself. Shamar Joseph returns. 14-1-60-0 so far. |
| 75.2 : Shamar Joseph to Chris Woakes, No run. |
| 75.3 : Shamar Joseph to Chris Woakes, Full and around off, Chris Woakes walks into the shot and drives it towards cover. |
| 75.4 : Shamar Joseph to Chris Woakes, Outside off, on a length, a waft and miss. |
| 0.0 : Oh dear. Shamar Joseph is down. He is seen trying to stretch out, which indicates cramp but there could be a risk of a hamstring injury as well. After that magnificent display against Australia at the 'Gabba, Shamar has bowled just 14 overs. That's it. 14 overs in the span of 6 months. Additionally, he missed the warmup game before this Test as he was stuck in Jamaica due to the hurricane. IS HE WALKING OFF? Yes, he is. But this seems more of a precautionary measure. There are 3 Tests in this s |
| 75.5 : Kraigg Brathwaite to Chris Woakes, Massive rotation of the arm and plenty of flight from around the wicket outside leg stump, Chris Woakes flicks it behind square leg for a single. |
| 75.6 : Kraigg Brathwaite to Jamie Smith, Similar ball, around leg stump, worked through mid-wicket for one more. |
| 76.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 76.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Outside leg, Jamie Smith misses his flick and is hit on the pads. |
| 75.6 : In mathematics, two negatives make a positive. But I am not sure that applies to cricket. West Indies have been nearly on the money post Lunch but in the past 10 minutes or so, they have resorted to bowling negative lines, as if to try and get to that second new ball quickly. |
| 76.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, A touch short, punched towards short mid-wicket. |
| 76.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Short again, outside leg, worked past short leg, to his right, for a run towards deep square leg. |
| 76.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Chris Woakes, Full and outside off, Woakes drives it straight to short cover. |
| 76.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Chris Woakes, Little bit of width outside off, carted away by Woakes but straight to point. |
| 77.1 : Melanie Jones on air, has an interesting take. |
| Kraigg Brathwaite to Jamie Smith, Full on middle, punched down to long on for a single. |
| 77.2 : Kraigg Brathwaite to Chris Woakes, Around middle and leg, pushed back to the bowler. |
| 77.3 : Kraigg Brathwaite to Chris Woakes, 1 run. |
| 77.4 : Kraigg Brathwaite to Jamie Smith, Flatter and quicker outside off, Jamie Smith looks to punch but misses. |
| 77.5 : Kraigg Brathwaite to Jamie Smith, Oooh... lucky me. Flighted, around middle, Smith comes down the track, is beaten in flight and gets squared up. He looks gone for all money but at the last moment, the bat comes down and the ball goes off the leading edge to point. They take a single and in fact, a leg bye has been signalled. So that has gone off the body. Had he missed, Joshua Da Silva would have been in the game. |
| 77.6 : Kraigg Brathwaite to Chris Woakes, Around off, defended to the off side. Another quick over by the skipper, causing more pain in my fingers. |
| 78.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, 2 runs. |
| 78.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Four! |
| 78.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 78.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Played towards mid on again, this time off the back foot. |
| 78.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Around middle and leg, solid in defense is Jamie Smith. |
| 79.2 : Kraigg Brathwaite to Jamie Smith, 1 run. |
| 78.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 79.1 : Kraigg Brathwaite to Chris Woakes, 1 run. |
| 79.3 : Kraigg Brathwaite to Chris Woakes, No run. |
| 79.4 : Kraigg Brathwaite to Chris Woakes, Full again, on off, pushed back to the bowler. |
| 79.5 : Kraigg Brathwaite to Chris Woakes, Beautifully bowled. Slower through the air, outside off, Woakes pushes but misses. |
| 79.6 : Kraigg Brathwaite to Chris Woakes, No run. |
| 0.0 : The second new ball is due AND IT HAS BEEN TAKEN. Unusually, it will be Jason Holder with the first use. 15-1-49-1 so far. |
| 80.1 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, A length ball, slanting into the right-hander. Smith tries to defend it off his front foot, but gets an inside edge on his pads instead. |
| 80.2 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, Shorter this time, outside off. The ball moves away with some extra bounce. Jamie Smith just watches it sail past him. |
| 80.3 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, Four! |
| 80.4 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, Fuller this time, on the pads. Smith clips it along the ground through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 80.5 : Jason Holder to Chris Woakes, Shortish, outside off, shaping away a bit. Woakes punches it through point off the back foot and takes a single. |
| 80.6 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, On a length this time, outside off. This one stays a bit low as well. Jamie Smith has nothing to do with this. A dot ball to end the over, England gets 6 runs off it. This stand has grown steadily but has been really effective for the hosts. |
| 81.1 : Jayden Seales to Chris Woakes, FOUR! Incredible shot. The 50 partnership comes up between these two batters. Fuller one, wide outside off, shaping away. Woakes leans in and creams it through cover-point for a fine boundary. |
| 81.2 : Jayden Seales to Chris Woakes, No run. |
| 81.3 : Jayden Seales to Chris Woakes, Jayden Seales continues his attack with the short ball, this one moving into the right-hander. Chris Woakes moves a bit inside the crease but deals with it eventually. |
| 81.4 : Jayden Seales to Chris Woakes, Pitched up, outside off. Woakes hangs his blade away from the body and blocks it away. |
| 81.5 : Jayden Seales to Chris Woakes, A sharp bumper, outside off. This one flies off the deck. Chris Woakes looks to hook it away, but the ball is out of his reach. The new ball is doing the talking here. We have hardly seen any bounce like this one throughout this day. |
| 81.6 : Jayden Seales to Chris Woakes, OUT! CAUGHT IN THE DEEP! |
| 0.0 : DRINKS BREAK. Meanwhile, good news for West Indies! Shamar Joseph is back on the field. He also tested his hamstring, running around the ground just before this over. He may not be allowed to bowl immediately, but he can definitely be available before the second new ball loses its shine. A very wonderful hour for the West Indies - 46/1 in 14 overs. They started the session well but seemed to lose track towards the back end of this hour. However, this wicket, a lucky wicket at that, would give |
| 82.2 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, A peach of a delivery here. It is a fuller one, angling in outside off, only to straighten a bit after hitting the deck. Smith looks to defend it out but gets beaten here. |
| 82.3 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, On a length, around off, defended off solidly. |
| 82.1 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, Fuller one, angled into the stumps. Smith flicks it aerially to the right of mid on but it lands safely. They take a couple. |
| 82.4 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, 1 run. |
| 82.5 : Shoaib Bashir walks in at number 10, replacing Gus Atkinson. He can wield the willow as well. |
| Jason Holder to Gus Atkinson, OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! Gus Atkinson the man who picked 7 wickets in the first innings, gets a bitter taste of his own medicine. He has to walk back on a golden duck here. Jason Holder is elated with this wicket. They need two more wickets to have a go with the bat again. Jason Holder serves a length ball, outside off. The ball nips away a bit off the deck. Gus Atkinson thinks he can take it on, but only manages to find a thick outside edge as he leaves his ba |
| 82.6 : Jason Holder to Shoaib Bashir, Shortish this time, outside off. Shoaib Bashir does not want to try anything fancy on his very first delivery and leaves it alone for the keeper. A wicket-taking over from Jason Holder comes to an end. |
| 83.1 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, Jayden Seales dishes a length ball, drifitng in, but gets it to move away in the end. Jamie Smith makes a late adjustment and stabs it to point. |
| 82.6 : It will be interesting to see how does Smith bat from here on. Does he trust Bashir and string a partnerhsip through normal cricket and then, play his shots once Anderson arrives? Or, does he take charge of the situation from here on? |
| 83.2 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, Good length, angled into the body. Smith shifts a bit and blocks it back to the bowler. |
| 83.3 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, FOUR! Smith now will be inclined to take the attacking appraoch here. Seales serves a full one, angled into the stumps. Jamie Smith stands still and lofts it powerfully over mid on for four runs. |
| 83.4 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, Short ball this time, just outside off. Smith clears his front leg and tries to heave it across the line but misses. |
| 83.5 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, FIFTY FOR SMITH ON HIS DEBUT! The crowd gets on its feet to appreciate this wonderful knock. Seales dishes a short one, outside off. Jamie Smith goes for the wild hoick across the line. He went looking for a boundary but finds the fielder there. One taken. |
| 83.6 : So it does seem like Smith has taken the decision. |
| Jayden Seales to Shoaib Bashir, BEATEN! A probing over from Jayden Seales comes to an end. It is a full-length ball, around off, which nips away sharply off the deck. Shoaib Bashir gets his blade down, but gets beaten on the outside edge here. The ball though wasn't far away from the off pole here. |
| 84.1 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, Pitches it up, wide of off. Smith drives it towards sweeper cover, but he denies to take a single here. |
