It could so easily have been Adelaide in December rather than Nottingham in July because day two of this Test match was a very useful dress rehearsal for what awaits in Australia next year.
A hot day, a flat surface that resembled the deadness of Adelaide Oval pre-drop in pitches, and some obdurate batting forced England to think hard and made James Anderson, with his feet up on the dressing room balcony railings, glad it was someone else’s turn to sweat.
This is what Ben Stokes wants – pitches and conditions that replicate the kind of situations overseas that blunt England. It is why he moved on Anderson, picked Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson, attacked with the bouncer and bowled Shoaib Bashir for a long spell from the Radcliffe Road End.
West Indies held their own for long periods but England will learn far more from getting in a scrap with their opponents than romping to victory like they did at Lord’s. Kevam Hodge showed the West Indies fortitude and talent that lurked beneath the Lord’s humbling, his century, his first in Test cricket at the age of 31, and a stand of 175 with fellow Dominican Alick Athanaze for the fourth wicket, was a spirited riposte to the bouncer barrage from Atkinson and Wood.
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 19, 2024KAVEM HODGE HAS HIS MAIDEN TEST CENTURY! 🌟
How about that celebration 🤩 pic.twitter.com/bu5IiHmVkT
Another handy stand of 46 unbroken between Jason Holder, 23 off 67, and Josh da Silva, a more aggressive 32 from 35, was a frustrating bookend to the day, England leading by just 65 at the close, West Indies 351 for five and in the game.
The worry for England is that while West Indies created 14 chances on day one, they struggled to make breakthroughs for long periods and were wicketless in the afternoon session, Joe Root dropping Hodge on 16 as the contest evened out.
A rare dropped catch from Joe Root at first slip as Kavem Hodge is given a lifeline 🫣 pic.twitter.com/AKYqiP6CMa
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 19, 2024
Wood bowled with such heart – his knees red raw form flinging himself to the ground – and pace that it was cruel he went wicketless. He beat the bat 18 times only to finish nought for 51, going off after one ball of his 15th over with a sore hamstring that England hope is just cramp.
There was a buzz, an electricity, coursing around Trent Bridge whenever Wood bowled and oohs and aahs when the big screen flashed up his pace in his first spell. His opening over and third over set new records for average pace in England (Hawkeye data only goes back as far as 2006), clocking in at 94 and 97 mph, and he was still going at over 90 when he went off.
Despite the reworked attack, England again failed to break through with the new ball. It was later, once the lacquer had worn off they looked more dangerous, and with Wood flinging it down, West Indies started to buckle under the duress. Stokes brought Bashir on early and he was tidy, bowled few bad balls and turned it more once he slowed down his bowling. But it was Wood he owed for his wickets, Bashir benefitting from two West Indians buckling – Mikyle Louis caught by Harry Brook running back from mid on and Kirk McKenzie trying to hit over the top just five minutes before lunch.
Atkinson had already worked over Kraigg Brathwaite with a bit of leg theory at the home of Harold Larwood; a bouncer was plopped to Ollie Pope at short leg for 48. So far, so easy for England. At lunch West Indies were 86 for three, their ticker under scrutiny again and England coasting to a nice first innings lead. With Holder at six, the tail is long and West Indies felt one wicket away from sinking fast.
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 19, 2024Gus Atkinson removes captain Kraigg Brathwaite 💥
Brilliant captaincy and execution from England who have their second scalp of the day 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZoWivkGCwq
Athanaze is regarded as the most naturally gifted of the next generation while the more experienced Hodge is a grafter, a player who relishes making runs in tough situations. He bumped into Michael Vaughan in Australia last year and emailed him before this tour asking for advice about how to bat in English conditions. Well, these were not English conditions but Hodge’s hunger for knowledge was matched by his attitude at the crease.
Both are from Dominica and for the tiny island to produce two Test batsmen at the same time is a massive source of national pride as well as a sign of how the bigger islands no longer dominate the first-class scene.
With the pitch offering nothing, Stokes unleashed his pace. He summoned Wood and positioned a leg slip, short leg, midwicket, fine leg, deep backward square leg and asked his bowler to bang it in.
This was a test of mettle and skill. Hodge looked to be wobbling, occasionally taking on the boundary, flapping a little at the bouncer but the ball landing safe. Hodge then nicked to Root, who grassed a sitter, and Wood dropped to his haunches. Somehow he managed the energy to get up again.
Atkinson was brought on as Stokes went with pace from both ends. He was no balled for bowling too many short balls while Wood struck Athanaze on the helmet on 48 with a 92 mph bouncer. But Hodge and Athanaze survived, both passed fifty and at tea it was now a contest – West Indies scoring at a nice rate in adding 123 in the session.
Stokes bowled a 10-over spell from the Stuart Broad End, the kind of flogging his knee could do without frankly. Preserving his health for Australia paramount but there is nobody to tell him otherwise and he did pick up the wicket, Athanaze caught in the gully for 82.
Ben Stokes... BREAKTHROUGH! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hJcz6FbeNm
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 19, 2024
Hodge drove Stokes down the ground for his hundred, squealing in delight and running with one fist in the air before jumping into the arms of Holder. It was a well deserved moment of personal joy and appreciated by a full house. When he was leg before to Woakes, he was slapped on the back in appreciation by Root. Hodge should have thanked him in return for the lifeline.
Woakes bowled better with a replacement ball. It did not hoop like the one against Australia at the Oval but there was enough movement for Woakes who plugged away to contribute something to the cause but it was handy stand at the end between Holder, somehow hanging on, and Da Silva, who scored a hundred the last time West Indies beat England in Grenada. Suddenly, the second Test is a contest.
It was Shoaib Bashir’s first bowl in a Test in England. Marks out of 10? Had he been around the traps, calloused and wise in the ways of off-spin, maybe six out of 10. For a 20-year-old, seven.
When Bashir was brought on for the 11th over of a West Indian innings that was to flower in midsummer sun, his brief was simple: to chip away with the odd wicket but, above all, to hold the line economically while the fast and nasty men flogged something out of a typical strip of Trent Bridge docility.
Bashir, on this long and hot home debut of a day, took two wickets for 100 runs. The wickets came from a couple of hoicks by West Indian rookies, before their middle order recalled their heritage and hit Bashir out of the attack after 23 overs, so England’s four pacers had to bowl both ends.
It sounds a poor return by comparison with Bashir’s famous predecessor Graeme Swann; but let not memory play tricks. Swann could spin a ball at more than 2000 revolutions per minute, dipping as well as turning it, but though Trent Bridge was his adopted home, he was not effective here: Swann took seven wickets at 51 each, defeated by the docility, the heartless lack of wear and tear, the predictability of any turn.
