ALASTAIR COOK batted for 588 minutes and WEST INDIES batted for 430 minutes both innings combined. This sums up the first test! While the Windies were shoddy, England were brilliant. With the Day-Night Test at Edgbaston a huge success in terms of crowd and support, both teams move to Headingley for the second test with different perspectives. West Indies need to regroup quickly otherwise we could well be in for another horribly one-sided affair.
England displayed a very pleasing and a very remarkable performance in the first test as Root said in the post-match presentation. England were absolutely ruthless in the manner in which they played, they never let the Windies off the hook. With both bat and ball, England looked like the superior side. One can be a little critical of their fielding as they dropped a few catches, but it’s nothing to worry about as they’ve been generally very good in the field. England will want to wrap up the series in the second test and will be hoping for another complete performance.
West Indies started the Test match on a positive note with a fiery spell from the comeback man Kemar Roach, but soon found out the importance of consistency. Expect Roach none of the bowlers showed any sort of control. It was an abject surrender while batting as they lost 19 wickets on the third day. There was no fight at all from the batsmen.
Former cricketers Curtly Ambrose and Geoffrey Boycott have lashed out at the Windies for their abysmal performance in the first test. Ambrose tagged the performance as ‘embarrassing and pathetic’ whereas Boycott termed this West Indian line-up as ‘the worst ever he has seen in 50 years’. Battered and bruised, the Windies need to correct their mistakes and maybe come out with a fearless attitude as they have nothing to lose.
WHEN: AUGUST 25TH – 29TH – 3:30 PM IST, 10 AM GMT, 11 AM LOCAL
WHERE: Headingley, Leeds
TEAM NEWS
ENGLAND: England are yet to have a settled opening pair. Cook has had 12 different partners since Andrew Strauss retired. Mark Stoneman failed to make a mark in his debut game, but he will be given a longer rope. Even Tom Westley hasn’t quite made a big impact in the 3 tests he’s played. Dawid Malan got a fifty but doesn’t instil too much confidence either. It is sure that Westley will continue at No. 3, it’ll be interesting to see if the hosts want to bring back Woakes. If they do, then Malan might have to sit out. It is the only change that England might make.
LIKELY XI – Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, Tom Westley, Joe Root (c), Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Dawid Malan/Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali, Toby Roland-Jones, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
WEST INDIES: Shannon Gabriel who is West Indies’ lead bowler was surprisingly not fit for the first test. He will walk back into the XI if he regains fitness and Alzarri Joseph might miss out. Leggie Bishoo might continue to sit out so that the Windies can play 4 fast bowlers. The rest of the XI might remain the same even though the batting fared miserably.
LIKELY XI – Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope, Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich, Jason Holder (c), Kemar Roach, Miguel Cummins, Shannon Gabriel
STATS
- England won three consecutive tests for the first time since 2014 (India series).
- Stuart Broad became England’s second highest wicket-taker behind James Anderson with 384 wickets surpassing Sir Ian Botham.
TEAM SQUADS
ENGLAND
Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Jonny Bairstow, Mason Crane, Dawid Malan, Toby Roland-Jones, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, Tom Westley, Chris Woakes
WEST INDIES
Jason Holder (c), Kraigg Brathwaite, Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kieran Powell, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach
CRICKET 
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