England vs West Indies: Ollie Pope’s century puts the hosts on top after day one of the second Test in Nottingham Cricket News

Ollie Pope led the way with 121 as England moved into a dominant position on day one of the second Test against the West Indies at Trent Bridge.

A quick stand-fire 105 between Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope helped England recover from the first defeat by Zak Crawley and the home team reached the lunch break on 134-2 as the West Indies struggled to make the most of opting to bowl first. .

Joe Root and Harry Brook also fell in the afternoon session, but the tourists had to pay twice to drop Pope as he reached his sixth Test century and his first since the formidable 196 that helped set up victory in the first Test. against India in Hyderabad back in January.

England’s vice-captain, who made 145 on the same pitch against New Zealand two years ago as well, was finally dismissed five overs after tea, with captain Ben Stokes’ first half-century of the summer helping his team on their way to a first-innings total of 416 before all out before the scheduled closing.

Duckett led a revival after an early setback

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite could hardly have wished for a better start after winning the toss when Alzarri Joseph struck the third ball, tempting England opener Crawley into edging the third ball of the day to slip fielder Alick Athanaze after the fire opened two deliveries.

But Nottinghamshire batsman Duckett spearheaded the recovery from an early loss on home soil, taking particular interest in the bowling of Jayden Seales with a flurry of boundaries as the seamer’s opening two overs went for 28 runs.

Together, he and Pope helped England race to 50 in just 26 balls at a strike rate of 190.30 and the left-hander passed the milestone with 32 balls in the 10th innings, doing so for the 11th time in four innings, dropping to three. .

There were even stages when it looked like Duckett would break Gilbert Jessop’s 122-year-old record for England’s fastest Test century, but the innings ended on 71 off 59 balls, including 14 fours, as he scalped Shamar Joseph for the first time in the series after edging the seamer to Jason Holder.

The introduction of spinner Kevin Sinclair, for the ill Gudakesh Motie, helped slow England’s run even after Duckett’s dismissal, with Pope dropping on 47 from a difficult chance to Athanaze off Seales in the final over before lunch.

England’s vice-captain would go on to reach his 13th Test 50 two overs into the evening session, but a change of ball after the original was out of form produced immediate results for the West Indies.

Pope stands firm for centuries

It was Seales who got the wicket of Joe Root, sending down a couple of Testers followed by a terrific shot from the Yorkshireman which rose high and dropped to Alzarri Joseph finally making a catch.

Pope, meanwhile, was put on 54 in 31 overs as neither Holder nor Kavem Hodge could catch him in the slips and then Harry Brook, who had come out firing with five early fours, was bowled at gully by Athanaze off Alzarri Joseph in 24 fours overs later.

Sinclair finally accounted for Brook (36 off 34 balls) in the 42nd over though as the batsman attempted a scoop-sweep but got his toe on the back of the bat on the ball and popped up to Kirk McKenzie’s short leg, ending a four-wicket stand of 59 in the process and allowing Sinclair a chance to pill off the signature somersault celebration to the delight of the Trent Bridge crowd.

But Pope remained unbowed and, after being denied a four at the start of the 47th over because the walks were given as leg-byes, passed the century mark by pulling Seales square to the boundary with the 14th four of his innings. for that point.

He and captain Ben Stokes saw England to 259-4 at tea, but their partnership ended on 80 in the 58th over when Hodge kept his best catch after Pope cut a delivery from Alzarri Joseph.

Stokes plowed to reach 50 for the 32nd Test five overs later, only to depart for 69 when he pulled Hodge to replace fielder Jeremiah Lewis, for the cramp-stricken Shamar Joseph, on the square-leg boundary to be his spinner. first wicket at this level.

The slow-left armer claimed his second in the 78th over, with Jamie Smith unable to build on his impressive debut half-century after holing out to Holder at long-on for 36 just one ball after clattering six back down the ground.

Sinclair also got in on the action, scoring Gus Atkinson (2), and West Indies took the new ball in the 87th over to see Seales and Alzarri Joseph dismiss Chris Woakes (37) and Shoaib Bashir (5), with the tourists to begin their reply in the morning on day two. .

What they said

England official Ollie Pope, speaking to Sky Sports Cricket:

“It was a great day but we also felt we left out a couple which bodes well for us as a batting unit.

“When you put them at bat and put 416 on the board, you can’t complain about that.

“The pressure Ben Duckett put back on the West Indies bowlers was class and that took the pressure off me.”

Former West Indies bowler Ian Bishop, speaking on Sky Sports Cricket:

“I would say that today, from West Indies’ perspective, it could have been better but it could have been worse.

“They will be delighted to take all 10 England wickets today, but they will be disappointed at the pace at which England have allowed them to drift and continue for the rest of the day.

“With a couple of batters that I set and a hundred for Pope, I think England will say maybe we gave away two or three more wickets than we should have.”

England vs West Indies Test Series

Watch day two of the second Test between England and the West Indies, from Trent Bridge in Nottingham, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Friday (first ball bowled at 11am).

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