Bashir bowled well against West Indies’ left-handers, moderately against their right-handers. When round the wicket to left-handers, the shape of his body and consequently of the ball looked right. “Bowled Bashy!” Jamie Smith would say, rather than shout, as the pair grew to know each other.
Round the wicket against left-handers, England’s new spinner threatened to go past inside and outside edges. Bashir would have had Kirk McKenzie leg-before immediately had Smith been a loud-mouthed appealer like Matt Prior or Jonny Bairstow and demanded a review. McKenzie’s hoick followed Mikyle Louis’s, their senses scrambled by Mark Wood’s speed.
When over the wicket to right-handers, the shape of bowler and ball was not right. Starting from wide of the crease, Bashir’s run-up takes him and the ball towards leg slip. Anything short and Kavem Hodge pulled it like jerk pork.
Bashir did not threaten to pass the outside edge of right-handers, even when he tossed a few wide of off stump after tea. A straighter run-up might lead to more of a pivot, and some drift away from right-handers.
Swann had 10 years of county cricket in which to learn his game; Bashir is playing his 15th first-class game, including five Tests. He has it all to learn, with the input of England’s spin-bowling coach Jeetan Patel. They have got all the basics to work with: Bashir’s unusual height – his release-point may be higher than John Emburey’s – and his long fingers, and bounce, and accuracy, extraordinary for one so raw.
England have to experiment with Bashir. Jack Leach was inked in to be England’s spinner for the last Ashes. He damaged his leg in the warm-up Test against Ireland and missed the whole series. Moeen Ali, who had forgotten what a red ball felt like, had to fill in. Last winter Leach managed one of the five Tests in India, so the deep end it was for Bashir and Tom Hartley. Leach, 33, cannot be Plan A.
To hold the line on a hot day and bland pitch is some role for any England spinner in Australia. Scant are the statistical rewards. The ball might turn in the second innings of a Test in England (if not Trent Bridge), but nowadays it rains on the Sydney Test, while the Adelaide Oval has a drop-in, so the touring spinner never has a field-day down under, not even Ravichandran Ashwin. When Swann took his five-fer in 2010-11, the Adelaide Oval was still its natural self, prepared to crumble on day five.
Yet all the while, for more than a decade, Nathan Lyon has held Australia’s line and kept on taking wickets with over-spin rather than lateral turn. “Bowled Gary” has been the leitmotiv of Ashes series since 2013. A total of 110 Ashes wickets at less than 30 each. “Bowled Gary!” Only 2.78 runs per over while Australia’s Big Three have rested and rotated. “Bowled Bashy” would make a nice change.
Second Test, day two: as it happened
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Kavem Hodge speaks to Sky Sports
It feels amazing. It’s not every single day that you face a guy that bowls every single ball at 90mph. We had the momentum, so it was really pleasing that we got through that period. For me, my strength in my batting is my power of concentration. I love batting for long periods. It was just a matter of waiting...
From 97, I kind of blanked out. I was just trying my best to stay in the moment. Everything was just a blur. I told Jason I was still pinching myself, even after the celebration I hadn’t grasped it yet. It was still like a dream. Coming off Lord’s, the group was a little bit down and he [Holder] is one of the guys that always has something positive to say.
CLOSE: West Indies 351/5
A good day’s Test cricket on a belter of a pitch, An excellent fourth wicket partnership of 175 between the two Dominicans Alick Athanaze and Kavem Hodge rescued a wobbling West Indies and, though Mark Wood bowled like the wind, helped them to their highest first-innings score in England since Headingley 2017.
OVER 84: West Indies 351/5 (Holder 23 Da Silva 32)
Holder pulls off the splice over the bowler. What a charmed life he has led today. They jog a single. Da Silva pulls a waist-height delivery for four having steered the previous ball down to gully on the bounce. He chisels out Atkinson’s yorker and off come the bails.
WI trail by 65 with five wickets in hand.
OVER 83: West Indies 346/5 (Holder 22 Da Silva 28)
Stokes starts what should be the last over of the day with a no-ball and then Da Silva squeezes a cover drive off the first legitimate ball for four. Five dot balls follow and Stokes hurries through them to ensure there’s another one. Da Silva delays things further by asking for a new pair of gloves.
England take the new ball – that was why Stokes rushed through to make time for one last dart.
OVER 82: West Indies 341/5 (Holder 22 Da Silva 24)
Atkinson, who bounced Holder out with the last ball of day two at Lord’s, tries another bumper and the batsman top edges his pull, the ball falling short of fine leg for a single.
The next bouncer is pat-a-cake stuff and Holder swats it through midwicket for four.
WI trail by 75 runs.
England do not have too many runs to play with here, if they want a first innings lead. They have just been a bit ragged today, with Stokes and Atkinson, the combination now, bowling too many four balls.
OVER 80: West Indies 329/5 (Holder 16 Da Silva 18)
Holder plays and misses (ctrlC ctrlV). Atkinson is fast enough but is getting nothing from the pitch and Holder’s charmed life continues with a whisk off his pads for a single.
Stokes goes very wide at mid-off to try to encourage the drive and Da Silva takes the bait but the ball comes off the inside edge and is dragged into the onside.
OVER 78: West Indies 323/5 (Holder 15 Da Silva 13)
Perhaps that was too hasty, saying Holder had come through the storm because he chases Atkinson’s outswinger and almost nicks it. A very loose shot. Earlier in the over he had squirted the away swinger down to third man for a single but that was too wide to chase.
OVER 77: West Indies 321/5 (Holder 14 Da Silva 12)
Woakes pins Holder on the left knee with successive deliveries both, sadly for him, sliding down. The West Indies all-rounder uses his feet and flicks two to long leg on the walk and farms the strike with a single off his slower ball into the legside. As Mark Butcher says, Jason Holder has had a torrid time but is beginning to emerge from the storm.
OVER 76: West Indies 318/5 (Holder 11 Da Silva 12)
Wood’s day is done. He manages one ball of his 15th over and seems to be struck by cramp. He stretches out his right leg, thigh and calf but Stokes and Woakes tell him to go off and the captain calls up Atkinson to finish the over.
Da Silva drives and thick edges Atkinson wide of Brook at gully for four and follows that with a chunky pull for four more.
Deficit drops below a hundred. Now at 98.
OVER 75: West Indies 309/5 (Holder 10 Da Silva 4)
Woakes finds Holder’s splice as he pushes forward and the ball pops towards cover, falling short of the fielder. Holder uses his feet to work a single into the offside and then Woakes finally gets his reward for his best spell of the series.
Da Silva gets off the mark by spanking a half-volley for four through cover as Woakes went full, looking for outswing.
