Debutant Jamie Smith contributed with a half-century in a collective batting effort from England, which was followed by a clinical bowling performance led by James Anderson, Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson as the hosts were charging towards a big victory in the opening Test against West Indies at Lord’s. Having posted 371 in their first essay, England reduced West Indies to 79 for 6 at Stumps on Day 2 on Thursday (July 11), with the visitors still needing 171 runs to make England bat again.
After Gus Atkinson’s dream debut on the opening day of the Lord’s Test, another England debutant took centerstage on Day 2 as Jamie Smith‘s 70 helped England finish with a sizable lead. With Harry Brook and Joe Root falling after scoring fifties, Smith stepped up and received good support from Chris Woakes as England finished with 371, getting a lead of 250.
Day 2 : Morning Session :Brook, Root fifties power England’s progress before Lunch
Compared to the final session on Day 1, where England scored at nearly five an over, it was relatively slow going for the hosts in the morning session on Day 2 at Lord’s as they scored at 3.71 and West Indies also made regular inroads. But England made steady progress nevertheless, thanks to half-centuries from Harry Brook (50) and Joe Root (68), as they went into Lunch on Day 2 at 293/6, with a lead of 172.
After a watchful start from Root, Brook got into the act with a crisp cover drive for a four off Jayden Seales. The half-century stand was raised soon after and England crossed the 200 mark before Brook executed a late cut to perfection off Alzarri Joseph to enter the 40s. Root got going with a pull and a lovely cover drive for two fours off Seales. The lead crossed 100 before a controlled pull and a flick gave Root two fours off Alzarri as England made good progress in the first hour.
The West Indies bowlers were not disciplined enough with their lines and the pitch was also not offering much help. Brook struck the first six of the day by putting away a short delivery from Shamar Joseph and brought up his eighth Test fifty, off 55 balls, with a couple off Alzarri in the next over.
West Indies, however, continued to keep it short to Brook and eventually reaped the reward as the No.5 fell to Alzarri, getting a top edge to the ‘keeper trying to fetch a pull from outside off. This ended the fourth wicket partnership which was worth 91 runs off only 120 deliveries.
It was a good little period for West Indies as Ben Stokes fell shortly after Root became the fourth half-centurion in the innings. The England captain was outfoxed by a Gudakesh Motie delivery that pitched outside off and turned in sharply to be bowled for 4, getting out for a single digit score for the fifth time in a row. Debutant Jamie Smith got a freebie from Motie to get his first Test runs as he put away a half-tracker for a boundary. Root then swept a full toss from the left-arm spinner for a four as England’s lead grew beyond 150.
Smith was kept largely quiet by the West Indian bowlers before he played a flick and essayed an off drive for successive boundaries off Seales. Motie then went wide of the crease and delivered an arm ball to Root who looked to play the drive but ended up getting bowled. Chris Woakes got off the mark with a cover-driven four off Motie and remained unbeaten at the break along with Smith.
Day 2 : Post Lunch session: Debutant Jamie Smith takes centerstage as England finish with 250 lead.
After Gus Atkinson’s dream debut on the opening day of the Lord’s Test, another England debutant took centerstage on Day 2 as Jamie Smith’s 70 helped England finish with a sizable lead. With Harry Brook and Joe Root falling after scoring fifties, Jamie Smith stepped up and received good support from Chris Woakes as England finished with 371, getting a lead of 250.
Gudakesh Motie and Alzarri Joseph bowled in tandem at the start of the second session, with the pacer employing the short balls and the spinner doing a holding job. But there were some loose deliveries as well, which Woakes and Jamie Smith put away for boundaries as they helped England past 300. To add to West Indies’ problems, Shamar Joseph appeared to have some problems with his left hamstring while bowling and left the field. The England batters, meanwhile, continued untroubled as they extended the lead past 200.
West Indies took the second new ball as soon as it was available, with Jason Holder finding some movement. Jamie Smith, however, gave him the charge and played a drive wide of cover for a four while Woakes drove square off Seales for a boundary.
