Ollie Pope‘s century combined with fifties from Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes led England to a strong position on the opening day of the second Test as West Indies were left to regret squandered opportunities at Trent Bridge. A century from Ollie Pope and contrasting half-centuries from Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes put England in a dominant position as they scored over 400 runs on the opening day of the second Test at Trent Bridge.
England kept the tempo up throughout the day like they have been doing under Ben Stokes in recent times and eventually, they finished with 416 on the board by stumps.
Pitch and Toss
The last time England played here was when the idea of the ‘Bazball’ style of play was beginning to take shape. It was at this venue where the hosts pulled off a chase of 299 against New Zealand, riding on Jonny Bairstow’s exceptional batting in the final innings. It was a high-scoring game with both teams crossing 500 in the first innings and the ground has been good for the batters in recent times as well, going by the County matches played here. On the weather front, rain is forecast for the third day
A sunny morning in Nottingham as the players walk out to the field. Perfect batting conditions on one of the best batting wickets in England. West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bowl first and made one change in the squad replacing Gudakesh Motie with Kevin Sinclair.
England skipper Ben Stokes batting first post James Anderson bought in Mark Wood for the legendary pacer.
Morning Session: Day 1:Ben Duckett sets the platform with rapid fifty in the morning session
Ben Duckett’s sparkling half-century was the highlight of the morning session on the opening day of the second Test between England and West Indies at Trent Bridge. After West Indies opted to bowl first and struck in the first over, England turned the tables around in quick fashion to eventually post 134/2 by the lunch break.
The hosts were under the pump very early in the game when Alzarri Joseph took just three balls to make an impact. Zak Crawley got squared up by a back of a length delivery and he ended up edging one behind to third slip. However, Duckett smashed the first four balls he faced for boundaries to stun the bowling side in just the second over of the day.
The first six overs resembled that of a T20 game as Duckett in particular unleashed himself with a flurry of boundaries. England broke the record in the process for the fastest Test 50 by a team as they reached the milestone in just 4.2 overs.
Holder conceded just one run when he was brought on in the sixth over but was soon dispatched over extra cover by Duckett, who brought up his fifty off just 32 balls guiding Holder for four through deep third.
It was Sinclair and Shamar Joseph who found some control for West Indies after the first drinks break, but Duckett threatened to break free when he lunged forward to sweep a full delivery from Sinclair for four to bring up England’s hundred and punished a wide one from Shamar Joseph through the covers. Shamar Joseph finally broke through when he drew an outside edge from Duckett and Holder held on at second slip.
Post Lunch Session : Day 1: Ollie Pope ton keeps England on top
Ollie Pope consolidated England’s strong start to the Trent Bridge Test against West Indies with a fine century in the second session on Day 1. Ollie Pope took charge after Ben Duckett’s rapid start in the morning session as England went into the Tea break at 259/4, adding 125 runs in the session at over four runs an over.
Ollie Pope brought up his half-century very early in the post-lunch session but saw Joe Root depart for just 14 as the former captain top-edged while attempting a pull shot against Jayden Seales. Ollie Pope was then handed a second life by West Indies as Jason Holder failed to grab a chance at slip.
Harry Brook then took charge and went on a boundary-hitting spree, finding the ropes five times in the space of just two overs to race to 24 off just 12 deliveries to stun the visitors. Pope grew in confidence again with back-to-back boundaries but it was Brook who threatened to take the game away from West Indies by slamming an authoritative six off Alzarri Joseph.
That forced a bowling change from both ends which ultimately resulted in a wicket. In his attempt to lap it fine after shuffling across, Brook ended up miscuing it completely to get caught, which gave West Indies an opening.
That didn’t deter Ollie Pope from continuing to pick up boundaries as he kept the scorecard ticking alongside a tentative Ben Stokes, who was batting on 2 off 19 at one point. Eventually, Pope brought up his century and West Indies’ woes only deepened with Shamar Joseph walking off the field with an injury.
Ollie Pope built on a blistering start by Duckett, who peppered the boundary on his way to 71 off just 59 balls. The duo shared a 105-run stand for the second wicket after Zak Crawley fell to the third ball of the match, lined up by Alzarri Joseph with a back-of-a-length delivery which drew a chunky edge and flew to Alick Athanaze at third slip.
Ollie Pope went on to reach 121 off 167 balls, his sixth Test century and second this year after his 196 against India in January. Ollie Pope rode his luck after being dropped on 46 in the final over before lunch when he struck a Jayden Seales delivery hard towards wide gully where Athanaze failed to hold on. The tourists gave him another life on 54 when he slashed Shamar Joseph to second slip, Jason Holder the culprit this time.