| 84.2 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, FOUR BYES! This one beats everyone. It is a length ball, outside off, nipping in sharply. Jamie Smith gets cut in half here as he tries to defend it out. Joshua Da Silva makes a full-stretched dive to his left behind the stumps, but the ball evades his effort here and races down to the fine leg fence. |
| 84.3 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, Shorter, around off, blocked out solidly. |
| 84.4 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, No run. |
| 0.0 : The field is coming in again to save the single. Still, a slip and gully in place, along with a fine leg and deep square leg. |
| 84.5 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, Slower ball, dipping as well, wide outside off. Smith looks to chase it but does not pick it up at all. |
| 84.6 : Jason Holder to Jamie Smith, A dot ball to end the over. Another slower one, but it comes off as a full toss. Jamie Smith swings hard but mistimes it towards mid on. West Indies finally get their target on strike for the next over. |
| 85.1 : Jayden Seales to Shoaib Bashir, Seales fires it full, on off. Bashir stays back and jams it out watchfully. |
| 85.2 : Jayden Seales to Shoaib Bashir, Fuller one, slanting into the batter. Bashir steps down and clips it to short mid-wicket. |
| 85.3 : Jayden Seales to Shoaib Bashir, Jayden Seales sprays this one down the leg side, on a shorter length. Shoaib Bashir leaves it alone this time. Gets a breather here. |
| 85.4 : Jayden Seales to Shoaib Bashir, A sharp bumper this time, in the channel. Shoaib Bashir sways away from the line of the delivery here. |
| 85.5 : Jayden Seales to Shoaib Bashir, Good length, around off. Bashir defends it out quite comfortably. |
| 85.6 : Jayden Seales to Shoaib Bashir, OHHH! SO CLOSE! |
| 86.1 : Shamar Joseph to Jamie Smith, Shamar Joseph is back after his hamstring scare. A length ball, around the pads. Jamie Smith nudges it into the leg side for no run. |
| 0.0 : Okay. The time has come. Shamar Joseph has been allowed to bowl again and he has been whatever is left to make use of this second new ball. 14.4.-1-60-0 so far. Can he clean up the tail? |
| 86.2 : Shamar Joseph to Jamie Smith, A bit short this time, outside off. Jamie Smith slaps it towards the off side, but there is protection in the deep. He keeps the strike without running. |
| WARNING! |
| 86.3 : Shamar Joseph to Jamie Smith, Slower delivery here, on a length, around off. Smith punches it behind square on the off side and gets a couple. Lead now is 232. |
| 86.4 : Shamar Joseph to Jamie Smith, Shamar Joseph goes full, but way down the leg side. Smith tries to flick it away but misses. |
| 86.5 : Shamar Joseph to Jamie Smith, SIX! BANG! What a hit from the debutant. Shamar Joseph serves a length ball, around off that moves in a bit. Jamie Smith dances down the track, stays leg side of the delivery and smokes it over the square leg fence for a biggie. |
| 86.6 : Shamar Joseph to Jamie Smith, A sharp bumper to end the over, wide outside off. Jamie Smith thought about going after it at first but soon realised this one is way out of his reach. 8 runs come from this over for England. |
| Oh no. |
| 87.1 : Jayden Seales to Shoaib Bashir, Good length, wide of off, shaping away. Shoaib Bashir swings hard at it but gets beaten here. |
| 87.2 : Jayden Seales to Shoaib Bashir, Swing and a miss! Shorter this time, outside off. Bashir looks to chase it but misses. |
| 87.3 : Jayden Seales to Shoaib Bashir, Back of a length, on top of off here. Shoaib Bashir looks to pick it up this time and attack the leg side once again, but gets beaten on the outside edge here. |
| 87.4 : Jayden Seales to Shoaib Bashir, A length ball, sliding down leg. Bashir tries to clip it away but misses. The ball rolls into the leg side off the pads. |
| 87.5 : Jayden Seales to Shoaib Bashir, Close to the off stump this time, but Bashir still remains out there. It is a length ball, in the channel. Bashir shuffles to defend it out, but the ball zips past the outside edge here. |
| 87.6 : Jayden Seales to Shoaib Bashir, A maiden for Jayden Seales here. The crowd cheers as Bashir finally gets bat on ball here but only to find the fielder at covers. He survives another over here. |
| 88.1 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Back of a length, on off. Smith backs away and cuts it to deep point for no run. |
| 88.2 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Smith uses his feet this time and flicks this full ball into mid-wicket but only to find the fielder there. |
| 0.0 : We have roughly got 30 minutes to Tea. Maybe more, if the 9th wicket falls down and the session is extended. Looking at the way Shoaib Bashir played in the previous over, we could have plenty of fun for the rest of this session. Fasten your seat belts for some T20 action in white clothing. Interesting. Brathwaite turns to GUDAKESH MOTIE, probably to try and entice the batters and get a wicket. 15-3-40-2 so far for the left-arm spinner. |
| 88.3 : Gudakesh Motie to Jamie Smith, Good length, around off. Smith stands tall and whacks it towards sweeper covers for one. |
| 88.4 : Gudakesh Motie to Shoaib Bashir, No run. |
| 88.5 : Gudakesh Motie to Shoaib Bashir, Tossed up, outside off. The ball grips and turns away a touch. Bashir looks to block it away only to get beaten. |
| 88.6 : Gudakesh Motie to Shoaib Bashir, Quicker, into the pads. Bashir clips it to deep square leg. He ventures out looking for a single but is sent back here. |
| 89.1 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, SIX! KABOOM! This one sits up nicely for Smith and he makes the most of it. Back of a length, around off. Jamie Smith swivels a bit and smokes it towards deep mid-wicket. In fact, he gets it out of the park here. |
| 0.0 : New ball please! The previous one is not coming back. Out comes the fourth umpire with a box of replacement balls. |
| 89.2 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, OUT! RUN OUT! Bullzeye from Mikyle Louis. He has been ever present in the field and with his outstanding effort now, we see Shoaib Bashir making his way back to the pavilion. |
| 0.0 : The Lord's stands up as one. Out come the phones and photos are being clicked. With the lead reading 246, this could possibly the LAST TIME that James Anderson is walking out to bat. |
| 89.3 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, Length ball, around off. Smith punches it to deep point but for no run. |
| 89.4 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, Four! |
| 89.5 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, Length, around off, blocked out. |
| 89.6 : Jayden Seales to Jamie Smith, OUT! CAUGHT! Jamie Smith holes out this time around. It is a short ball, around off. Jamie Smith stands tall and pulls it to deep square leg here. Kirk Mckenzie rushes to his right in the deep, and takes a sharp low catch sliding to that side. England are all-out for 371 runs here. |
| 0.0 : Well, one of the worst possible times for any side. West Indies would be celebrating that wicket, but they don't have too much time. In less than 10 minutes, they will have to come out and bat for a couple of overs before Tea. The bowlers have got the job done, picking up the remaining 4 wickets in 22 overs, for 78 runs. They have kept the lead to exactly 250 and had they not been loose in that first hour this morning, the lead could have been curtailed further. |
| The bowling innings started off very well for West Indies, with Ben Duckett nicking one behind to Jayden Seales, but after that, they had to keep fighting off partnerships. England kept finding those conistently and kept the visitors on the back foot. However, this afternoon, after the Drinks break in the first session, the tourists found their groove, led by Gudakesh Motie, as he cleaned up Stokes and Root. Seales then took over, to run through the side with a quadruple of wickets while Hold |
| England would be relatively pleased with how they played in this innings. It was not exactly Bazball, but not defensive cricket either. They punished the bad balls but were happy to sit back when the bowling was good. As a result, they had 5 batters making 50 or more and 7 partnerships in excess of 25. Something which they lacked while playing against India in India. It never looked like a pitch where you are settled and hence, those many starts. Everyone who crossed 50, looked assured but perha |
| Right then. 10 difficult minutes to see off. Forget the deficit of 250 for the moment. Can Kraigg Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis be together when the third session begins? We are all set for the second essay of the West Indian innings. Around 38 overs left in the day. If England strike once or twice in this mini phase, there may not be a tomorrow. |
| Cut the crab. We are being informed that EARLY TEA HAS BEEN TAKEN ON DAY 2. As per the earlier rules, early Lunch or early close of play used to be there but my colleague tells me that in the recently announced rule changes, one rule was such that if there are less than 30 minutes to the break, then the break will be taken early and the next innings will start only after that. So given that the innings ended around 7.50 pm IST, the third session should start by around 8.10 pm IST. Do refresh you |
| 0.1 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, No run. |
| 0.2 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, Full and outside off, swinging away, Brathwaite reaches out to drive but finds extra cover. |
| 0.3 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, Outside off, on a length, KB pushes but misses. |
| 0.4 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, No run. |
| 0.5 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, No run. |
| 0.6 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, Outside off, pushed to the off side. Not a menacing over by Anderson but he did get the ball to talk. |
