ENG vs. WI 2nd Test: A century from Pope helps England reach 416 in the match against the West Indies

A century from Pope helps England reach 416 in the match against the West Indies

Ollie Pope was fortunate to score a century as England finished the first day of the second Test against the West Indies at Trent Bridge on Thursday in a strong position with a total of 416 runs.

Both teams had reasons for frustration, as the West Indies dropped four catches, Pope was given two lifelines, and wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva missed a stumping, while multiple England batters handed their wickets over.

Ben Duckett quickly scored 71 runs to start the innings, as England reached 50 in just 4.2 overs, the fastest in Test match history, after opener Zak Crawley was dismissed for zero.

The atmosphere greatly resembled ‘Bazball’ which is the term for England’s bold approach to Test cricket led by captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.

Despite advocating a bold approach, few England cricketers excel at playing a match situation like Stokes, who scored a controlled 69 runs off 108 balls on Thursday.

However, without paceman Shamar Joseph due to injury and the opposition’s attack vulnerable, Stokes was caught off Kavem Hodge, marking the part-time spinner’s first Test wicket.

Jamie Smith, who scored a dazzling 70 in his debut for England last week in the first Test at Lord’s, also lost his wicket to Hodge.

Off-spinner Kevin Sinclair achieved solid stats of two for 73 in 22 overs, even though he was a last-minute replacement for Gudakesh Motie, who withdrew due to illness, in the team that was already announced on Thursday morning.

The West Indies held off on using the new ball until England reached 397 for eight in 86 overs.

On the very next ball, Chris Woakes deflected Alzarri Joseph’s delivery for a boundary that brought England’s total past 400.

West Indies were successful in dismissing England as Alzarri Joseph took three wickets in 15.3 overs, including the final dismissal of last batsman Shoaib Bashir caught in the slips, bringing an end to the day’s play.

Previously, Pope was dropped twice on scores of 46 and 54, with Alick Athanaze at backward point and Jason Holder at second slip failing to hold onto catches.

Pope continued his impressive performance, reaching a hundred runs in his sixth century during his 45th Test match by hitting Jayden Seales for a 15th boundary in 143 deliveries.

His good fortune came to an end when he was excellently caught by Hodge at first slip, above his head, off Alzarri Joseph, stopping a partnership of 80 with Stokes.

England acted swiftly and efficiently:

Despite sunny conditions perfect for batting, Kraigg Brathwaite, the West Indies captain, chose to bowl after winning the toss.

However, his choice was justified, as the West Indies were bowled out for only 121 and 136 at Lord’s.

In just three deliveries, the West Indies made an impact on Thursday when Crawley nicked a great ball from Alzarri Joseph to the third slip, where Athanaze made a diving catch.

However, England quickly took control again when Duckett hit four consecutive fours in the second over of the game off Seales.

The southpaw played an impressive 59-ball innings at his home ground in Nottinghamshire, scoring 56 runs through boundaries, including 14 fours.

Duckett got dismissed just before lunch, nicking a well-pitched ball from Shamar Joseph to second slip, where the tall all-rounder Holder took an impressive low catch.

Duckett’s departure brought an end to a partnership of 105 runs between the second-wicket pair of Duckett and Pope in just 19 overs.

England is aiming to secure a victory that would seal the three-match series with one Test remaining.

This was the first game after James Anderson, who had 704 Test wickets, retired from international cricket as the leading fast bowler in history.

It marked England’s debut home Test since 2012 in the absence of either Anderson or Broad, who retired following the last Ashes series.