ENG vs WI: 2nd Test – Talking points from opening day’s play

The opening day of the second Test between England and West Indies at Old Trafford, Manchester was off to a controversial start. England lost their strike bowler Jofra Archer for violating safety protocols while Jason Holder became the first captain to win the toss and bowl first at this venue since 1993. Rain robbed much of the first session but the last two sessions were hard-fought. England finished the day on 207/3 with Dominic Sibley (86) and Ben Stokes (59) at the crease.

England’s fresh pace attack

Resting their frontline bowlers in the first Test, England had already announced the non-selection of James Anderson and Mark Wood for this game. Archer, who bowled a fiery spell in the final innings of the opening match, was expected to lead the attack with fresh support bowlers. However, breaching the bio-secure protocol saw him being excluded from the squad. This saw England field a fresh pace attack of Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Sam Curran. In contrast, West Indies persisted with their same four pacers from the first Test.

Root’s return pleases Alzarri Joseph

Ben Stokes captained England in the first Test as Joe Root was on his paternal leave. Root’s return not only saw England’s regular captain coming back into the side but also one of their best batsmen from the current setup. His comeback added tremendous experience to the batting line-up. However, Root could add only 23 runs before Joseph forced an outside edge off his bat. This was the fourth time in six innings that the bowler dismissed England’s best hope.

Alzarri Joseph to Joe Root
Inns: 6
Runs: 73
Balls: 121
Dismissals: 4
Avg: 18.3
SR: 60.3
Boundary %: 65.70
Dot ball %: 73.50#WIReady #ENGvWI #MenInMaroon pic.twitter.com/INZ55CUpye

— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) July 16, 2020

Stalemate

It was innocuous-looking Roston Chase who took the first two wickets to fall before Joseph nicked Root. Chase dismissed Rory Burns LBW before the Lunch break and sent back Zak Crawley on the first ball after the break. England were then 81/3 when the captain walked back. This brought Ben Stokes to the crease to accompany Dominic Sibley. The duo fought on till the end of the day without giving West Indies another success. Holder did drop Sibley in the slip cordon. Yet, the batsman failed to get on the top of the bowling as the innings run-rate hovered around 2.6 to 2.7 runs per over.