But the partnership came to an end against the run of play as Woakes played an uppish flick straight to deep square leg to give Seales his third wicket. Holder found the outside edge of Atkinson’s bat to leave England eight down. Jamie Smith then reached fifty, becoming the 10th England wicketkeeper to score 50-plus on Test debut as he helped England past 350.
With only two wickets remaining, Jamie Smith upped the ante as he struck sixes off Shamar and Seales. Shoaib Bashir did well to survive at the other end until a direct hit from Mikyle Louis found him short of the crease as he tried to get Smith back on strike. The wicketkeeper-batter struck a four off Seales before handing a catch in the deep as West Indies bowled England out late in the second session, after which early Tea was taken.
Earlier in the first session, Joe Root started watchfully before Harry Brook got into the act with a crisp cover drive for four off Seales. A half-century stand was soon established as England crossed the 200 mark, with Brook executing a late cut to perfection off Alzarri.
Root found his rhythm, hitting a pull and a cover drive for two fours off Seales. The lead surpassed 100, and Root continued to flourish with boundaries off Alzarri. The West Indies bowlers struggled with discipline and the pitch offered little assistance as England made good progress in the first hour.
Brook struck the day’s first six, pulling Shamar over the fence, and got to his eighth Test fifty, off only 55 balls, with a couple off Alzarri. But West Indies’ persistence with short deliveries paid off when Alzarri induced a top edge, leading to Brook’s dismissal and ending a 91-run fourth-wicket partnership.
It was a good little period for West Indies as Ben Stokes fell soon after Root became the fourth half-centurion. The England captain was bowled by a delivery from Gudakesh Motie that turned in sharply, marking his fifth consecutive single-digit score. Jamie Smith and Root then put on a useful partnership, which ended with Root getting bowled by Motie just before Lunch.
Day 2 : Post Tea Session: Anderson, Stokes, Atkinson leave WI in disarray after Jamie Smith’s fifty on debut
Debutant Jamie Smith contributed with a half-century in a collective batting effort from England, which was followed by a clinical bowling performance led by James Anderson, Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson as the hosts were charging towards a big victory in the opening Test against West Indies at Lord’s. Having posted 371 in their first essay, England reduced West Indies to 79 for 6 at Stumps on Day 2 on Thursday (July 11), with the visitors still needing 171 runs to make England bat again.
Even though he was bowling for the last time in Test cricket, Anderson was as disciplined as ever and was moving the ball both ways, starting with maidens to Kraigg Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis. The West Indies captain, after playing 12 dots, eventually got going with a boundary past mid off in Chris Woakes’s second over, and Louis then struck a delightful front-foot punch for a four off the same bowler.
Anderson delivered the first blow as he got one to swing in late to Brathwaite to have him bowled, dismissing the West Indies captain for the eighth time in Tests. The soon-to-retire 41-year old had figures of 5-4-2-1 in his first spell.
England lost a review in Atkinson’s first over for a leg-before appeal against Louis before Stokes struck in his first over, trapping Kirk McKenzie in front for a duck, as he joined Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis in an exclusive club of 6000 runs and 200 wickets in Tests.
The England skipper was stingy with the ball, bowling three maidens on the trot and bagged his second wicket by getting Louis to edge to the ‘keeper, soon after Alick Athanaze had struck three fours in an Atkinson over. England’s star bowler in the first innings picked up his eighth wicket of the match when he had Kavem Hodge dragging the ball onto the stumps to reduce the visiting side to 37/4.
Despite being hit for a few fours towards the end of his first spell, Stokes had impressive figures of 2 for 25 in 10 overs, including four maidens. Anderson was back into the attack at the other end, bowling in tandem with Stokes, and he also kept it tight, making run-scoring an arduous task for West Indies with Jason Holder and Athanaze in survival mode. But their resistance was cut short by the veteran pacer who tempted Athanaze into a drive to get him out caught behind.
Anderson, who became the first paceman to bowl more than 40,000 deliveries in Test cricket, had figures of 2-11 in 10 overs at the end of his second spell. Even after his lengthy bowling spell, Stokes was agile on the field and nearly had Holder run out with an excellent bit of fielding. In what turned out to be the last over before the close of play, Atkinson bombarded Holder with short deliveries and got his reward as West Indies ended the day in deep trouble.
