Tea and Biscuits in the West Indies
Day 2: Antigua. The hosts hold a slender advantage going into day 3 of this first Test Match
Day 2: Antigua. The hosts hold a slender advantage going into day 3 of this first Test Match
Welcome to my brief coverage of day 2 from the 1st Test Match in Antigua between the hosts West Indies and the touring England cricket team. I endeavour to cover each day in a slightly different way and hence today will be a “Fall of Wickets” special that will hopefully give you a flavour for both the innings in progress as well as the match position throughout the day.
Yesterday’s article was a more traditional take on the day’s play, divided into the 3 sessions of play (Morning/Afternoon/Evening) and is linked below:
Tea and Biscuits in the West Indies
Day 1: Antigua. Jonny Bairstow the centurion yet again as England take the honours on the opening day.medium.com
Anyway, on with today’s play!
CHRIS WOAKES caught Da Silva bowled Seales (28)
England started the day on 268–6 and had progressed to an even healthier and positive first innings total of 285 before Woakes received a perfect vicious lifting delivery from Jayden Seales and could only glove a tiny edge through to wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva. Of the 17 added runs so far this morning, Woakes had added just 4 runs to his overnight total but crucially kept the senior batsman Jonny Bairstow company as the runs were slowly added to England’s total. Two balls later, another wicket was added to their innings total too.
CRAIG OVERTON caught Bonner bowled Seales (0)
An almost identical delivery to that of his dismissal of Chris Woakes accounted for Overton, but whereas Woakes gloved the rising ball to the wicketkeeper, Overton met the ball with a defensive shot but straight into the midriff of Nkrumah Bonner at the close in “Bat/Pad” or “Short Leg” position. It was a wonderful reaction catch and the West Indies now had 8 English wickets and Jayden Seales could lay claim to exactly half of these cricketing victims.
He would finish the innings with figures of 4 wickets for 79 runs.
MARK WOOD caught Permaul bowled Joseph (1)
With England passing through the rarefied air of posting a first innings total in excess of 300, Wood tried hooking a short ball from Alzarri Joseph and simply skied a high simple chance to Veerasammy Permaul who safely deposited the catch and England were 305–9. With one wicket remaining, England were perhaps 45+ runs shy of a very good par total for a first innings flash of the cricketing blade on this Antiguan wicket.
6 runs later, the innings came to a close.
JONNY BAIRSTOW caught Holder bowled Joseph (140)
Chasing quick runs with his final batting partner Jack Leach, Bairstow “threw the bat” at a rising delivery, top edging a high catch that Jason Holder took, with great difficulty, as he tumbled backwards but the innings was over, England were all out for a reasonable and competitive first innings score of 311 and Jonny Bairstow had added 31 to his overnight not out total of 109 to top score with 140.
JOHN CAMPBELL caught Foakes bowled Overton (35)
John Campbell, along with fellow opening batsman Kraigg Brathwaite romped to 44 easy runs before the lunch break and from only 10 rather ragged and ill disciplined England overs. Post lunch it was much the same as every England bowler was dispatched regularly to the boundary with Jack Leach in particular being given some harsh treatment by both West Indian batsmen. With the innings total on 83 runs Campbell was both “bounced out” and “strangled down the leg side” to use two regularly worn cricketing clichés as he tamely gloved a short pitched Overton delivery down the leg side for a simple catch for the England wicketkeeper. Considering the promise that came before it, it was a lame end to a swashbuckling cameo of an innings, but the visitors were looking desperate and badly needed this wicket.
KRAIGG BRATHWAITE caught Overton bowled Wood (55)
See above! West Indian Skipper Brathwaite raced to his half century from just 62 deliveries and with his side on 101–1 he tamely edged a wide delivery from the industrious Mark Wood to Craig Overton in the “Gully” position. Whereas Overton got lucky with his poor delivery that registered the wicket of his opening batting partner, here Wood bowled a “scrambled seam” and a wider and slightly slower delivery that Brathwaite in all honesty could and should have simply watched go by. Instead he was tempted into a tame shot that caused his downfall and again in league with his opening batting partner had rather given away his wicket after a blistering and mightily impressive start to his innings. With the departure of the Skipper, the West Indies were 101–2 and England were glad of these bits and pieces of good fortune.
SHARMARH BROOKS caught Root bowled Stokes (18)
10 runs later and the visitors dismissed the dangerous Sharmarh Brooks via the combination of a beautiful swinging delivery from their vice captain Ben Stokes which was edged into the grasping hands of their captain Joe Root at first slip. From 83–0 the West Indies had lost 3 wickets for just 28 runs and this Test Match was beginning to come to an afternoon session boil.
JERMAINE BLACKWOOD caught Overton bowled Woakes (11)
In truth, every England bowler had a mixed day with the ball up to this point in the day’s play and no-one more so than Chris Woakes. However, he jagged back a good delivery that Blackwood tried to defend and the ball looped, seemingly only off his pads, to Craig Overton in a wide 3rd slip or Gully position. Captain Root challenged the on field decision and the DRS (Decision Review System) proved him correct as the batsman had got the slightest of edges from his bat into his pads and therefore with the West Indies were now 127–4 and had lost 4 wickets for just 44 runs.
With the game evenly poised, Nkrumah Bonner (34 not out) and Jason Holder (43 not out) combined for a 75 run partnership between the rain showers that curtailed the day with 6 overs still to be bowled and with the West Indies on a commanding looking 202–4 and 109 runs behind England’s first innings total. At 127-4 England were in the ascendency and whilst Bonner’s and Holder’s 75 run partnership wasn’t always convincing it was most certainly effective and has perhaps just edged the second day’s play as well as installing themselves as being slightly ahead in the overall Test Match after 2 days.
England may have fallen slightly short of a par first innings score, their bowlers fell way short in the final two sessions with far too many loose deliveries providing easy boundary 4’s as well as boundary clearing 6’s. Chris Woakes and Craig Overton were wayward and expensive and although not a particularly fair comparison, I wouldn’t imagine Messrs Anderson and Broad, England’s tried and trusted (and now aged) opening bowlers of yore being quite so generous. But they’re at home in a cold English winter whist their opening bowling replacements toil on a rather blancmange of an unhelpful wicket. Jack Leach bowled ok and aside from an occasional delivery clobbered to or over the boundary was economical, as was Ben Stokes and Mark Wood, both of whom snagged valuable wickets.
As ever, tomorrow’s opening session is crucial and England still have 13+ overs to bowl with the old, soft and battered ball. Those 13 overs will account for the opening hour of play and they need to keep the score tight, and in range of their current 109 run lead until they can claim a brand new “cherry”. I foresee Mark Wood playing a huge role with that new nut/rock or indeed cherry tomorrow and as such, I’ll be keeping a special eye on him as I pen tomorrow’s match report in the style of “Player Watch”. Wood will be one such player watched with a keen eye tomorrow, as will Zak Crawley when he opens the batting in England’s second innings later in the day. I rather like the cut of the cricketing jibs of both Wood and Crawley, and I hope you can join me tomorrow for the next instalment of this intriguing Test Match.