| Will it be Gus Atkinson from the other end? Or Chris Woakes? The latter. 1/29 in 11 overs in the first innings. |
| 1.1 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Full and outside off, gentle outswing, left alone. |
| 1.2 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, First run for West Indies in their second dig. Outside off, Mikyle Louis comes forward, pushes the ball to the off side with soft hands and gets a single between cover and mid off. |
| 1.3 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Landed outside off, pretty wide to be played at. |
| 1.4 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Action replay of the previous delivery. |
| 1.5 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Much better from Woakes. Gets it fuller and straighter. |
| 1.6 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Woakes ends the over with a bouncer, around off, the skipper defends. |
| 2.1 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 2.2 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, Fuller, outside off, Louis shoulders arms with a good stretch of his front leg. |
| 2.3 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, Down the leg side, Mikyle cannot get it away with a flick and the ball deflects off his pads towards square leg. |
| 2.4 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, Landed outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 2.5 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 0.0 : Stokes is not happy with the ball. He takes it up to the umpire for a look but nothing doing, he is told. |
| 2.6 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, Landed outside off, Mikyle Louis lunges and shoulders arms. |
| It is interesting to see the shoes of James Anderson as the camera pans on the sticker bound to the laces. The sticker on the left boot reads 22nd May, 2003, which was the date of his first Test, against Zimbabwe. The sticker on the right boot reads 10th July, 2024, which is his last Test, against West Indies. |
| 3.1 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, No run. |
| 3.2 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Fuller and wider outside off, nice away shape, Brathwaite pushes it towards point. |
| 3.3 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, FOUR! MARVELLOUS! An opportunity to score and Kraigg Brathwaite does not miss out. |
| 3.4 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, No run. |
| 3.5 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Similar ball, similar action but one feels that probably KB withdrew his bat in time on this occasion. |
| 3.6 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Outside off, a touch wider than the previous ones, an easier leave for the skipper. |
| 4.1 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 4.2 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, Holds the length back a touch, gets it to come back in, Mikyle Louis lets it go. |
| 4.3 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, Makes him play the fuller one this time, Louis gets a good stride to meet that, but he gets late for the meeting and is timed out. The ball just beats the outside edge. |
| 4.4 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, This time he gets his feet in time to meet the ball and drives it towards point. |
| 4.5 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, Nice shot. Full, outside off, ML leans into the shot and gets the cover drive in the gap. The timing is not the best through and it is stopped. Two runs taken. |
| 4.6 : James Anderson to Mikyle Louis, On a length, outside off, Mikyle Louis shoulders arms. That came back in some way but not enough to hit the stumps. |
| 5.1 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Lovely. This is some fruit salad being served by Anderson and Woakes. |
| 5.2 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Around middle and off, on a good length, Brathwaite defends. |
| 5.3 : Chris Woakes to Kraigg Brathwaite, Down the leg side, Kraigg looks to tuck it away but misses. The ball goes off his pads towards square leg and a single is taken. The camera pans onto Rod Tucker who signals it a leg bye. |
| 5.4 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 5.5 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Comes forward and pushes this back to the bowler. |
| 5.6 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Brillliant delivery to end the over. On a good length, outside off, Louis is forced to play at it but the late movement gets the ball to move past the outside edge. |
| 6.1 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, No run. |
| 6.2 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, Outside off, left alone. |
| 6.3 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, Fuller, outside off, Kraigg plays inside the line and misses. Perhaps expected the inswinger, this was the non-swinger. Just went straight. |
| 6.4 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, No run. |
| 6.5 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, The tempter, outside off, fuller in length, Kraigg is in no mood to get out of his house for a long drive. Lets it go. |
| 6.6 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, Around off and outside, KB is squared up but manages to push the away-moving ball away to point. That's 3 maidens in 4 overs for the old horse. |
| 7.1 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 7.2 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Fuller and just outside off, Louis is absolutely solid and composed in his front foot defense. High front-end elbow and watching the ball right under his eyes. |
| 7.3 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, FOUR! PRISTINE! This guy can bat. It is not always about blocking and Louis understands that. |
| 7.4 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 7.5 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Outside off, on a length, let through. |
| 7.6 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Full and just outside off to finish the over, a very solid defense from ML gives it the perfect respect as the ball rolls towards point. |
| 8.1 : James Anderson to Kraigg Brathwaite, OUT! BOWLED! That's gone through his defense and it is wicket number 702 in first-class cricket for the Lord of Lord's. |
| 0.0 : Kirk Mckenzie walks in at number 3, replacing his skipper, Kraigg Brathwaite. |
| 8.2 : James Anderson to Kirk Mckenzie, No run. |
| 8.3 : James Anderson to Kirk Mckenzie, No run. |
| 8.4 : James Anderson to Kirk Mckenzie, No run. |
| 8.5 : James Anderson to Kirk Mckenzie, No run. |
| 8.6 : James Anderson to Kirk Mckenzie, On a good length, around middle and leg, McKenzie pushes it to the off side. A wicket maiden for Anderson whose figures read 5-4-2-1! |
| 9.1 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 9.2 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Full and outside off, hint of away swing, Louis pushes it towards point. |
| 9.3 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Full and around off, Mikyle gets a good compact front foot defense. |
| 9.4 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 0.0 : The sun is out in full force now. |
| 9.5 : Chris Woakes to Mikyle Louis, Curves this into the right hander, but gets it too straight. Mikyle Louis misses his flick and is hit on the pads. The ball deflects away behind square leg and a leg bye is taken. |
| 9.6 : Chris Woakes to Kirk Mckenzie, On a length, outside off, Kirk Mckenzie shoulders arms. |
| 10.1 : Gus Atkinson to Mikyle Louis, Gus Atkinson starts with a beamer here. It is outside off, nipping back in sharply. Mikyle Louis sways away from the line of the delivery here. |
| 9.6 : Time for a change. The hero of the first innings, Gus Atkinson, to have his first go in the second innings. How many can he add to his 7 in the match? |
| 10.2 : Gus Atkinson to Mikyle Louis, On a good-length slanting into the right-hander. Mikyle Louis hangs back and flicks it into the leg side for no run. |
| 10.3 : Gus Atkinson to Mikyle Louis, Much straighter this time, on a length, on top of off. Louis prods and defends it out watchfully. |
| 10.4 : Gus Atkinson to Mikyle Louis, Gus Atkinson fires it full, around off. This one is angled into the right-hander. Mikyle Louis looks to defend it out on his front foot, but takes a blow on his pads. Gus Atkinson appeals but the umpire is unmoved here. As Ben Stokes is out of the ground at the moment, Ollie Pope is the stand-in skipper and he decides to take it upstairs. The Ball Tracking though confirms that the ball is missing the wickets, as it is going down leg. |
| 10.5 : Ben Stokes is back on the field now, as Ollie Pope heads back in the dressing room. |
| Gus Atkinson to Mikyle Louis, It is a length ball, in the channel. Mikyle Louis leaves it alone. |
| 10.6 : Gus Atkinson to Mikyle Louis, FOUR! Well played. It is a short ball, on the bodyline here. Mikyle Louis brings his blade across right in time, he does not time it well but still finds the fielder. |
| Change. |
| 11.1 : Ben Stokes to Kirk Mckenzie, Ben Stokes starts with a length ball, around middle and leg. Kirk Mckenzie blocks it into the leg side from inside the crease. |
| 11.2 : Ben Stokes to Kirk Mckenzie, On a length, angling across, around off. Kirk Mckenzie works it to covers off the outer half. |
| 11.3 : Ben Stokes to Kirk Mckenzie, OUT! LBW! The finger goes up as Ben Stokes puts in an appeal for LBW. Kirk Mckenzie though has a quick chat with his partner and takes it upstairs. Ben Stokes dishes a length ball, around middle and leg. The ball straightens a bit and goes on to hit Kirk Mckenzie on his back foot. The UltraEdge confirms that no bat is involved. The Ball Tracking confirms three reds and the on-field decision stands. |
| 11.4 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, Ben Stokes greets the new batter with a short ball, in the channel. Alick Athanaze looks to feel for it but misses. |
| 0.0 : Alick Athanaze is the new man in. |