A standing ovation from all of Trent Bridge and a handshakefrom Joe Root for Kavem Hodge as he leaves the field. Sensational hundred.
Wicket!
Hodge lbw b Woakes 120 Tight one but he goes on umpire’s call. Woakes angles one into the pads from wide of the crease, pins him on the top flap as he played back and up goes the finger. He was trying to whip it away but he could not free his bat. FOW 305/5
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 19, 2024Chris Woakes traps Kavem Hodge and a marvellous innings comes to an end 💫
Hodge departs for a sparkling 120 off 171 deliveries 👑 pic.twitter.com/GMTSjNt6Dq
OVER 74: West Indies 303/4 (Hodge 119 Holder 9)
Full-throated appeal from Stuart Broad in the Sky box when Hodge tries to pull Wood’s bouncer which jumps over his hands. ‘Glove,’ he says confidently. Wood wasn’t interested and he was right not to be. It missed them by a distance. The next short one is wide of off-stump and Hodge cleaves it for four behind point.
OVER 73: West Indies 298/4 (Hodge 114 Holder 9)
This has been by far Woakes’ best spell of the match as he finds the rhythm that was lost during a spring disrupted by the death of his father in May. Hodge jabs two through cover and works the inswinger for a single. Holder’s edge is found but for no reward.
There’s an air of desperationabout Joe Root here. He’s getting the crowd involved with hand claps, and he believes that every play and miss is an edge. Perhapsit’s because his drop of Kavem Hodge has currently cost 98 runs, and counting...
OVER 72: West Indies 295/4 (Hodge 111 Holder 9)
If it was not for bad luck, Mark Wood would have none at all. First Holder nicks a defensive push short of first slip and is then beaten by a ripper than angle sin and snakes past edge and off-stump. Two outswingers follow, the 16th and 17th times today he has beaten the bat. Make that 18 when the final ball of the over mirrors the preceding two. His is still smiling, though and the crowd gives him a rapturous reception.
OVER 71: West Indies 295/4 (Hodge 111 Holder 9)
Woakes comes wider on the crease and pins Hodge on the thighpad with an inswinger that was heading down. Now, had that been the outswinger …
When the outswinger does come, Hodge has a big waft at it but misses. Gone fishing. Woakes’ first maiden.
WI trail by 121.
OVER 69: West Indies 295/4 (Hodge 111 Holder 9)
Still swinging for Woakes. Holder is living a charmed life, beaten repeatedly outside off by Woakes and then top-edging a pull on the charge wide of midwicket. Woakes saw him coming and banged it in.
Wood will replace Stokes after his 10-over spell.
One of the smaller islands in the English speaking Caribbean; 74,000 population, the island of Dominica can be very proud today of Kavem Hodge's first test century. Not to mention his partnership with other Alick Athanaze.
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) July 19, 2024
OVER 68: West Indies 293/4 (Hodge 111 Holder 8)
Stokes is running in for the 10th over a spell that began with two before tea. His pace is good, mid-eighties, but the pitch is too flat for his bouncer and Hodge pulls it brutally for four. A pair of deuces off Stokes’ induckers, flicked through the legside, herald a break.
On come the drinks.
OVER 67: West Indies 285/4 (Hodge 103 Holder 8)
Woakes replaces Wood after two overs to try to exploit this swinging ball. And he pins Holder with a booming, inswinging yorker that almost knocked him off his feet. Did far too much to send upstairs after their half-hearted appeal was turned down.
What a moment for Kavem Hodge: his first Test century. A late developer – his age (31) is more than his first-class average – but an extremely gutsy innings, with terrific driving. Follows up his 71 in Brisbane, a crucial part in West Indies’s win there.
The best news of the day
Good news about a member of Team Telegraph!
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— Sir Geoffrey Boycott (@GeoffreyBoycott) July 19, 2024Another update on behalf of my Father:
He's just been discharged from hospital and is on the way home which is fantastic!
Lots of pain meds and a liquid only diet for the foreseeable but he's on the mend, and looking forward to watching @TheOpen and @englandcricket at home 🙌🏻
OVER 66: West Indies 284/4 (Hodge 102 Holder 8)
Stokes drags his inswinger down and Hodge pulls it over leg slip for four. Stokes gets the next one right, a hooping inswinger that Hodge manages to keep out by jabbing his bat down into the blockhole.
Kavem Hodge makes his maiden Test century with a lovely off drive for four off an inswinger. Off comes the helmet. There is a roar of jubilation and a wonderful smile. In fact he shouted ‘Oneyeaaaaaaaaah!’ as the ball passed mid-off’s right hand. He also punches the air, while leaping midair, with his left hand.
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 19, 2024KAVEM HODGE HAS HIS MAIDEN TEST CENTURY! 🌟
How about that celebration 🤩 pic.twitter.com/bu5IiHmVkT
OVER 65: West Indies 275/4 (Hodge 93 Holder 8)
Wood is swinging it too and is left to curse his misfortune when he goes full to Hodge and the ball beats the bat and off-stump by a gnat’s whisker. Stuart Broad says if he were standing at mid-off, he would say to Wood: “Smile Woody, it;s coming.”
Hodge scratches a single off his toes and Wood beats Holder with successive, brutes, the ball angling in at great pace and swinging away as Holder gropes for the ball with tentative front-foot pokes.
OVER 63: West Indies 272/4 (Hodge 91 Holder 8)
Cracking cut from Hodge off Wood, carving it behind point for four, and he moves to 91 by chiselling a very full ball Sciver fashion to square leg.
Wood beats Holder all ends up but groans as the ball whistles past off stump with Holder almost in an S-shape.
WI trail by 144.
OVER 62: West Indies 267/4 (Hodge 86 Holder 8)
Jason Holder can bat but he’s not a Test No6. He shows his chops with a deliberate thick edge through the slips for four but then his vulnerability by splicing an edge just short of slip and then spooning a cut just over Duckett at cover, again off the splice. The ball runs away for four. Stokes thinks Duckett should have caught it but he would have needed to stand on a box and anyway, he didn’t see it until it was too late.
Stokes smells blood and brings back Wood.
Wicket!
Athanaze c Brook b Stokes 82 Shame for the lad who looked nailed on for the century he deserved but it’s a reward for the England captain’s willingness to take risks and tempt the batsmen. He angled it across the left-hander from over the wicket, inviting the drive. Athanaze gave it everything but the kitchen sink and Brook took a smart catch at gully. FOW 259/4
Ben Stokes... BREAKTHROUGH! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hJcz6FbeNm
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 19, 2024
OVER 61: West Indies 255/3 (Athanaze 82 Hodge 86)
Athanaze works two from outside off through the onside with slick wrists then twists a single off his pads. Hodge fences a short ball away for a single and, when he gets the strike back, tucks another off his hip.
