England take control on Day 1- England vs West Indies, Test 2, Day 1
The West Indies entered the second test match at Old Trafford 1-0 up in the series.
The toss went the way of the West Indies, who decided to bowl first in muggy and overcast conditions, similar conditions to the first innings in the first Test which placed the West Indies firmly on top. They named the same team that performed fantastically well in Southampton.
England however, named four changes from the team in Southampton. Joe Denly was dropped in favour of Captain Joe Root. Mark Wood and James Anderson, were rested for this test match, which saw Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes step in. The final change in the England line-up was Sam Curran for Jofra Archer. Archer made himself unavailable when he exited the bubble and was consequently not available for selection.
After the delayed start, the England opening batsman finally took to the crease. The morning session saw the West Indies waste the new ball and the conditions. Sloppyness and inaccuracy from the bowlers allowed the England batsman to settle in nicely with very little threat being posed to them.
Shannon Gabriel was the epitome of this poor start, he looked laboured and uncomfortable in his approach allowed the England batsman, who both need to make a score to regain the form that they had in previous tours.
The West Indies brought on spinner Roston Chase in an attempt to spark some life into their bowling attack. Chase did just that, trapping Burns on the crease and getting him out lbw. Burns poorly reviewed the decision but was confirmed out for 15.
England ended the session on 29-1.
Chase struck again on the first ball after lunch. New batsman Zak Crawley tried to turn the ball around the corner and was caught at leg slip for 0.
Root and Sibley regained control and stabilised the England innings. They scored steadily and fluidly. The pair created a 50-run partnership in the afternoon session.
That partnership was broken by Joseph when he lured Root into a drive. The ball slightly swung away from the England captain and the ball caught his outside edge and Root was dismissed for 23 on his return to Test cricket.
Sibley and Stokes took England to tea without losing another wicket. England finished the session on 112-3. For England it is imperative that Sibley and Stokes bed in and bat the day out.
England finished the day with 7 wicket intact. Stokes and Sibley played conservatively and were controlled in their shots. Both surpassed their half centuries with Sibley finishing on 86 and Stokes on 59. Together they formed a partnership of 126 and carried England to 207-3 at the end of play.
Both played a quintessential Test cricket innings. There were no sloppy shots and were able to take advantage of the bad balls. Sibley played the innings that he and his team needed, the Warwickshire batsman managed to bat through the entire day and placed England in a dominant position. Sibley was the constant in the partnerships with Root and Stokes which set the tone for the England innings.
The story for the West Indies was very different. There was very little success for the visitors. They did not look very threatening. Their pace bowlers struggled in their hunt for wickets. The West Indies were unable to take advantage of the good bowling conditions and the pitch did not offer very much for the West Indian bowling attack.
The West Indies were not helped in their pursuit of wickets when key bowler Shannon Gabriel limped off halfway through the day. In truth he did not look comfortable right from the beginning, his run up was not fluid and the end product was not up to his high standards. He would later return but would not be able to make any dent in the English line-up.
After day one, England are firmly in control. They have been placed in a great position through the batting of Sibley and Stokes. They will look to push on tomorrow in better batting conditions. England still have plenty of batting left in the line-up with Pope due up next, followed by Butler, Woakes and Curran. England will hope that with all this batting left they will be able to get their leave above 300.
This is already a massive improvement from the England side that played in the first Test last week in Southampton.