| 11.5 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, On a length, around off. Alick Athanaze blocks it out watchfully. |
| 11.6 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, A bit shorter this time, around off. Alick Athanaze shuffles and pushes it away. |
| 12.1 : Gus Atkinson to Mikyle Louis, Atkinson goes short, angled in as well. Louis dabs it into covers and crosses. |
| 12.2 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 12.3 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, A bit fuller this time, on the same line, going away from the left-hander. This one stays a bit low after hitting the deck. Alick Athanaze lets it through. |
| 12.4 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Atkinson goes full, around middle and leg. Alick Athanaze closes the face and flicks it to the left of mid on, who makes a sharp stop here. |
| 12.5 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Short ball, on top off. Alick Athanaze gets inside the line and tucks it to square leg. |
| 12.6 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Just a single come from this over. Gus Atkinson nails the yorker this time, around off. Alick Athanaze jams it into the deck. England are dictating terms here. |
| 13.1 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Ben Stokes angles in a full ball, around the off stump. Mikyle Louis leans forward and blocks it out solidly. |
| 13.2 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, No run. |
| 13.3 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Full, and angled into the pads. Louis clips it into mid-wicket. |
| 13.4 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Peach of a delivery this time. Ben Stokes goes wide of the crease this time and serves a length ball, outside off. The ball nips away just a bit to flirt with the outside edge here. |
| 13.5 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Too straight and full, around leg. Louis works it to mid on off the inner half. |
| 13.6 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, A maiden over for Stokes. West Indies are unable to get runs on the board here. It is a length ball, around middle. Louis blocks it out watchfully. |
| 14.1 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Full ball, in the channel. Alick Athanaze drives it to mid on but only to find the fielder there. |
| 14.2 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, A bit shorter this time, leaving the left-hander from around the off stump. Alick Athanaze watches it sail past him. |
| 14.3 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Back of a length, around off, angled across once again. Alick Athanaze is getting impatient here as he tries to flick it from outside off but misses it completely. |
| 14.4 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, A length ball, around off, blocked out solidly. |
| 14.5 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 14.6 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Shorter one, in the channel. Alick Athanaze dabs it to point. Gus Atkinson with a maiden over this time around. |
| 15.1 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Good length delivery, but down the leg side. |
| 15.2 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Much straighter and fuller, on the pads. Louis nudges it into mid-wicket for no run. |
| 15.3 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Shortish, in the corridor of uncertainty. Louis shuffles and defends it into covers. |
| 15.4 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Ben Stokes serves a short ball this time, on off. Mikyle Louis thinks about freeing his arms, and swings hard across the line to mistime his pull to mid on. |
| 15.5 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, On a good length, on top of off. Louis gets behind the line and blocks it out. |
| 15.6 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, Three back-to-back maidens for England. Ben Stokes dishes a short ball, outside off. Mikyle Louis stays back and brings out an orthodox defensive shot. |
| 16.1 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Four! |
| 16.2 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Four! |
| 16.3 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Length, around off. Alick Athanaze defends it into covers this time. |
| 16.4 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Four! |
| 16.5 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, A bit shortish, around off. Alick Athanaze blocks it out watchfully. |
| 16.6 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, A really good over for West Indies for the first time in this innings. Gus Atkinson delivers a length ball, around off. Alick Athanaze gets squared up a bit and gets it to point off the outside edge. |
| 17.1 : Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, It is a full ball, angled into the pads. Mikyle Louis flicks it along the ground through mid-wicket. The batters take two runs before Shoaib Bashir cuts it out. |
| 0.0 : There is a problem with the ball here. The ball is struggling to go through the 8-ball gauge. As the umpires go through a suitcase full of ball they have decided to take a DRINKS BREAK here. West Indies might just be feeling a little release of that pressure from that previous over. The batters have been disciplined but they are facing some seriously superb bowling on offer. This is just Day 2, so no point in thinking about the runs as of now. 22.5 overs are left in the day and if the visitors c |
| 17.2 : Kavem Hodge does walk out now, at number 5, replacing Mikyle Louis. |
| Ben Stokes to Mikyle Louis, OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! Mikyle Louis gets dragged into playing this shot and he has given away his crucial wicket. A small break in play, and England do manage to cash-in on the opportunity here. Ben Stokes dishes a length ball, outside off. The ball shapes away a touch. Mikyle Louis ends up hanging his bat away from his body, really for the first time in this innings. The ball gets nicked and Jamie Smith makes no mistaken behind the sticks. England have their |
| 17.3 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, It is a length ball, tailing into the right-hander. Hodge goes back and blocks it out. |
| 17.4 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, FOUR! A loosener here and Hodge gets off the mark with a boundary here. It is a good-length ball, around leg stump. Hodge lifts his front leg and pulls it to deep square leg for a boundary. |
| 17.5 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, Much fuller, outside off. Hodge blocks it out into covers. |
| 17.6 : Ben Stokes to Kavem Hodge, Good length, wide of off, staying low a bit. Hodge leaves it alone for the keeper. Another wicket-taking over from the English skipper comes to an end. |
| 18.1 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Pitched up this time, on the fourth stump line. Alick Athanaze drives it into covers but to find the fielder. |
| 18.2 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, A length ball, on the pads. Alick Athanaze flicks it to the left of deep square leg. The fielder in the deep comes across and keeps it down to one. |
| 18.3 : Gus Atkinson to Kavem Hodge, OUT! CHOPPED ON! Kavem Hodge got off the mark with a boundary, unfortunately the only highlight of his innings. |
| 0.0 : Jason Holder is the new man in at number 6, replacing Kavem Hodge. West Indies in dire straights and dearly need some calm shoulders. However, Mr. Holder is on a KING PAIR. He got a golden duck against Atkinson in the previous innings. He returned the favour with the ball though, getting Atkinson out first ball. |
| 18.4 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, Back of a length, nipping back in from outside off. Jason Holder gets inside the line and blocks it out. |
| 18.5 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, Much fuller this time, outside off. Holder gets it to square leg off the inside edge. One taken. He gets off the mark here. |
| 18.6 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, Short ball, on top of off. Alick Athanaze gets behind the line to defend it out watchfully. A successful over from Gus Atkinson comes to an end. |
| 19.1 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Ben Stokes starts this over with a full ball, outside off. Holder looks to hit it through the line but gets it to backward point off the outer half here. |
| 19.2 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Good length, wide of off, shaping further away. Holder watches it sail past him. |
| 19.3 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Three dots in a row now. A length ball which is much closer to the batter this time, but not close enough for Holder to attack it. |
| 19.4 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, A length ball, around off. Holder gets on his front foot and defends it out solidly into covers. |
| 19.5 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Back of a length, around middle. Holder gets it to the left of mid on and crosses for a single. |
| Change of bats for Athanaze. |
| 19.6 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, Good length, angling across, around off. Alick Athanaze gets it to point off the outer half. |
| 20.1 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, Comes wider of the crease, does Gus Atkinson, lands it on a good length outside off and gets it to nip back in a long way. |
| 20.2 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, This is outside off, no movement this time from a good length, just goes straight on, Holder lets it pass. |
| 20.3 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, This is a bit too straight, on middle and leg on a length, Jason flicks it towards deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 20.4 : Gus Atkinson to Alick Athanaze, 1 run. |