The perfect setting for an Ashes dress rehearsal. The ball is softening and ageing, two batsmen are well set, the second ball is still an hour or two away, traditional line-and-length is not going to penetrate - where can England conjure up a wicket on a ground which is spring-green after so much rain so there is nothing on the square to roughen up the leather? It is a longstanding problem in England cricket - because these conditions seldom occur in county cricket, though they are becoming more familiar when championship rounds are played with the Kookaburra ball.
OVER 60: West Indies 249/3 (Athanaze 75 Hodge 83)
Bashir twice beats Athanaze with flight and overspin which leaves him groping after drives. He is so raw but has such promise it makes perfect sense to persevere with him at Leach’s expense, I think. His greenness is evident when he starts too straight and the left-hander works him for a single through midwicket and then too short and Hodge clatters a pull, hard and flat for four.
OVER 59: West Indies 244/3 (Athanaze 74 Hodge 79)
Stokes summons some life out of the ball/pitch with a jaffa that angles in to Hodge, hits the deck, climbs and whistles past the edge. He encourages his charges at the end of an over that yielded three singles with a ‘C’mon, boys!’ Bless him. He thinks the game’s always afoot.
OVER 58: West Indies 241/3 (Athanaze 72 Hodge 78)
Now Hodge also makes his Test best score with a late cut off Bashir for four. He made 71 in his second Test at the Gabba in January. He also overtakes Athanaze and ends the over with another boundary, a scything square cut behind point for four more.
The Barmies are trying to raise spirits with a variety of Ollie Pope songs, one to the chorus of Chicory Tip’s Son of My Father. Ask, your parentsgrandparents.
OVER 57: West Indies 233/3 (Athanaze 72 Hodge 70)
Stokes suffers a dose of no-ballitis, serving up a couple to turn this over old school Australian with eight balls. Apart from the ‘sundries’, to keep with the Australian theme, Athanaze drives for a single and Hodge pulls for another.
Arriving today, most English fans probably thought217 would be quite a significantfigure in the context of the game: the follow on target. But West Indies have cruised past it, three down. They can start thinking seriously about gettingclose to England’s score becausethe introductionof Sinclair ahead of Motie strengthens their lower order.
OVER 56: West Indies 229/3 (Athanaze 71 Hodge 69)
Hodge smashes the ball out of shape by cantering down to Bashir and bludgeoning a drive over mid-off for four. This will be the third ball change of the innings. Hodge hares a single off an on-drive, Athanaze takes a couple of singles through the covers and Hodge ends the over by swivelling on the spot to cuff a pull for four more. The partnership is now 145*.
OVER 55: West Indies 218/3 (Athanaze 69 Hodge 60)
These two Dominican batsmen have shown great patience. They have accumulated and not worried when runs have dried up. Hodge works the ball off his legs for a single, Athanaze slaps one through cover and Hodge ends the over by defending stokes twice and letting two through to the keeper.
OVER 54: West Indies 216/3 (Athanaze 65 Hodge 59)
Bashir starts the evening session with 37 overs to fit in by 6.30pm. He comes round the wicker to Athanaze and pitches on the left-hander’s middle and leg, too full. Athanaze flicks it fine for three. He errs too straight to Hodge who works four successive deliveries through the onside, finally finding a gap off the last ball to run a single.
Tea verdict
A tough session of Test cricket won by West Indies. The character and skill shown by Dominicans Alick Athanaze and Kevam Hodge to survive the afternoon and build a stand for the fourth wicket thwarted England who threw everything at the pair.
It was absorbing cricket as Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson combined for a half-hour spell of bouncers to a leg theory field, relying on raw pace and intimidation on a flat pitch and hot day to fashion a breakthrough. Had Joe Root held on to an edge off Hodge on 16 off Wood it would have worked and with a long tail, broken open the West Indies innings.
Athanaze was hit on the head by a skiddy bouncer from Wood but shook off the blow to chalk up a maiden Test fifty. West Indies played some shots too, it was not all about survival, with Athanaze hitting Shoaib Bashir for six and Hodge steering Atkinson for four for his fifty. England should have made more in their first innings, and if West Indies can continue this fightback, we may have a proper Test match on our hands.
TEA: West Indies 212/3
Terrific partnership of 128* sees West Indies through the session unscathed. Root’s drop at first slip reprieved Hodge when he had made only 16 and he has gone on to make the most of it. Ollie Pope was dropped three times yesterday, too. Woakes and Atkinson toiled a bit in the heat. Shoaib Bashir was tidy and Mark Wood like the wind … and unlucky to boot.
OVER 53: West Indies 212/3 (Athanaze 65 Hodge 58)
Last over before tea and Stokes ends it with a strangled appeal for leg-before. Looked like an inside edge as it crashed into the thigh pad. And it was too high. And angling down. Two balls earlier Hodge, who was given a life by Root, had tickled an angled, good length ball off his pads for four.
OVER 52: West Indies 208/3 (Athanaze 65 Hodge 54)
Bashir returns for a pre-tea spell from the Radcliffe Road End. Hodge works a dart off his toes square for a single and Athanaze, who has been diligent throughout, suddenly shakes out his pony tail, removes the specs and slog sweeps Bashir over wide long-on for the first six of the innings!
OVER 49: West Indies 185/3 (Athanaze 55 Hodge 43)
Wood stays on for a fifth over and continues round the wicket ti left- and right-hander alike. A well-disguised yorker catches Hodge by surprise and arrows into his shin. Big shout but it must have pitched outside leg from round the wicket. Yes, it did.
Hodge pulls a bouncer over his shoulder for a single then Athanaze raises the hundred partnership, West Indies’ first of the series, with a cracking square cut off what turned out to be a no-ball for four.
OVER 48: West Indies 178/3 (Athanaze 50 Hodge 42)
Hodge takes on Atkinson’s bouncer and slaps it on the pull behind square for four. Atkinson goes shorter still, too short, and the ball balloons over the Drummer’s head for a wide. Hodge tucks a single off his ribs and Athanaze flap-hooks off his hip down to deep backward square for the two that takes him to a maiden Test half-century
OVER 48: West Indies 178/3 (Athanaze 50 Hodge 42)
Hodge takes on Atkinson’s bouncer and slaps it on the pull behind square for four. Atkinson goes shorter still, too short, and the ball balloons over the Drummer’s head for a wide. Hodge tucks a single off his ribs and Athanaze flap-hooks off his hip down to deep backward square for the two that takes him to a maiden Test half-century
Athanaze’s OK (but needs a new helmet)
Really enjoying watching Kavem Hodge. His beans are going in this spell of extreme pace from Mark Wood. After each ball he’s been on his toes, walking towards point to gatherhimself, and when Athanaze was hit there, he reacted with horror at the non-striker’s. They’re having a laugh about it now, and Athanaze has been cleared to carry on.
