England captain Root was reprieved on the 23rd and 34th, for lack of review and missed catch respectively, as he leads England 244-3 on day one of the second Test in Barbados; Alex Lees gets in before Dan Lawrence revs up the scoring on the day Saqib Mahmood and Matthew Fisher are given test debuts
Joe Root celebrates his 25 102nd test in as many games against the West Indies
Captain Joe Root made the most of two reprieves to score his 25th Test century and second in as many games as England finished the first day of the second Test against the West Indies at 244-3.
Root followed up his 109 in the opener of the tied series in Antigua with 119 not out in Barbados, putting in a spirited third-wicket position of 164 of 271 deliveries with the fluid Dan Lawrence (91) – who fell to Jason Holder in the end of the day, after previously sharing a gritty 76-for-251 second-wicket position with starter Alex Lees (30-for-138).
England captain Root enjoyed fortune at 23 and 34, first when the West Indies failed to go to review after he hit Holder from behind and then when wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva spilled a chance to dive down the side of the leg, outside of Kemar Roach’s bowling.
But Root played magnificently after that, especially when he swept spinner Veerasammy Permaul and led rhythm pitchers as he hit his eighth ton in 19 Tests since the start of 2021 on 199 balls.
Free-scoring Lawrence dropped at 72 by Alzarri Joseph on the slip, pulling nine runs away from a successive bounded Test first century off Holder, only to then poke the same bowler’s next ball to cover what resulted. be the last delivery of the day. .
Lees played his part with a gritty, slow stroke in just his second Test, patiently rebuilding with Root after Zak Crawley’s early exit for a duck as England trailed down two runs up.
But the pace changed once Lawrence reached the crease, with the Essex batsman running the fastest of his four Test fifty to date, from just 62 balls, as the West Indian bowlers tired on another pitch that largely unresponsive.
The Kensington Oval deck has a bit more pace and bounce than the lifeless surface in the first test at North Sound, but taking wickets again looks set to be a challenge for bowlers, meaning the waivers Root received could be costly for the household. side.
Speedy Lancashire Saqib Mahmood and Yorkshire pacer Matt Fisher are part of the England attack and have been awarded Test debuts in the absence of Mark Wood (right elbow) and Craig Overton (illness). Fisher’s arc was confirmed shortly before he played Overton.
Mahmood and Fisher, who received their caps from Root and Vice-Captain Ben Stokes respectively, are the first closers to make their England debut in the same Test since Tim Bresnan and Graham Onions appeared against the West Indies at Lord’s in 2009.
The new England boys started the game in the pavilion after Root elected to bat first and were soon joined by Crawley who fell for a seven-ball duck in the fourth over.
The Kent man couldn’t back up his 121st inning in Antigua, caught in two minds over whether to play or go and sneak Jayden Seales to Da Silva as England fell to 4-1.
However, Lees rallied a bit from double-single figures on his debut last time out, dropping anchors, challenging the West Indies and looking composed as he batted with a more open stance.
Lees shoved his bat into a Roach pitch off the stump, but he had a few other scares, except for getting hit in the head by a Seals goaltender who hung lower than he expected, and the West Indies largely ignored targeting. his stumps, surprising considering he had twice lbw dropped Roach at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
The Durham man’s innings, containing just the limit three, ended midway through the second session when he was caught lbw playing back to Permaul: Lees finished his strike with a 21.74 strike rate.
Lees batted stubbornly, but Lawrence played fearlessly when he came in, hitting successive bounds against Holder and then smoking a six against Permaul as his fifty-fifty partnership with Root took just 69 balls to complete.
Root and Lees needed 197 deliveries to nail down their half-century position.
Lawrence and Root pushed their partnership into triple figures with just 134 balls, with England advancing to close to six for more during a stretch of 10-over at the start of the final session.
England hitting coach Marcus Trescothick speaking with Sport: “We had a great platform with the combination of Root and Lawrence to put pressure on the West Indian bowlers.
“[It was] It was a great day, really positive for us, although I am very disappointed that Dan came out given how positive he played. In general, we are very happy where we are.
“Joe has the discipline and sets an example for everyone in English cricket with his hunger and desire.”
West Indies and England will resume the second Test at 2pm UK time on Thursday. Follow the text commentary one after another from 1:45pm on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