| 20.5 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, Slower ball, on a length, outside off, coming in with the angle, JH defends. Actually no. It was NOT a slower ball. The speed gun reads 137 kph. |
| 20.6 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, Banged in short, outside off, Jason Holder pulls it towards deep fine leg for one. |
| 0.0 : Will Stokes bowl another one? He has already bowled 5 overs in this spell, for 7 runs and 2 scalps. There is some delay, not sure what is the reason. Stokes to continue. |
| 21.1 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Full and outside off, Jason Holder drives it towards cover. |
| 21.2 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Outside off, fuller again, Holder lets it go. |
| 21.3 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Full and straight, a little bit of tail in, Jason adjusts nicely and pushes it towards mid on. |
| 21.4 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, On a good length, around off, this one moves away, but once again, JH is watchful and keeps it out. |
| 21.5 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Outswinger, on a full length, around off, Jason Holder gets forward and defends it towards point. |
| 21.6 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, No run. |
| 22.1 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, On a good length, around middle, Alick Athanaze defends it down the pitch. |
| 22.2 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 0.0 : It is just so refreshing to se Ben Stokes walk freely, without ANY limp. We almost spent an age watching Stokes grimace after every shot, taking every run, grinning while running into bowl and spent a long time without bowling. Just painful to watch it was. Thankfully, the current Stokes looks fully fit and there is no sign of any grimace whatsoever. Stokes the bowler just changes the dynamics of this English side. Meanwhile, James Anderson returns. 5-4-2-1 so far. |
| 22.3 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Fuller this time, around middle and leg, Alick works it towards mid-wicket. |
| 22.4 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Full and around middle, AA defends it back down the pitch. Seems like Anderson is setting up Athanaze. Pitching the ball outside leg and then getting it to move away. Watch out for the big booming inswinger any time soon. |
| 22.5 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, This one comes in but not that usual swing from Jimmy. Alick Athanaze tucks it towards deep square leg for one. |
| 22.6 : James Anderson to Jason Holder, There's that movement. On a length, outside off, Jason Holder thinks it is there to cut but the ball suddenly jags back in and Holder is caught with nowhere to go. He cannot even complete his shot as the ball hits the bat hard and drops beside Anderson in his followthrough, to his left. |
| 23.1 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, Full and around middle, Alick Athanaze pushes it towards point. |
| 23.2 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, FOUR! A rare loose ball. |
| 23.3 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, Back to business. On a good length, around middle, angling away, Alick pushes it towards point. |
| 23.4 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, That's a sumptuous drive. But the 41-year-old champion is still quick enough to cut the ball off. |
| 23.5 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Around off, coming in, Jason Holder tucks it through square leg for a single. The deficit is now 199. |
| 23.6 : Ben Stokes to Alick Athanaze, Around off, lifts off a length, Alick Athanaze is surprised but fends it nicely towards gully. |
| 24.1 : James Anderson to Jason Holder, On a length, outside off, Jason Holder stays back and dabs it towards gully. |
| 24.2 : James Anderson to Jason Holder, Full and outside off, Holder leans into this one and drives the ball through the covers for a single. |
| 24.3 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 24.4 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Outside off, nips back in a long way from a length, Athanaze looks to flick but misses and is hit high on the thighs. |
| 24.5 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Outside off, on a length, this one straightens after pitching, Alick pushes it towards point. |
| 24.6 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Around middle, on a length, AA tucks it towards mid-wicket. |
| A long chat between Stokes and Anderson. Are England trying to slow the game down? After a quick start to the session, there seems to be a bit more leisure in the last few minutes. Around 45 minutes left on the clock with the extended time and there are still 15 overs left. More delay. Stokes comes running in but while he is about to bowl, a fly attacks him in his right eye and he aborts the mission. |
| 25.1 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Outside off, on a length, Jason Holder lets it pass. After a bit of a delay, umpire Rod Tucker signals it as a NO BALL for overstepping. |
| Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Close, close call! This one lands outside off and jags back in a long way. |
| 25.2 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Full and just outside off, Jason pushes it towards cover. |
| 25.3 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, No run. |
| 25.4 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Action replay of the previous delivery. |
| 25.5 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, The sucker ball, full and wide outside off, swinging away, JH lunges and then shoulders arms. |
| 25.6 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Misdirected down the leg side, off a fuller length, Jason Holder misses his tuck. Nice keeping by Jamie Smith again, diving to his left. |
| 26.1 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Full and outside off, Alick Athanaze comes forward to defend but the ball pitches and then shapes away, taking the leading edge to point. |
| 26.2 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 26.3 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, No run. |
| 26.5 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Full and outside off, coming in with the angle, Alick defends it down the pitch. |
| 26.6 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Misfired down the leg side, AA cannot connect with his flick while Jamie Smith is getting an extension of his warm-up drills. For the last half an hour, Stokes and Anderson are making the poor keeper dive left and right consistently. This is stopped with his right glove. |
| 26.4 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, The same angle, the same ball, the same shot, this time an inside edge is eked out onto the thighs. |
| 27.1 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Full and around off, from over the wicket, Jason Holder defends. This is STOKES' 9TH OVER on the trot. He just does not want to give up the ball in this mood. |
| 27.2 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, On a good length, outside off, coming in with the angle, Holder walks into the shot and blocks. |
| 27.3 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Gets a good stride in, covers the off stump slightly and lets this outswinger outside off make contact with Jamie Smith's gloves. |
| 27.4 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, There is that edge. But it is safe. Fuller, outside off, swinging away, Jason leans to defend but gets a thick outside edge. Luckily for him, the ball goes behind the slips. Two runs taken by Holder, via 8 strides. |
| 27.5 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Landed outside off, left alone. |
| 27.6 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, This one comes back in from outside off, JH dabs it towards third slip. |
| 28.1 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, Outside off, on a length from around the wicket, Alick Athanaze comes forward and pushes it through gully where the fielder dives to his right and stops the ball. |
| 28.2 : James Anderson to Alick Athanaze, OUT! Edged and taken! Wicket number 703 for Jimmy in first-class cricket. |
| 0.0 : Joshua Da Silva walks in at number 7, replacing Alick Athanaze. |
| 28.3 : James Anderson to Joshua Da Silva, Up and running first ball. Full and outside off, Joshua Da Silva leans into the shot and drives it to the left of cover for a single to get off the mark and pair. |
| 28.4 : James Anderson to Jason Holder, Full and outside off, Holder drives it through the covers for a run. |
| 28.5 : James Anderson to Joshua Da Silva, No run. |
| 28.6 : James Anderson to Joshua Da Silva, FOUR! SUBLIME! This time he finds the gap. Full and outside off, swinging in, da Silva comes forward and drives it straight back past the bowler and this time, the man from extra cover cannot cover the distance to his right. The deficit is now 189. |
| 29.1 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, On a good length, outside off, Jason Holder defends it towards cover. |
| 29.2 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Similar delivery, pushed towards the off side again, this time much squarer. |
| 29.3 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Full and straight, Holder pushes at this with his bat and pad close together and gets it off the inner half of the bat towards mid on. |
| 29.4 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, FOUR! SWEET! Aesthetically pleasing from Jason Holder. Double bluff from Stokes. He pushed square leg back just before this ball, probably trying to indicate that he is going to bowl short. But instead, he bowls it full. However, Holder is well set now and reads the length perfectly. Comes forward, gets to the pitch of the ball and drives it through the covers. NO BALL SIGNALLED AS WELL. The stand moves to 11 from 6 balls. Holder moves to 12 from 40 balls. |
| Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Down the leg side, Holder misses his tuck. The ball goes off his pads towards fine leg. Two runs taken, leg byes signalled. |