OVER 46: West Indies 170/3 (Athanaze 48 Hodge 37)
Wood carries on for a fourth over, still in the nineties. Athanaze leans inside a bouncer that again seemed to follow him, breezing past his adam’s apple. A back of a length delivery doesn’t get up and Athanaze fiddles it off his pads for a single. That takes him to a Test best 48.
Hodge ducks under a bouncer then pulls another fine, Brook making an athletic stop at long leg that keeps it down to a single.
The last ball is a horrible bouncer that skids through and thumps the ducking Athanaze on the badge of his helmet. That was a clonking blow. England immediately rally round the batsman, Wood pats him on the back. Athanaze is smiling but will need a concussion test to continue.
On comes the physio and doctor.
A fast bowler's double whammy. Happily no injury to either batter pic.twitter.com/NGvM2dWyph
— simon hughes (@theanalyst) July 19, 2024
OVER 45: West Indies 168/3 (Athanaze 47 Hodge 36)
Gustavo Atkinson replaces Shoaib Bashir from the Radcliffe Road End and tries some of the Wood medicine. Being 8mph slower, though, makes it easier for Hodge and he wallops a pull for four. That was the third short ball in succession and when he tries another he is no-balled. Hodge pulls another single and Athanaze clips one off his pads when Atkinson eventually pitches it up.
OVER 44: West Indies 161/3 (Athanaze 46 Hodge 31)
‘Woo, hoo, hoo,’ says a smiling Hodge when he ducks under a vicious Wood bouncer that seemed to follow him and then next ball gloves another rib-tickler wide of a diving Jamie Smith down the legside for four.
Hodge short-arm pulls a waist-high short ball fine of square leg for a single.
Interesting that Ben Stokes is yet to bowl. We know he’s an experimental captain, and he’s let Shoaib Bashir bowl unchanged since the 11th over of the day from theRadcliffe Road End, which is quite a contrast to Bashir going completely unused last week. Stokes bowled plenty at Lord’s, and appears to be warming up now. Perhaps he will replace Wood when the time is right.
OVER 43: West Indies 154/3 (Athanaze 45 Hodge 25)
Athanaze takes to the dancefloor, chassés down to Bashir and lofts a drive over mid-on for four. Not middled but hit hard enough. The left-hander cuffs a single off the spinner round the corner and watches on as Hodge pulls a drag down for four more. They’re clearly enjoying batting together these two compatriots and gleefully steal a single with tip and run to cover point.
OVER 42: West Indies 144/3 (Athanaze 40 Hodge 20)
Root drops Hodge off Wood. Atherton, a good first slipper himself, says ‘that’s a bad miss by Root’. Hodge was hanging back for the short one and pushed his hands at it when he realised it was pitched up, nicking off to Root’s left. Root dives, gets his hands to it but it bursts through and hits him on the knee. It flew at him but still should have been taken.
A rare dropped catch from Joe Root at first slip as Kavem Hodge is given a lifeline 🫣 pic.twitter.com/AKYqiP6CMa
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 19, 2024
Hodge defends off the back foot, sways out of the road of a perfume ball angling in towards his nose then pulls off his midriff in front of square for four.
OVER 41: West Indies 137/3 (Athanaze 40 Hodge 16)
Athanaze takes two singles off Bashir and Hodge one after a lengthy delay to change the ball.
Where is Shai Hope when West Indies need an experienced middle-order batsman - one who has made a century in each innings of a Test in England? Hope has been tempted away from red-ball cricket - his last first-class game was in April last year - by the riches of the T20 format, culminating in an IPL contract. But if the West Indies board had the money, he would not have had to look elsewhere. He could have been strengthening West Indies Test cricket - and Test cricket in general.
OVER 40: West Indies 137/3 (Athanaze 39 Hodge 14)
He starts at 90mph with an inswinger that Hodge defends and then the right-hander takes on the bouncer and top-edges a pull short of fine leg for a single. Athanaze thumps a cover drive for four with glorious timing but is cramped from round the wicket by the short ball and pops it round the corner. Ungainly.
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 19, 2024Driving Mark Wood on the up at 93mph... that's one way to play him 😳
Fair play, Alick Athanaze! 👏 pic.twitter.com/TLK1yp8FrC
The final ball is supposed to be the yorker but it pitches three inches too short and Athanaze flays it through midwicket with a ‘leg drive’ for four that raises the 50 partnership.
Time for drinks – and a ball change as it returns from the rope and won’t go through the handcuffs.
OVER 39: West Indies 128/3 (Athanaze 31 Hodge 13)
Bashir is penalised for overstepping and Hodge flicks the no-ball for a single to double the return. Athanaze also adds a single to his score with a back-foot clip through the offside.
Here comes Mark Wood. He needs a better nickname than ‘Woody’. ‘Typhoon’, ‘Fiery Fred’, ‘The Demon’, ‘Whispering Death’ are proper nicknames for quicks.
OVER 38: West Indies 125/3 (Athanaze 30 Hodge 12)
Did you learn Drummer Hodge by Thomas Hardy at school? Can’t get it out of my head watching this lad bat. Woakes is given another over – to allow him to find some rhythm, says Nasser Hussain – but again it’s a Bertie Bassett over. An overpitched outswinger sits up as a half-volley and Hodge square drives it for four. Speaking of Nasser, that was his shot.
OVER 37: West Indies 121/3 (Athanaze 30 Hodge 8)
Stokes gives Bashir a short mid-on for Athanaze. It’s Ben Duckett standing there and Athanaze decides to have a go, clouting an on drive, clawing at the ball as he closed his left writs too soon. It bypassed Duckett but no’ but just and ran down for four. Had Zak Crawley been stationed there, it may well have been out. The next ball is tossed further up and Athanaze times the pants off an elegant off-drive for four more.
OVER 36: West Indies 112/3 (Athanaze 22 Hodge 7)
Hodge lets a couple of outswingers through to the keeper, defends the inswinger and the one angled into his toes but tickles the one that Woakes spears on to leg stump for a single fine.
Wood has been off for an over to apply his bowling strappings and should be coming on soon.
OVER 35: West Indies 111/3 (Athanaze 22 Hodge 6)
Bashir is obviously a work in progress. It’s his fifth Test but only his 15th first-class match. Generally, when bowling a fourth-stump line to the right-hander he has looked dangerous but occasionally drifts too straight and here allows Hodge to whip it away off middle for a single.
