ENG vs WI 1st Test, Day 2 LIVE: England looking to maintain dominance over West Indies

ENG vs WI 1st Test, Day 1 Highlights

Ben Stokes won the toss as 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 steady start, helped in part by Chris Woakes and James Anderson not bowling full enough to test them. However, Gus Atkinson and Ben Stokes bowled well in tandem, and with the lacquer coming off the ball, they were able to get more movement, helping them to dismiss the Windies’ top three.

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 with Gus Atkinson taking 7 for 45, the third-best figures for an Englishman on Test debut. As soon as the English openers came out to bat, the sun appeared, neutralizing the overhead conditions that could have favoured the Windies’ pacers. Ben Duckett, however, could not make it through until Tea, leaving England trailing by 91 runs with the loss of one wicket.

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. Just as Crawley was beginning to flourish, Jayden Seales went through his defences, dismissing him for the fourth time in four Test matches. Joe Root and Harry Brook then came together, with Brook being the busier of the two and ticked along nicely. West Indies introduced spin late in the day, but the two overs of Gudakesh Motie did not yield them any success as Brook and Root saw off that tricky phase before Stumps.