| 29.5 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, Outside off, pushed towards the off side. |
| 29.6 : Ben Stokes to Jason Holder, 2 runs. |
| 0.0 : It was indeed a nice setup from Anderson. |
| 30.1 : James Anderson to Joshua Da Silva, James Anderson geos full, angled into the pads here. Joshua Da Silva flicks it through mid-wicket for a single here. |
| 30.2 : James Anderson to Jason Holder, It is pitched up, full and on off. Jason Holder drives it down the park, with full face of the bat. James Anderson though stretches his right left and stops the ball with his feet here. |
| 30.3 : James Anderson to Jason Holder, Length ball around off. Holder blocks it back to the bowler here. |
| 30.4 : James Anderson to Jason Holder, Goes full this time, outside off. Holder steps forward and drives it to mid off but fails to hit it through the gap. |
| 30.5 : James Anderson to Jason Holder, Back of a length, outside off, nipping away a bit. Holder gets it towards gully off the outside edge. |
| 30.6 : James Anderson to Jason Holder, James Anderson ends his tenth over with five dots on the trot. It is a good-length, ball, on off. Jason Holder stays back and defends it to point. |
| 31.1 : Chris Woakes to Joshua Da Silva, Chris Woakes goes wide of the crease here and angled in a length ball, around off and gets it to shape away. Joshua Da Silva blocks it out solidly. |
| 31.2 : Chris Woakes to Joshua Da Silva, A bit shorter this time, on middle. Joshua Da Silva hangs back and clips it to mid-wicket for no run. |
| 30.6 : Finally. A break for Stokes after a 10-over spell. Chris Woakes is back on, for a final burst for the day. Just 17 minutes left for the close. 5-2-9-0 so far. 9 overs left, meaning, we are bound to have 4 or 5 overs lost. |
| 31.3 : Chris Woakes to Joshua Da Silva, Woakes starts his second spell with three dots here. Fuller one, on the pads. Joshua Da Silva flicks it into mid-wicket for no run. |
| 31.4 : Chris Woakes to Joshua Da Silva, Full and straight around off. Joshua Da Silva gets behind and blocks it well. |
| 31.5 : Chris Woakes to Joshua Da Silva, No run. |
| 31.6 : Chris Woakes to Joshua Da Silva, A maiden over for Woakes on his return into the attack. A length ball, around off. Joshua Da Silva nudges it into the leg side. |
| Double change. Gus Atkinson gets one more chance to add to his tally for the day. 13 minutes left on the clock. Maybe, we might have 3 more overs bowled. 6-1-21-1 so far. |
| 32.1 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, Four! |
| 32.2 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, A sharp bouncer here from Gus Atkinson. Holder ducks under it. |
| 32.3 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, An inswinging delivery, full and on middle. Holder drills it down the park. Gus Atkinson gets low quickly and stop the ball with one hand on his follow through. |
| 32.4 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, Gus Atkinson once again bends his back hard and serves a bouncer, around off. Holder leaves it alone. |
| 32.5 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, A bit fuller this time, outside off. Holder drives it into the off side but only to find the fielder at extra covers. |
| 32.6 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, Back of a length, on the pads. Holder tucks it behind square on the leg side for one. |
| 33.1 : Chris Woakes to Jason Holder, Full ball, around off. Holder drives it to the left of mid off and hares to the other end. Ben Stokes is quick in the field. He rushes to his left, picks up the ball, rotates and throws the ball at the non-striker's end but the ball flies on top of the stumps. Jason Holder survives here. Direct-hit and was surely a goner here. |
| 33.2 : Chris Woakes to Joshua Da Silva, Length, around off. blocked out to point by Joshua Da Silva. |
| 33.3 : Chris Woakes to Joshua Da Silva, Chris Woakes serves a length ball, in the channel. Joshua Da Silva gets it to mid on off the inner half. |
| 33.4 : Chris Woakes to Joshua Da Silva, Another dot ball now. A slower one this time, full and on off. Joshua Da Silva gets on his front foot and sees it out. |
| 33.5 : Chris Woakes to Joshua Da Silva, Back of a length this time, outside off, shaping away a bit. Joshua Da Silva looks to hook it away but gets beaten by some extra bounce here. |
| 33.6 : Chris Woakes to Joshua Da Silva, Touch fuller, outside off. Joshua Da Silva taps it to covers and crosses for a single. |
| 34.1 : Gus Atkinson to Joshua Da Silva, Short ball, on the body. Joshua Da Silva takes it on and pulls it to deep square leg for a single. He moves to 20 now. He also racks up 1000 runs in Test cricket with this single. |
| 33.6 : Stokes taking plenty of time to set the field. 4 minutes left on the clock. Seems like this will be the last over of the day. The field is set for short-pitched bowling. |
| 34.2 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, Gus Atkinson dishes a length ball, in the corridor of uncertainty here. |
| 34.3 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, Sharp bumper this time, around off. Holder ducks under this one. |
| 34.4 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, Another dot ball now, as Holder ends up defending this short ball from inside the crease here. |
| 0.0 : West Indies make their contributions. Joshua Da Silva walks down the pitch, calls his partner Jason Holder for a chat and both exchange smiles. This surely now will be the final over of the day. |
| 34.5 : Gus Atkinson to Jason Holder, OUT! CAUGHT! Gus Atkinson picks up his second wicket of the innings, this one though has been created out of nothing. The ploy of getting Ollie Pope at short leg has brought them a wicket here. Gus Atkinson dishes a short ball, around middle, which gets big on Holder, who is already a very tall lad. Jason Holder gets his blade very high and ends up chipping it in front of short leg. Ollie Pope there dives in front of him to take a stunner. West Indies ar |
| 0.0 : Well, after all the deliberate delays from both sides, it is England who walk back grabbing all the honours of the day. Couldn't have been more poetic - first Stokes delays the start of the over, then the two batters ensure that this is the last over of the day before a perfect field change snaps a wicket right when the clock strikes 6.30 pm in London. The visitors are now 6 down and with a deficit of 171 runs, it is going to be an uphill battle to see off even a session on Friday, let alone av |
| Another frenetic session for West Indies with the bat. They started off very watchfully, trying to keep the overs faced and the runs scored in parity, with the run rate trundling along at almost run-an-over for the first hour. Crucially though, they were keeping wickets in hand, until Anderson burst through the defenses of Brathwaite. That opened the door for breakthroughs as apart for a brief resistance between Alick Athanaze and Jason Holder, there was barely any fight. Cannot say they playe |
| This has been one of the most disciplined bowling performances from England in the past few months. Ben Stokes has a clear principle - not to stray away from the plans and not to give the opposition any freebies. Let the batters come at you and if they can't, just keep hitting the right lengths. He already has a bowling machine in James Anderson who is about to hang his boots while the captain himself led by example bowling 10-4-25-2 in one straight spell. Everyone was excellent except maybe Gu |
| Not a bad day in total for the West Indies but their batting mishap on Wednesday has left them clutching at straws. They bowled well on Day 2, keeping England to a lead of 250 through Jayden Seales' 4-fer, but a poor opening hour and a poor closing hour sees them within the doorstep of a crushing innings defeat. England would be aiming for a professional performance on Friday as well and give James Anderson a perfect sendoff in a fitting Day 3 finish. By the looks of it, the game should not go |
| ... DAY 3, SESSION 1 ... |
| The first Test of the English Summer and that too, at the Home of Cricket, the Lordâs Cricket Ground, the fans do anticipate a humdinger. But it doesnât look like one here as the Englishmen have totally outclassed the men from the Caribbean in the first two days. And it is pretty much inevitable now that Ben Stokes and Co will win this because this West Indian inning is going absolutely nowhere. A realistic assessment paints a grim picture for the visitors, their chances of turning this matc |
| Day 2 showcased England's bowling masterclass, with the home team's attack running through the West Indies batting lineup. Gus Atkinson continued his merry way and picked up a 2-fer with Stokes matching equal tally so far. But the real story? The ageless wonder, Jimmy Anderson. At 41, when most cricketers are reminiscing about their glory days from the comfort of a commentary box, Lancashire's favorite son is still out there, making batterâs lives miserable in his final Test. Anderson's delive |
| The West Indian batting on the other hand has given absolutely underwhelming returns and as Jayden Seales mentioned in the post-match presser after Day 2, it must be frustrating for them to look at the scorecard. And it was pretty much visible from the West Indian gallery at the Lordâs. Alick Athanaze did try to stabilize things, but he was fighting alone from one end and saw his partners fall at the other. However, Jason Holder tried to provide a hand, but the pair found themselves as two s |
| All in readiness for the action to begin at the Lord's for Day 3! Day 2 was sunny for most of the part, but the new dawn brought overcast skies above. James Anderson was seen walking with a guard of honor from the Lord's Long Room, followed by the two sets of players who gave him the deserved guard of honor. |
| 34.6 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, Atkinson steams in from over the wicket and bangs it in short straight away but the line is down leg. An easy leave for Alzarri Joseph as he ducks and lets the ball go through. |
