Ollie Pope’s Century Propels England to 416 on High-Paced First Day of the 2nd Test Showdown
With a stunning century from Ollie Pope and quick fifties from Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes, England was in a commanding position, as they reach 416 in the first day of the second Test match against the West Indies.
Missed opportunities plagued the visitors as England exploited Trent Bridge’s good batting surface. Ben Duckett opened proceedings with a 59-ball 71.
England 1st Innings 416 (Pope 121, Duckett 71, Stokes 69, A Joseph 3-98) vs West Indies
Duckett set the bar incredibly high, hitting the boundary frequently his route to 71 off just 59 balls, and Pope capitalized on that. After Zak Crawley was hit by the third ball of the game, Alzarri Joseph lined him up with a back-of-a-length delivery that got a thick edge and sailed to Alick Athanaze at third slip. The pair then shared a 105-run stand for the second wicket.
Pope proceeded to score 121 off 167 balls, his second century of the year and sixth overall after hitting 196 against India in January. Before Stokes hit deep midwicket with the 14th delivery from Kavem Hodge, England was 342 for 6. After joining the attack in the 68th over, left-arm spinner Hodge finished with 2 for 44 off 10 overs had a hand in two more wickets, catching Gus Atkinson and Pope in the slips.
After falling for 28 runs in 7.2 overs to Jamie Smith, Stokes, and Atkinson, the hosts were all out for 416 at the end, with some of the sparkle from their innings being sapped by cheap dismissals.
After a crushing innings loss in the opening Test at Lord’s, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite stated he needed greater discipline from his bowlers after winning the toss and sending England in to bat on a welcome batting surface under clear skies. They occasionally put pressure on England’s hitters, but the West Indies lost far too many opportunities in the field and with the ball.
Pope, having been dropped at 46 in the last over before lunch, rode his luck when he hit a powerful delivery from Jayden Seales towards a wide gully, where Athanaze was unable to hang on. When he cut Shamar Joseph to second slip on 54, the visitors granted him another life; this time, it was Jason Holder who did it.
Before being dropped on 24 at gully, Harry Brook punished some careless line and length from Alzarri Joseph with three straight fours.
Shortly after lunch, Joe Root was knocked down by a fluffed pull that went straight to mid-on, and Brook had arrived at 142 for 3. Alzarri Joseph juggled the ball twice before seizing it for good, and Seales’s heart was in his mouth.
After Pope and Brook combined for ten more fours in the first hour of the afternoon session, Brook reached 30 with an easy six off Alzarri Joseph’s deep point.
However, Brook was unsuccessful in his attempt to paddle Kevin Sinclair, who was brought in late after Gudakesh Motie became ill. Instead, he was able to throw a toe-end high ball to midwicket, where Kirk McKenzie caught it.
Pope reached his century when he knocked four off Seales over square leg. Then, to compound the problems for the West Indies, Shamar Joseph walked off the field in the middle of his 12th over, the final one before tea, complaining of cramps in his left leg. But with the ball soaring to Hodge and Pope driving at Alzarri Joseph, the tourists could find some solace in his dismissal.
After Smith and Stokes put on 61 runs together, Smith hit Hodge for six runs beyond deep midwicket and then hammered another one down the ground. However, Hodge answered the following ball when Smith tried a similar stroke and picked out Holder in the deep, carrying on England’s recent run of cheap dismissals.
That other undesirable theme for the West Indies continued when Mikyle Louis dived forwards at point off Sinclair to drop Mark Wood, who had survived a missed stumping.
After 86 overs, the visitors were given a second new ball, which Jayden Seales and Alzarri Joseph exploited to remove the final two wickets, Chris Woakes for 37 and Shoaib Bashir in five.
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Duckett had remained incredibly concentrated in the middle, even with the impending arrival of his first child. Against Seales, he hit the boundary four times in a row in the second over, with two spectacular extra cover drives preceding a cut over point and a clip through midwicket. In the subsequent over from Seales, he helped himself to two more, and in the following over from Alzarri Joseph, he reached England’s fifty in just 26 balls—the quickest of any Test squad.
After coming on in the sixth over, Holder only gave up one run before being easily dismissed over extra cover by Duckett, who reached his fifty in just 32 balls by hitting Holder for four through deep third.
After the first drinks break, it was Sinclair and Shamar Joseph who exerted some pressure on the West Indies. However, Duckett looked like he was going to break loose when he lunged forward to punish a wide shot from Shamar Joseph through the covers and to sweep a full delivery from Sinclair for four, bringing up England‘s hundred. Holder hung on at second slip as Shamar Joseph eventually got through by drawing an outside edge from Duckett.