Harry Brook punished some wayward line and length from Alzarri Joseph with three consecutive fours before being dropped on 24 at gully. Brook had arrived at 142 for 3 when Joe Root fell shortly after lunch to a fluffed pull which flew straight to mid-on. Seales’ heart was in his mouth as Alzarri Joseph juggled the ball twice before grabbing it for good.
Brook moved to 30 with an effortless six over deep point off Alzarri Joseph and up to then, he and Pope had added 10 further fours within the first hour of the afternoon session. But Brook fell attempting to paddle Kevin Sinclair – a late inclusion after Gudakesh Motie woke up feeling unwell – and succeeded only in sending a toe-end high towards midwicket, where Kirk McKenzie swallowed the catch.
Ollie Pope brought up his century with four off Seales over square leg then, adding to West Indies woes, Shamar Joseph hobbled off the field midway through his 12th over – the last before tea – clutching a cramping left leg. The tourists could take some comfort from Pope’s dismissal, however, driving at Alzarri Joseph and the ball ballooning to Hodge.
Post Tea Session : Day 1: Ollie Pope century drives England to 416 on high-paced first day vs WI
A century from Ollie Pope and contrasting half-centuries from Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes put England in a dominant position as they scored over 400 runs on the opening day of the second Test at Trent Bridge. England kept the tempo up throughout the day like they have been doing under Ben Stokes in recent times and eventually, they finished with 416 on the board by stumps.
They did get off to a false start as Zak Crawley got squared up very early in the day, getting dismissed for a three-ball duck. But that didn’t deter Duckett from launching into the West Indies attack as he smashed his first four balls for boundaries. Duckett hit a thrilling 32-ball fifty and in the process, helping England break the record for the fastest team fifty in Tests as well.
Ollie Pope, who took a backseat initially, got going as well with an array of strokes before Duckett at the other end edged Shamar Joseph behind to the slip cordon for a 59-ball 71. West Indies did get their hopes up in the post-lunch session when they managed to get rid of Joe Root cheaply but Harry Brook came out all guns blazing to quickly turn things around again. Brook raced to 24 off a mere 12 deliveries at one stage but one shot too many led to his downfall.
Ollie Pope, who had received a couple of reprieves by this time, regained his composure once again and took on the mantle of being the aggressor in the second session that led to a three-figure score. Stokes, who was batting on 2 off 19 at one stage, eventually got into the groove as his partnerships with Ollie Pope initially and then Jamie Smith later, gave England total control.
Smith had put on 61 runs with Stokes, smashing Hodge for six beyond deep midwicket in the process before thumping another down the ground, but Hodge responded next ball when Smith attempted a similar shot and picked out Holder in the deep, continuing the trend of soft dismissals for England.
After surviving a missed stumping, Mark Wood was dropped by Mikyle Louis diving forwards at point off Sinclair, continuing that other unwanted theme for West Indies. The visitors took the second new ball after 86 overs and Jayden Seales and Alzarri Joseph used it to prize out the last two wickets, Chris Woakes for 37 and Shoaib Bashir for 5.
At one stage, England were cruising at 342/4 with Stokes looking good for a century. However, against the run of play, the skipper mistimed a half-tracker and failed to get enough connection to get caught at the boundary. To West Indies’ credit, they did seize on that opportunity to pick up the remaining wickets at regular intervals before the close of play. For a side that didn’t even post 150 in the first Test, 416 will indeed be a tall order when they commence their innings on the second day.
DAY 2 and what to expect
A gripping day of Test cricket and it sees England walk back the happier side. Them scoring 400 in a single day isn’t anything new under the Bazball regime but it doesn’t make it any less entertaining. The day started off with some breathtaking batting from Ben Duckett and that really set the tone for England. He was eventually dismissed for 71 and it was actually Ollie Pope with the headlining knock as he made 121. Contributions came through the order as well with Stokes making 69 while both Smith and Woakes made valuable thirties.
The West Indies were rattled by the initial onslaught but were pretty decent thereafter. In the field though, they did grass more catches than they would’ve liked. Surprisingly, the spinners did more damage than they were expected to and England lost a few cheap wickets in that last session allowing the West Indies to wrap the innings up without letting it spill over into tomorrow. Long task ahead though for the West Indies batters, their real test comes tomorrow against a primed English attack.