England set a respectable score of 416 on the opening day of the second Test against the West Indies.
James Anderson bowled out in style as the hosts won comfortably in the first Test and England’s bowling will be tested on Friday as they look to protect their lead.
Read our other sports news stories:
Wimbledon 2024: Alcaraz thrashes Djokovic to defend men’s title
James Anderson bows out in style as England thrash West Indies
Gareth Southgate resigns: What next for England?
It was a brilliant day for Ollie Pope, who hit 121 before edging an Alzarri Joseph ball into the hands of Kavem Hodge at slip.
Pope was previously dropped on 46 and 54 but made the Windies’ mistakes count at Trent Bridge.
He had built on a blistering start from Ben Duckett, who was finding the boundary regularly on his way to 71 from 59 balls.
But his innings came to an end 19 overs in when he edged to Jason Holder at slip, which seemed to be a common theme across the day.
Ben Stokes was in fine form, as he so often is. The former captain brought up his 32nd Test fifty and made his way to 69 before handing Hodge his first-ever Test wicket.
The Englishman did his best to smash the ball away over mid-wicket but did not connect properly and presented an easy catch for Jeremiah Louis.
Pope century leads run fest as England pass 400 on opening day! 🏏💥
Watch the best of the action here! 👇
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) JULY 18, 2024
Stokes was visibly frustrated as he left the field and looked to be on course to record a three-figure score in Nottingham.
Overall, England will see it as a positive day as they built on their 1-0 series lead.
The West Indies won the toss and opted to bowl first and now have their target to chase down.
No rain is expected to interfere with play on Friday, meaning we should see some good cricket ahead of the weekend.
England looked to be running riot before Kevin Sinclair and Alzarri Joseph steadied the ship after the first drinks break.
The former took two wickets for 73 runs while the latter took three from 98.
It was a morning to forget for Zak Crawley though. The opener did not score a single run and was out after three balls and just two minutes of play.
Luckily, his team-mates picked up the slack and they will be looking to take the strong finish onto the field tomorrow and halt any Windies’ hope of chasing down their total.
However, West Indies captain Sinclair is seeing it as a positive for his side.
Speaking to the BBC after the match, he said: “We did brilliant. It was too many runs in the end but I would say it was a good day for us as a team.
“We got the crucial wickets to put us right back in the game.”
