LONDON, CMC – Spineless batting left West Indies on the point of defeat in opposition to hosts England within the first Check on Thursday. The wicket of former captain Jason Holder to the ultimate ball on the second day meant the Caribbean facet slumped to 79 for six of their second innings on the shut of the Check at Lord’s, nonetheless trailing by 171.
It undermined the exhausting work of the bowlers led by pacer Jayden Seales, who defied half-centuries from debutant wicketkeeper-batsman Jamie Smith, former England captain Joe Root, and Harry Brook to take 4 for 77 from 20 overs within the house group’s first innings complete of 371.
Solely Alick Athanaze and Holder reached 20, and their stand of 24 for the sixth wicket enabled the guests to keep away from the embarrassment of a two-day defeat after retiring Jimmy Anderson and fellow pacers, captain Ben Stokes, and debutant Gus Atkinson bagged two wickets every.
Three wickets – two to left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie – enabled West Indies to limit England to 293 for six at lunch after they began the day on 189 for 3.
Alzarri Joseph made the breakthrough for West Indies within the first hour when he obtained Brook caught behind for exactly 50 – the twelfth in 13 Exams for the batsman – after entering into bother hooking at a brief ball.
Motie bowled Stokes for 4 with a supply that spun sharply and struck the center stump of the England captain earlier than Root reached his half-century from 83 balls untroubled.
However Motie struck one other essential blow for the Caribbean facet within the penultimate over earlier than the interval when he additionally bowled Root for 68.
West Indies met resistance after lunch when Chris Woakes got here along with Smith for over an hour, they usually placed on 52 for the seventh wicket to push the England complete previous 300.
Seales obtained Woakes caught at deep mid-wicket for 23, and the tail-end of the England batting hung round lengthy sufficient to allow Smith, 23, to succeed in his maiden Check half-century on debut, hitting eight fours and two sixes in a late counter-offensive.
Holder obtained Check newcomer Gus Atkinson caught behind for a first-ball duck, a direct hit on the bowler’s finish from Check debutant Mikyle Louis accounted for Shoaib Bashir run out for a duck, and Seales introduced Smith’s enjoyable to an finish when he obtained him caught at deep mid-wicket.
It meant that Anderson didn’t face a ball in what could also be his closing Check innings after receiving a heat ovation from the group when he walked out to bat.
West Indies’ hopes for a vibrant begin to their second innings had been ruined when the 41-year-old pacer bowled their captain, Kraigg Brathwaite, for 4.
The Caribbean facet was 17 for 2 when Stokes trapped Kirk McKenzie lbw for naught and have become solely the third participant to take 200 wickets and rating 6,000 runs in Exams after iconic former West Indies all-rounder Garfield Sobers and former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis.
Stokes additionally obtained Louis caught behind for 14 with the primary supply after the ball was modified as a result of it had turn into out of form. Atkinson continued his memorable debut when he bowled Hodge for 4 – and the guests wobbled to 37 for 4.
After he defied the England assault for near an hour-and-a-half, Athanaze was caught behind for 22 to turn into the 703rd Check wicket for Anderson earlier than Atkinson obtained Holder caught at quick leg to finish a depressing day for West Indies.
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