His line to Athanaze has been more consistent from round the wicket. He needs to bowl straight to the left-hander and turn it away and does so, Athanaze defending cautiously.
Nelson!
OVER 33: West Indies 106/3 (Athanaze 18 Hodge 5)
Hodge hacks at a cut shot, knocks the ball off the bottom edge into the grass whence it trampolines over Root’s head at slip. They run a single. Stokes gives Bashir a short leg and leg slip for Athanaze because, I presume, his bat sometimes comes down late into the front pad. He does, indeed, defend a couple to short leg but picks off the fuller one with a flick off the toes for a single.
Trent Bridge’s afternoon session is always notable for its air of peaceful contentment. Edgbaston, Headingley and Old Trafford it is not.
OVER 32: West Indies 104/3 (Athanaze 17 Hodge 4)
Jason Holder got a couple of balls to spit up off a good length yesterday and now Woakes does the same, his inswinger ramping into Athanaze’s gloves as he took late, evasive action. Woakes’ pitch map suggests 50 per cent of his deliveries have been back of a length today and Ian Bishop implores him to pitch it 12 inches fuller more consistently.
Woakes, who stays over the wicket to left-handers, drifts on to Athanaze’s pads and he skelps it through square leg for two.
OVER 30: West Indies 101/3 (Athanaze 14 Hodge 4)
Hodge was caught at point at Lord’s by Pope and he is placed there again, 15 yards from the bat. Woakes drifts on to his pads, however and the young Dominican right-hander whips it away for a well-run two to bring up West Indies’ hundred. Athanaze is also Dominican.
The only previous Dominicans I can recall playing Tests are the three Shillingfords. And Phil De Freitas, who was born there in 1966.
OVER 29: West Indies 99/3 (Athanaze 14 Hodge 2)
It’s starting to turn for Bashir, particularly noticeable when Hodge plays off the back foot with soft wrists. He misses out on a short one, eyes lighting up and completing the stroke greedily before the ball had got there but takes a single off the last ball with a flick off his toes.
OVER 28: West Indies 98/3 (Athanaze 14 Hodge 1)
Back of a length from Woakes and the ball sits up invitingly for Athanaze to punch it through extra-cover for four. They know he likes a fish outside off but that length is all wrong.
Two balls later and Woakes gets it spot on, kissing the edge as the left-hander thrusts his hands at a defensive but the ball falls well short of slip. Woakes tries pitching it up even further, errs too far and Athanaze creams a cover drive off a half-volley for another boundary.
OVER 27: West Indies 90/3 (Athanaze 6 Hodge 1)
Bashir resumes after lunch, round the wicket to the left-handed Athanaze. He has impressed with his control, variations in pace, drop and bounce. No significant turn, though. Maybe on Sunday if the Test lasts that long
Athanaze pushes a single to cover off the second ball and Hodge plays the next four, mostly off the back foot, but cannot work the ball into the onside past a fielder.
Woakes will return for a second spell, this time from the PavStuart Broad End. No swing on a belter of a day that reminds one of Cardus’ “Trent Bridge is a lotus land for batsmen, a place where it was always afternoon and 360 for two wickets”.
Good afternoon
Rob Bagchi here, taking over from Mr Smyth. Here’s another pic of the Bashir wicket-taking possible no-ball with his foot grounded before delivery. Looks over to me but accept that the angle is not ideal.
Law 21.5.2 states: The bowler’s front foot must land with some part of the foot, whether grounded or raised behind the popping crease.
Lunchtime verdict
The opposition may be poor and it is difficult to draw too many conclusions from contests like this but that firstsession was a glimpse of how England intend to play on flat pitches overseas.
Pace from one end, spin the other with attacking fields and wicket-taking intent. It brought them three wickets and total control of second Test.
There was an electrifying buzz around Trent Bridge as Mark Wood bowled like the wind, reaching 97mph at one stage, and while he was wicketless in his first spell of the summer, he created opportunities for Shoaib Bashir at the other end.
Bashir’s two for 30 from eight overs of precise off spin is what happens when bowlers work in partnerships. Mikyle Louis was his first wicket, caught at mid on slogging, and Kirk McKenzie his second through equally bad batting, caught trying to loft Bashir over the leg side with just five minutes to go before lunch.
It was caused by the pressure of pace from the other end supplied by Wood and Gus Atkinson. Bowling to a leg-theory field, Atkinson bounced out West Indies’ most experienced player, Kraigg Brathwaite, who fended a ball he could have ducked to short leg.
This was more hostile from Atkinson than at Lord’s last week, but no less effective. Good signs all round.
This Ashes 2023 documentary looks really good
Woody bowling rockets in 2024 🚀
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 19, 2024
Headingley memories from 2023 😍@ChrisWoakes 🤝 @MAWood33
Watch Now | Ashes 2023 | Our Take
Watch: McKenzie falls to Bashir
West Indies in more trouble as Kirk McKenzie gifts his wicket away to Shoaib Bashir 👋 pic.twitter.com/enBuYsDEoK
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 19, 2024
Lunch
That was a really enjoyable morning session, in which England did very well to take three wickets on a flat pitch. Two of them were partially gifted to Shoaib Bashir, but Gus Atkinson bounced out Kraigg Brathwaite and Mark Wood bowled possibly the fastest spell ever by an England bowler.
Pace, rough stuff and quality spin: it’s the future.
Wicket!
McKenzie c Stokes b Bashir Yum yum yum: Shoaib Bashir has struck again! It was a horrible and slightly odd shot from McKenzie, who dragged Bashir straight to Stokes at mid-on. Not sure what he was trying to do there.
It was very close to being a no-ball from Bashir. In fact, looking at replays I think Bashir is a bit fortunate. FOW: 84/3
OVER 24: West Indies 83/2 (McKenzie 11 Athanaze 0)
Now it’s McKenzie’s turn to be roughed up by Atkinson. After avoiding a few short balls, he belts the surprise full delivery to the cover boundary.
England have done pretty well to get two wickets this morning; a third before lunch would make the chicken, leek & chanterelles taste a whole lot better. Should be time for two more overs, three at a push.
OVER 23: West Indies 79/2 (McKenzie 7 Athanaze 0)
Two left-handers in now for Bashir, who beats McKenzie with a delivery that skids on. The commentators think Stokes is saving himself for when/if the ball reverse swings. There’s every chance on a day like today. Good luck facing Mark Wood if it does.
Bashir has bowled quite nicely: 7-0-24-1.
