Ben Stokes sweeping Barbados, hitting 114 hundred balls, including six sixes, as England declare 507-9; Yorkshire sailor Matthew Fisher then strikes out with the second ball on debut before the West Indies lose 71-1 to fall behind by 436 after the second day of the second test at Kensington Oval.
Ben Stokes scored a brilliant century as England declared 507-9 against the West Indies in the second test.
Ben Stokes drove in a throbbing 120 from 128 balls before Matthew Fisher picked up a wicket with his second ball on debut as England retained control of the second Test against the West Indies on day two in Barbados.
Stokes’ brutal hitting, which took him to his first Test century since July 2020 and more than 5,000 Test runs, dwarfed skipper Root, who made 153 of 316 deliveries in England’s 507-9, claimed to have started the day in 119.
Stokes scored 89 of the 125 runs England scored in the opening session and 91 of the 129 he scored with Root in total; at one point he made 64 of just 34 deliveries thanks to four sixes and eight fours as he dropped West Indies closer Alzarri. Joseph and the spinner Veerasammy Permaul.
The all-rounder, who hit six sixes and 11 fours in total in his 11th Test century, holed out in the second session and Root declared in the third before Yorkshire Fisher’s closer caught John Campbell (4) in the second round of West. Indies response after receiving the new ball.
Subsequently, the West Indies closed with 71-1 to fall behind by 436 in a pitch that began to offer turn for the spinners: Shamarh Brooks is 31 years old and not out, while captain Kraigg Brathwaite is undefeated at 28 years after having Successfully overturned a lbw layoff of Jack Leach when he was at 14
Fisher thought he had caught Brooks for Zak Crawley on the slip of 17 in his fifth over, only for the third referee to hold up the soft no-out signal with the England fielder’s fingers apparently touching the turf.
It was a milestone day at Kensington Oval with Stokes and Kemar Roach achieving remarkable feats.
Stokes became the fifth man, after Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Jacques Kallis, to double 5,000 runs and 150 Test wickets, while Roach surpassed Sobers’ tally of 235 Test scalps, and up to seventh on the West Indies All-Time List, when he pinned Root lbw in the review.
Stokes, who has also moved up to sixth on the all-time six batsmen list in Test cricket with his tally now at 89, will be happier than Roach with the state of the match at the moment, with England racking up a first formidable. total entries in Bridgetown.
A West Indies side fatigued from 150.5 overs on the pitch must now respond in kind, but have started solid enough, with Brathwaite’s second wicket and Brooks standing up to an unbroken 57 from 156 deliveries.
England had built an excellent platform on day one with Root’s test 25th century, a stubborn 138-ball 30 for opener Alex Lees and Dan Lawrence’s blazing 91 leading the tourists to 244-3.
Lawrence had dropped on the final ball of the day, so a cold Stokes took his time going into the second morning, walking away from the 10th ball and going 6-for-24 and 23-for-55.
The 30-year-old’s onslaught began in earnest with a sweeping back four and then a six over the side of Permaul’s leg and carried on, to the delight of the England supporters, as he remembered his blisters. 258 from 198 balls against South Africa in Cape Town in 2016.
By the time Stokes finished a 20-run Joseph with six in one leg that took him past 5,000 Test runs, he had nailed six bounds in his previous nine deliveries and shot 87-for-89.
Stokes’ tone – emotional for him as it was the first for England since his father Ged’s death in December 2020 – came around 45 minutes after lunch with the left-back braking at the restart, perhaps due to the dismissal. Root in the second session.
Stokes’ eyes lit up again as Brathwaite brought his slow offside spin into the fray, but after smoking the bowler for six successives, Stokes spooned for long: England 424-6 at that stage, with Jonny Bairstow (20) leaving one more anterior.
Woakes (41) and Ben Foakes (33) then added 75 of 115 balls in partnership to bring England to the brink of 500, a milestone they surpassed when Woakes caught Roach for four shortly after Foakes’ dismissal.
Woakes, Foakes and Jack Leach (4) went off into a frenzied passage of play after tea, Leach’s departure prompting England’s declaration.
Fisher then made an early breakthrough in his Test bow, but fellow debutant Saqib Mahmood was unable to follow suit, although his four overs have turned into just three runs, with two maidens between them.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes, speaking on Sport: “The credit had to go to Joe [Root] and give [Lawrence] yesterday, they prepared the tickets and allowed us in the middle order to release the arms.
“We tried to put the West Indian bowlers back under pressure and it worked well. Winning the toss, batting first and putting 500 on the board is always a positive.
“The wicket is pretty good, but it’s changed a lot over the last session and a half. Our closers felt like they were in the game.”
West Indies and England will resume the second Test at 2pm UK time on Friday. Follow the text commentary one after another from 1:45pm on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