Earlier, Jamie Smith took centre stage as his 70 helped England finish with a 250-run lead. Following half-centuries from Harry Brook and Joe Root, England lost quick wickets as they slipped to 287 for 6 from 244 for 3. Smith stepped up at this stage and received good support from Woakes as they were instrumental in the hosts finishing with 371 in their first innings.
Jamie Smith, who had assisted Root in a 33-run partnership, put on 52 with Woakes for the seventh wicket. The stand came to an end after West Indies opted for the second new ball, with Woakes flicking the ball straight to deep square leg to give Jayden Seales his third wicket. Holder then had found the outside edge of Gus Atkinson’s bat to leave England eight down
Jamie Smith, who had just the tailenders with him, upped the ante after becoming the 10th England wicketkeeper to register a fifty-plus score on debut. He hit sixes off Shamar Joseph and Seales while Shoaib Bashir did well to survive at the other end until a direct hit from Louis found him short of the crease as he tried to get Jamie Smith back on strike. Jamie Smith then struck a four off Seales before handing a catch in the deep as England were bowled out late in the second session.
At the start of the first session, Root began watchfully before Brook got into the act with a crisp cover drive for four off Seales. A half-century stand was soon established as England crossed the 200 mark, with Brook executing a late cut to perfection off Alzarri Joseph. Root found his rhythm, hitting a pull and a cover drive for two fours off Seales.
The lead surpassed 100, and Root continued to flourish with regular boundaries. The West Indies bowlers struggled with discipline and the pitch offered little assistance as England made good progress in the first hour.
Brook struck the day’s first six, pulling Shamar over the fence, and got to his eighth Test fifty, off only 55 balls, with a couple off Alzarri. But West Indies’ persistence with short deliveries paid off when Alzarri induced a top edge, leading to Brook’s dismissal and ending a 91-run fourth-wicket partnership.
It was a good little period for West Indies as Stokes fell soon after Root became the fourth half-centurion. The England captain was bowled by a delivery from Gudakesh Motie that turned in sharply, marking his fifth consecutive single-digit score. Jamie Smith and Root then put on a useful stand, which ended with Root getting bowled by Motie just before Lunch.
Road Ahead for West Indies and England.
Needing to score 250 – more than double their first-innings total – just to make England bat again, West Indies slumped to 37 for 4 inside 19 overs. Anderson’s inswinger knocked back Kraigg Brathwaite’s middle stump, Stokes removed Mikyle Louis and Kirk McKenzie during a ten-over spell, and Kavem Hodge chopped Atkinson onto his own stumps.
West Indies’ batters were far too passive, looking to survive rather than score but ultimately managing neither. Alick Athanaze was a rare exception from No. 4, but he fell for 22 to a textbook Anderson set-up: he was worked over from around the wicket, with some balls shaping in and others leaving him before edging behind as he attempted to push through the covers.
Joshua da Silva and Jason Holder added 24 for the sixth wicket – damningly, West Indies’ third-highest stand of the match – but England struck with the final ball of the day. Stokes laid a short-ball trap with two men out on the hook, and Holder could only fend Atkinson’s bumper to Ollie Pope at short leg.
England were bowled out at the tea interval on the second afternoon, compiling a substantial first-innings lead with Harry Brook, Joe Root and debutant Jamie Smith joining Zak Crawley and Pope in scoring half-centuries. Other than Jayden Seales, the pick of the attack, West Indies’ bowlers were short on red-ball match practice – and it showed
There are not enough batters left for Anderson to leapfrog the late Shane Warne and become the second-highest wicket-taker in the format’s history. But in his 188th and final Test, he has the opportunity to clinch one final victory for his country on Friday.
England need four more wickets to secure an innings win over West Indies inside three days, after James Anderson, Gus Atkinson and Ben Stokes shared six wickets on the second evening. The hosts were dominant with the bat, scoring at more than four runs per over across their first innings and then turned the screw with the ball to close in on a 1-0 lead.