| 35.1 : James Anderson to Joshua Da Silva, Starts from over the wicket and lands it on a good length, a bit wide in the channel on off, shaping away, Joshua Da Silva leaves the ball alone. |
| 34.6 : And, there he is! The Lord's roars up in admiration and cheers as James Anderson is into the attack now. |
| 35.2 : James Anderson to Joshua Da Silva, No run. |
| 35.3 : James Anderson to Joshua Da Silva, Swings it away again from the right-hander but not close enough to force the batter to play. Joshua Da Silva makes an easy leave to a good-length delivery outside off. |
| 35.4 : James Anderson to Joshua Da Silva, Much better! At 130 kph and drags the length back does Anderson, closer to the off-stump line, Joshua Da Silva hangs back and stabs it down with a straight bat. |
| 35.5 : James Anderson to Joshua Da Silva, No run. |
| 35.6 : James Anderson to Joshua Da Silva, Beats the bat on the last ball! Anderson goes full and lures the batter into the drive. Joshua Da Silva falls into the trap as he extends his hands and looks to drive the away-going delivery and gets beaten on the outside edge. |
| 36.1 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, In the air....but Ben Stokes cannot get there in time! |
| 36.2 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, Atkinson responds by banging into the deck but the line is not great. It goes down leg, allowing Alzarri Joseph to make the leave. |
| 36.3 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, 1 run. |
| 36.4 : Gus Atkinson to Joshua Da Silva, No run. |
| 36.5 : Gus Atkinson to Joshua Da Silva, No ball! |
| Gus Atkinson to Joshua Da Silva, At 135 kph by Atkinson, banged into the surface, over middle, Joshua Da Silva drags the pull in front of square on the leg side for a single. |
| 36.6 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, FOUR! Hit with real authority! |
| 37.1 : James Anderson to Joshua Da Silva, OUT! c Jamie Smith b James Anderson. |
| 0.0 : Phew, speechless to describe that delivery from Jimmy Anderson. Absolute seed! Number 704 for him to send Da Silva packing. Gudakesh Motie is the new man in at number 9. |
| 37.2 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, No run. |
| 37.3 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, No run. |
| 37.4 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, Attacks the stumps does Anderson, just nipping a bit away on off, Gudakesh Motie negotiates well and defends it to the off side. |
| 37.5 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, Fuller in length, on off, Gudakesh Motie drives it without much timing to mid off. |
| 37.6 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, Strays down leg, on a back of a length, Gudakesh Motie gets inside the line of the ball to play the flick but misses. |
| 0.0 : Halt! Change of bat for Alzarri Joseph! |
| 38.1 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, That could have gone anywhere! Alzarri Joseph gets away with it! Atkinson bends his back and digs in a sharp bumper, on off, Alzarri Joseph expects the short ball but still gets rushed in the pull shot. The ball gets big on him and it comes off the splice of the bat. Luckily for Joseph, it lobs over the bowler and lands well wide of mid off. They cross. |
| 38.2 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, Atkinson goes full to Motie, in and around off, Gudakesh Motie gets a good stride in and defends it out confidently. |
| 38.3 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, There comes the bumper again, aimed at the ribs but the ball does not rise as Atkinson intended it to. Gudakesh Motie gets into a tangle but gets out of the ball's way early and ducks. |
| 38.4 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, James Anderson is giving it his all for the team with the ball and in the field too! |
| 38.5 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, No run. |
| Talk about that effort from James Anderson. A wicket in the previous over and doing all the hard yards in the field. |
| 38.6 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, No run. |
| 39.1 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, Anderson hustles from around the stumps, delivers an inswinger onto the pads on a length, Gudakesh Motie tucks it to square leg. |
| 39.2 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, That probing length again! Bowls from around the wicket to the southpaw, hurls it full this time and right in the corridor of uncertainty, enticing the batter to have a poke at it. Around off, and nipping away a bit. Gudakesh Motie strides ahead and plays inside the line and the ball whispers his outside edge and carries to the keeper. |
| 39.3 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, No run. |
| 39.4 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, No run. |
| 39.5 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, FOUR! Lovely shot! |
| 39.6 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, Slanting in from around the wicket, full and on off, Gudakesh Motie shows the full face of the bat and defends it out back to the bowler. |
| 40.1 : Gus Atkinson to Alzarri Joseph, OUT! IN THE AIR AND TAKEN! TEN wickets in the match for Gus Atkinson! The short-ball ploy to Joseph has done the trick for the debutant. 7 wickets in the first inning and 3 so far in the second inning for Atkinson. He becomes the first Englishman to take 10 wickets in his maiden Test at home since 1946. |
| England's bowling future from the other end, Gus Atkinson has picked up the 10th wicket on his Test debut. 7 in the first and 3 so far in this second inning. A Joseph goes and another Joseph takes the crease. Shamar Joseph is in at number 10. |
| 40.2 : Gus Atkinson to Shamar Joseph, He wasn't far away from his 11th. Hurls it on a fullish length, and around off, Shamar Joseph plants his front foot ahead and tries to whack it across but gets a leading edge that flies past the left of the fourth slip towards deep backward point. One taken. |
| 40.3 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, Bangs it short and onto the bodyline, Motie could only duck that one and let it go. |
| 40.4 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, Hard on the back of a length, on the top of the middle, Motie covers his pegs, gets in line and nudges off the back foot to short mid-wicket. |
| 40.5 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, Atkinson holds his length, on the middle and leg, Gudakesh Motie hops on the back foot and pats it back to the bowler. |
| 40.6 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, There's that extra bounce! Around off, short in length, Gudakesh Motie brings his bat down and aborts to have a go at it. Jamie Smith collects the ball at his face level. |
| 41.1 : James Anderson to Shamar Joseph, No run. |
| 41.2 : James Anderson to Shamar Joseph, Angles it closer to the body on off, and on a hard length, Shamar Joseph gets on the back foot and punches it solidly to the off side. |
| 41.3 : James Anderson to Shamar Joseph, Nagging length, with a hint of a movement outside off, Shamar Joseph doesn't quite move his feet and tries to swing straight but misses. |
| 41.4 : James Anderson to Shamar Joseph, Anderson bowls it full and angles on off, Shamar Joseph presents the full bat's face and eases it in front of Stokes at widish covers. Joseph sets off for a single, Stokes is quick to get to the ball and throws wayward at the bowler's end. A single taken. |
| 41.5 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, TWO WIDES! Beats Jamie Smith as well. Angles down the leg side, it takes off from the surface and flies past the keeper to deep fine. They cross. |
| James Anderson to Shamar Joseph, Good effort there by Bashir! Anderson bumps it into the surface, down the leg side. Shamar Joseph misses to connect the pull shot and the ball runs down to deep fine. Shoaib Bashir runs to his left and puts in a timely dive to flick the ball before the ropes. Replays role in and confirm that he has managed to keep it inside the ropes. Two byes. |
| 41.6 : James Anderson to Shamar Joseph, Onto the pads on the length, Shamar Joseph tucks it off the back foot to square leg for an easy single. |
| 42.1 : Gus Atkinson to Shamar Joseph, Swing and a miss! Short and on the top of the middle, Shamar Joseph clears his front leg and misses to connect the pull shot. |
| 42.2 : Gus Atkinson to Shamar Joseph, OUT! KNOCKED HIM OVER! A good change in length from Gus Atkinson. 11th scalp for him in this Test. |
| 42.3 : Gus Atkinson to Jayden Seales, No run. |
| 0.0 : Jayden Seales is the last man in for West Indies. With Atkinson picking the 9th wicket of the West Indian inning, it will not be a five-wicket haul for Anderson in his farewell Test, but the debutant has the opportunity to take another five-wicket haul in this inning. Stokes has a word with Atkinson at the top of his mark with James Anderson stationed at mid on. |
| 42.4 : Gus Atkinson to Jayden Seales, Hard length, on the middle, Jayden Seales stays tall and pats it underneath the bat. |
| 42.5 : Gus Atkinson to Jayden Seales, Whoa! This one takes off further! Short and angling away after pitching on off, Jayden Seales decides to not have a go at it and shoulders arms. |
| 42.6 : Gus Atkinson to Jayden Seales, Fired down the leg side on a hard length. Seales lets it go. |
| Right then, here is Anderson at the top of his mark for potentially the last over with the crowd cheering him on. |
| 43.1 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, OH JIMMY! That cherry was begging to be grabbed! Gudakesh Motie chips the length-delivery back to Anderson who spills it out of his left hand. A collective groan from the crowd. |
| 43.2 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, 2 runs. |
| 43.3 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, Good length on the off stump, Motie works it along the carpet to square leg. |