Echoes of Larwood
How appropriate at the home of Harold Larwood that England bang it in to Brathwaite to a leg side field and he pops a catch off Atkinson to a man in short. No swing, no seam. The only way to fashion a wicket is with the short ball and Brathwaite had to see it off for his team. Feels like a big moment.
OVER 22: West Indies 78/2 (Brathwaite 46 McKenzie 5)
Atkinson almost bowls Athanaze first ball! It was an excellent yorker that Athanaze jammed into the ground, with the ball almost rolling back onto the stumps.
“They call it the ‘getaway-from-me’ shot in the West Indies - the one that Kraigg Brathwaite involuntarily played against Gus Atkinson,” writes Scyld Berry. “The captain would have been better off ducking the issue as Atkinson angled it in nicely.”
Wicket!
Brathwaite c Pope b Atkinson 48 Gus Atkinson has bounced out Kraigg Brathwaite superbly! After a couple of bumpers - one perfect, one too short - Atkinson dug in another that Brathwaite flapped to Pope short leg. That’s terrific flat-wicket bowling; the line was spot on. FOW: 78/2
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 19, 2024Gus Atkinson removes captain Kraigg Brathwaite 💥
Brilliant captaincy and execution from England who have their second scalp of the day 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZoWivkGCwq
OVER 20: West Indies 74/1 (Brathwaite 46 McKenzie 5)
Apparently McKenzie’s middle names are Sanjay and Alexander, his father’s tribute to Sanjay Manjrekar and Alec Stewart. He must have been gutted when he realised Kirk was left-handed.
Another fairly harmless over from Atkinson, who is clipped firmly for four by Brathwaite. After that fantasy debut at Lord’s, he’s experienced his first bit of hard yakka in a Test match.
OVER 18: West Indies 64/1 (Brathwaite 36 McKenzie 5)
Atkinson replaces Wood, whose figures of 4-1-11-0 tell almost nothing of the story, and is punched confidently down the ground for four by McKenzie. Batting still looks very comfortable against anything under 93mph; England will hope a replacement ball - the old one is out of shape - changes that.
OVER 17: West Indies 60/1 (Brathwaite 36 McKenzie 1)
The new batter Kirk McKenzie gives Bashir a left-hander to play with. He starts round the wicket and has an optimistic LBW appeal turned down second ball. Looked high and might have missed leg, though it wasn’t a great shot.
Edit: McKenzie would have been out had England reviewed! The ball was hitting the top of leg stump, but England barely discussed going upstairs.
OVER 16: West Indies 59/1 (Brathwaite 36 McKenzie 0)
This will probably be Wood’s last over. He digs one into the ribs of Brathwaite, who rides the bounce and works it fine for four. It’s Wood’s least threatening over to date, though that isn’t really a criticism given how he started.
These were the speeds in Wood’s first three overs.
1st over
93.3
95.7
95.1
92.1
96.4
94.8
2nd over
94.4
94.1
94.8
94.5
94.
95.1
3rd over
95
93
95
96
97.1
94
OVER 15: West Indies 53/1 (Brathwaite 30 McKenzie 0)
That was the last ball of the over. No idea what happened to Mikyle Louis there; he was totally solid and then he went mad.
“No better illustration of bowling being all about partnerships,” writes Scyld Berry at Trent Bridge. “Mikyle Louis, surely, would never have gone for two successive yahoos against Shoaib Bashir if Mark Wood had not been rattling his beans at the other end. Express pace and real spin: it is always the ideal way to go in Test cricket, especially overseas.”
Wicket!
Louis c Brook b Bashir 21
Out of nothing, the hitherto watchful Louis has a wild hack at Bashir, dragging the ball through square leg for four. Louis appears to have malfunctioned, because he has another go next ball and is superbly caught by Harry Brook. He blasted the ball miles in the air and Brook ran back from mid-on to take a beautifully judged catch over his shoulder. FOW: 51/1
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 19, 2024Bashir take the first wicket of the day! 🙌
Mikyle Louis departs for 21 as the West Indies opening stand of 53 is broken 💪 pic.twitter.com/sqC6NqUoAM
Danger! High voltage
West Indies coped well with Wood’s fiery spell. Louis swayed out the way of a 97.1mph bouncer and was bang in line next ball. Wood’s pace is electrifying, and riveting to watch but there is just something missing…a wicket. A slower ball, yorker, just something different is sometimes needed but no bowler puts more effort into his work for England than Wood.
OVER 14: West Indies 48/0 (Brathwaite 29 Louis 17)
Wood’s third over is even faster than the first two, including a sizzling bouncer that is clocked at 97.1mph. Louis sways out of the way and handles the rest of the over with admirable assurance. It’s a maiden, and that’s drinks. There was a big gasp from the crowd when 97.1mph appeared on the big screen.
West Indies have won the first hour, though history will probably recall it for a volcanic start from Mark Wood.
Mark Wood has bowled a 97MPH DELIVERY 😳 pic.twitter.com/rGOQQf9LZT
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 19, 2024
The human catapult
Mark Wood has touched 96 mph before, and did it again in his first over: vivid pace. It is a wonder that he can do it at the age of 34, to be firing rockets at that age. The crowd applauded loudly when he touched 96.1 in his first over. Lucky for West Indies that it is a docile pitch. Some test for Jamie Smith as well as the batsmen, who are reluctant to push forward fully when the ball is pitched up. The human catapult is Woody, throwing himself off his feet once in each of his first two overs.
OVER 12: West Indies 39/0 (Brathwaite 24 Louis 15)
Wood’s first over was the fastest by an England bowler in a home Test since ball-tracking records began in 2006. His second is equally hot, at least to the naked eye: Brathwaite is beaten twice outside off stump and fends away a nasty short ball. Wood looks well and truly on it, just as he did in his first outing last summer.
Update: Wood’s second over was officially even quicker than the first.
England left some runs out there
We will learn a lot about West Indies today. These are perfect batting conditions and an experimental England attack. Can they make this a contest? I hope so. One-sided Test cricket can be very dull. Feels to me that England should still be batting. Root and Brook left runs out there on day one. England made a good score, but it could have been more commanding.
OVER 10: West Indies 36/0 (Brathwaite 22 Louis 14)
Mark Wood makes something happen straight away. His first ball, 93.9 mph, draws a thick outside edge from Louis that runs away for two. That’s just about his first false stroke all morning.
His second ball is 96mph – I say! – and roars past the outside edge. Louis then digs out a very sharp yorker and gets down the other end. Top stuff from Wood.
“England are not that big on listening to outside noise, but these are not exactly the conditions they’d have craved for their first go post Anderson and Broad,” writes Will Macpherson at Trent Bridge. “Decent pitch, perfect blue skies, and little threat from Chris Woakes or Gus Atkinson, neither of whom are quite on it. Anyway, Mark Wood has turned up and flung it down at 96mph second ball.”