| 43.4 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, Full and attacking the off-pole, Gudakesh Motie gets forward and drives it to mid off. |
| 43.5 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, FOUR! Shot! Too full and on off from Anderson, Gudakesh Motie with a slight prod ahead, drives it through the covers for a boundary. |
| 43.6 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, Anderson hurls it at a gentle pace, around off and full in length, Gudakesh Motie covers his defence and drives it with full face of the bat, but straight to mid off. |
| 44.1 : Gus Atkinson to Jayden Seales, Atkinson spears in a fuller-length delivery on off, Jayden Seales drives it along the ground to the left of mid off and steals a quick single. |
| 44.2 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, Too short and nipping away from the southpaw, outside off, Gudakesh Motie goes for a pul shot but doesn't connect. |
| 43.6 : James Anderson will still be thinking about that dropped chance while going back to his fielding position. Was it the last over of his career or will he get one more crack at it to end his farewell Test with a wicket? How does Gus Atkinson bowl now? |
| 44.3 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, At 134 kph, outside off and on a length, Gudakesh Motie slashes at it at the very last moment but fails to have a connection. |
| 44.4 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, EDGED AND FOUR! Just evades Brook at the third slip! |
| Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, In the air...lands safe! Short and on the body from Atkinson, Gudakesh Motie miscues his pull high up in the air but sails over the inner ring and lands behind mid-wicket. Two taken. |
| 44.5 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, 2 runs. |
| 44.6 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, FOUR! That's powered away by Motie! Full length on the off stump, Motie clears the front leg and hits through extra cover for a boundary. |
| 45.1 : James Anderson to Jayden Seales, Angles away from the off stump, on a fuller length, Jayden Seales swings but gets beaten on the outside edge. |
| 44.6 : So, James Anderson does get another shot at wrapping things up and he is up against Jayden Seales with the crowd and family willing him on. |
| 45.2 : James Anderson to Jayden Seales, FOUR! Nice shot down the ground! Anderson overpitches with a beautiful seam position, looking to shape into the batter from that angle, but the ball doesn't move a bit. Jayden Seales plants his front foot ahead and spanks it down the ground for a boundary. |
| 45.3 : James Anderson to Jayden Seales, Hard length, on the off, Jayden Seales solidly blocks it near the strip to the off side and takes a quick single. |
| 45.4 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, Anderson angles it into the batter but hurls it down the leg side, Gudakesh Motie guides the ball with a gentle tuck through square leg for one. |
| 45.5 : James Anderson to Jayden Seales, 'Catch It' is the collective call but it lands way short ahead of Ben Duckett at deep square leg. |
| 45.6 : James Anderson to Gudakesh Motie, An appeal for LBW but 'NO' says the umpire. Anderson angles onto the middle and leg stump line, Gudakesh Motie misses to connect and wears it on the pads. |
| 46.1 : Gus Atkinson to Jayden Seales, Short of a good length from Atkinson on the middle, pulled away by Seales to deep backward square leg for one. |
| 46.2 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, FOUR! Hacked! A bumper on the middle, Gudakesh Motie sways from the line, clearing his front leg and bends to his right to pull it away. However, the ball is too close to pull and takes the top over the keeper's head for a boundary. |
| 45.6 : We will be having one more before the drinks break. It will be Gus Atkinson to continue. |
| 46.3 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, Hard length, and angling on off, Gudakesh Motie punches it to the cover fielder. |
| 46.4 : Gus Atkinson to Gudakesh Motie, Atkinson keeps his length intact, on a length, around off, Gudakesh Motie creates room for him and toe-ends the shot with a horizontal bat through the left of mid off for one. |
| 46.5 : Gus Atkinson to Jayden Seales, Full in length, and on off, Jayden Seales shovels it out straight to cover. |
| 46.6 : Gus Atkinson to Jayden Seales, OUT! IN THE AIR AND TAKEN! Gus Atkinson wraps up in style with a sensational 5-fer. England win by an inning and 114 runs. Gus Atkinson bends his back and bangs a short-pitched delivery on the stumps, Jayden Seales reacts quickly to the length and readies himself for the pull shot. He does connect the shot well and pulls in the air towards the deep mid-wicket area. However, he couldn't power away the ball over the fence and Ben Duckett stationed right at |
| 0.0 : Gus Atkinson finishes off the innings to give England a 1-0 lead in the series! The man that James Anderson is, he has always put his team ahead of personal milestones and will have no regrets about missing out on the final wicket. The entire Lord's rises in a heartfelt standing ovation to bid farewell to a true legend of the game. Emotions run high among Anderson's family in the stands, mirroring the sentiment of fans worldwide. Embrace from each of his teammates before Anderson leads his tea |
| On May 22, 2003, a young James Anderson took to the field, making his Test debut at this very venue against Zimbabwe. Fast forward 21 years, and we now witness the end of an extraordinary journey that has seen Anderson age like the finest of wines. Remarkably, the circle of time brings a poetic touch to his career, as he bowled his first delivery in Test cricket on a Friday, and it is indeed a Friday when he delivered his last. The symmetry is almost too perfect, a fitting end to the saga of one |
| Coming to what transpired on Day 3, it was just the perfect start to the day for James Anderson and England. The retiring pacer produced a peach of a delivery to nick Joshua Da Silva off. It did not take long for the debutant Gus Atkinson to get into the act as he helped England inch further to the win with a couple of wickets. Amidst all this, Gudakesh Motie had a bit of fun, as all tailenders do with nothing to lose. With 9 wickets down, the stage was set for James Anderson to end his career |
| Having fallen behind on the first day, it was important for the West Indies to pick themselves and find a way back in the contest. The highlight of the morning session for them was Gudakesh Motie producing two superb deliveries, one to Ben Stokes that spun in sharply off the footmarks and the other, an arm ball that seemed to deviate away off the seam to remove Joe Root. The debutant Jamie Smith then took over and helped England end up with a lead of 250 runs. In response, West Indies' openers m |
| On the first morning, England won the toss and Ben Stokes chose to bowl under overcast conditions. West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and debutant Mikyle Louis started well, with Louis quickly punishing loose deliveries. England's debutant Gus Atkinson made an immediate impact, taking a wicket with his second delivery and, supported by Ben Stokes, dismantled the Windies' top order. After a promising start by Alick Athanaze and Kavem Hodge, West Indies collapsed dramatically, losing their last |
| Stick around for the presentation ceremony... |
| First up, the MCC president Mark Nicholas greets James Anderson, followed by the announcement of the retiring pacer awarded honorary life membership by the club. |
| Gus Atkinson is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his sensational debut, taking 12 wickets in his maiden Test. He says that he admired Anderson while growing up. Says that this group allows you to come in and be the player you want to be. On being asked about opting out of the Indian T20 League, Atkinson says he struggled with his rhythm at the start of the season with Surrey and needed a few red-ball games leading into this. |
| The captain of West Indies, Kraigg Brathwaite says that they disappointed themselves with the bat and when you score just 100 runs with the bat, you are always behind the game. Feels that bowling was a positive but they could have still done better. Believes that this team has it in them to win a Test here in England and it is about the guys having the same belief. Further says that being mentally strong after such a defeat is important. Tells that fast bowlers, especially those who came from |
| The skipper of England, Ben Stokes says it is a really good start. Says to come out and put in a comprehensive performance like this is clinical. Adds before the game, it was exciting to see new lads getting the debut caps. Appreciates Gus Atkinson and says that he is incredibly skillful. And mentions that he used the Lord's slope to his advantage. Further says that taking 12 wickets in the first Test is incredible and exciting. Says for the new guys starting their careers it's about making su |
| Next up, the ECB chairman Richard Thompson presents James Anderson with a special painting of his 700th Test wicket. The great man comes in for a chat now. Anderson says that it has been an amazing journey and he is quite overwhelmed with the support this week. Adds that the journey has been pretty special and every time he wore this shirt, he tried to win games for England. Shares that the emotions have been up and down right from Day 1 when his daughters rang the bell. Tells that the past |
| Right then, that's a wrap on the first Test of the 2024 Richards-Botham Trophy, where England secured a dominant victory to take the lead in this three-match series. Interestingly, this mirrors the West Indies' start to their Test series in Australia earlier in the year, where they suffered a comprehensive defeat in the first Test inside three days. However, they bounced back with a historic win at the Gabba, their first in Australia in 27 years, to end the series on a level footing. Similarly, |
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