— England's Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) July 19, 2024Mark Wood's first over back 🤯
OVER 9: West Indies 32/0 (Brathwaite 21 Louis 11)
Woakes pitches one up to Brathwaite, who drives excellently for four. The consensus is that England have been slightly short this morning, but the ball isn’t moving so you can understand their reluctance to go full.
It’s been a serene first 40 minutes for West Indies. Now it’s time for Mark Wood.
OVER 6: West Indies 16/0 (Brathwaite 13 Louis 3)
Atkinson bowls a sharp bouncer to Brathwaite, who sways outside the line of the ball. Two balls later he bowls a lovely delivery that beats Brathwaite’s cautious defensive push.
Brathwaite, who looks in a bed-and-breakfast kinda mood, responds with a back-foot square drive for four.
OVER 4: West Indies 10/0 (Brathwaite 7 Louis 3)
Ben Stokes clearly reads The Telegraph as he has just put in a short leg for Atkinson. The early signs are that Stokes will need to be at his most imaginative today.
A quiet over from Atkinson; West Indies look happy to see off the new ball and go from there. And why not.
OVER 3: West Indies 10/0 (Brathwaite 7 Louis 3)
Mikyle Louis played pretty well at Lord’s in difficult circ*mstances. He only made 27 and 14 but he looked solid defensively and very calm for a debutant.
He has started confidently here, as has Brathwaite, who rolls the wrists to flick Woakes through square leg for two. Nothing happening for England so far.
“My initial thoughts are that you’ll need catchers in front of the wicket today,” says Stuart Broad. “You can then bowl a few cutters.”
OVER 2: West Indies 7/0 (Brathwaite 5 Louis 2)
Gus Atkinson is given the new ball ahead of Mark Wood. He doesn’t do it often for Surrey – this is just the eighth time in his career apparently – but you can understand why England want to explore his potential at every stage of the innings.
Atkinson, bowling stump to stump and back of a length, is worked into the leg side for a few singles. An accurate first over - but there’s been no movement so far, which is really encouraging for West Indies.
OVER 1: West Indies 4/0 (Brathwaite 4 Louis 0)
“This is a perfect day for batting,” says Stuart Broad on commentary. “If you’re out of form, this is what you dream of.”
Kraigg Brathwaite gets West Indies going with a crisp square drive for four. That was the only delivery that Woakes pitched up; the rest was on a length, mostly very straight.
Scorchio!
It’s a genuine scorcher at Trent Bridge today, hotter than yesterday. Lovely conditions for the Windies to have a bat. We might see Shoaib Bashir get a bowl for the first time in a home Test, I reckon! As an aside, Ben Duckett is still here, so no baby just yet.
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 19, 2024Highs of 30° in Nottingham today 😎
Who's feeling hot (hot hot)? 😅 pic.twitter.com/DfwYYMvq77
And now for something completely different
No batsman in Test cricket is further from Bazball, no batsman is happier at blocking all day, no batsman is less traditionally West Indian than Kraigg Brathwaite. If he can survive the first hour - ball by ball, brick by brick - then he can get West Indies into this series. Should be plenty of runs this afternoon!
Ben Duckett talks to Sky Sports
It was very exciting to play my first Test on my home ground. When the sun’s out this is always a good place to bat, so I wasn’t unhappy when were put in. I have a ‘see ball hit ball’ mentality. I got a few nice half-volleys to get going and the outfield is so quick here. My mindset was to bat all day and score a big hundred, so I was disappointed to get out for 70.
[On not leaving the ball] It’s a strength and a weakness, and I know that. It’s something I’ve always done and I try not to think about it too much. There were times when I thought ‘You can’t open the batting and play like I do’, but that changed when Baz and Stokesy took over. Then I started to think, ‘Why can’t I just be the best version of myself?’
I judge myself on hundreds. I want to score big hundreds when I get in, and I do get frustrated when I’m batting well and I get out in the 70s. I set the platform yesterday but 70s aren’t gonna win you games.
It was a good pitch to bat on. But I think we saw from how they bowled in periods that they were also good balls in that pitch. We see ourselves as being in a good position, and the end of today will sum up how we batted yesterday. If we bowl like we did at Lord’s we should be fine.
Stokes offers tantalising allround hope
Even as he looked skywards in despair at his shot, Stokes’s 69 runs still amounted to a welcome return to form. His batting tempo can oscillate between austere and extravagant; this was just right, and the calm judgment indicated what should be England’s template in the next phase of their development.
Read more...
Watch: Sinclair performs somersault celebration
One of the highlights of yesterday’s play was the signature backflip from Kevin Sinclair, the spinner who came into the side at the last minute when Gudakesh Motie felt unwell.
Read more...
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 18, 2024A must-needed wicket for the West Indies as Harry Brook goes! ❌
A signature somersault from Sinclair to celebrate 🙌 pic.twitter.com/FZg2PIkyYX
Good morning
In their last Test match of the 20th century, England won the toss and batted first against South Africa at Durban. They batted the entirety of the first two days before declaring on 366/9. Yep, 366/9 in 166.4 overs. The world has changed a helluva lot since then, and yesterday nobody batted an eyelid at England scoring over 400 on the first day of a Test match.
They were eventually bowled out for 416, and it’s harder than usual to know whether they over or underachieved. There were some Poundland dismissals, yet there was also some dodgy catching and desperate bowling from West Indies. You can only judge a pitch when both teams have batted on it, and today will reveal all.
Despite their reputation as no-hopers in English conditions, West Indies have won a live Test on each of their last two tours. If they are to make it three, they need to be batting at the close – and not after following on.
The pitch looks true and the sun is out, so there’s nothing for West Indies to fear except the fear that apparently drove them to bat first yesterday. Kraigg Brathwaite was widely criticised for that decision; by bedding in for one his marathon innings today, he can shut us all up.
Ollie Pope silenced a few doubters yesterday, top-scoring with a lively 121 to end a poor run of form for club and country. “I’m happy with the way I went about my stuff and obviously there was a nice couple of drops, which always helps,” he said. “The luck wasn’t with me in my county stint. I wouldn’t say I had doubts but sometimes you think, ‘Why’s everyone else in the country scoring runs in county cricket but England’s number three isn’t going out and averaging 50 this summer?’”
Read Nick Hoult’s day one report
- Stokes offers tantalising hope that his batting and bowling will again flourish in tandem
- Pope makes important century as England cash in on West Indies drops to build commanding score
- Watch: Kevin Sinclair performs somersault celebration despite West Indies toil
Related Topics
- England Cricket Team,
- West Indies Cricket Team
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