RECAP
Follow UsThe Yorkshire boys at it again
Missed Harry Brook? Don’t worry, he’s back in England whites and didn’t look one bit rusty on his Test return. The 25-year-old put on a 91-run partnership alongside his Yorkshire senior Joe Root where England extended their massive lead against the Men in Maroon.
Brook was at his effective best before his dismissal, with a 64-ball 50, hitting five fours and a six. At the other end, Root looked a million dollars in his 114-ball stay for 68.
Blowing cold ft. Shamar Joseph
After just two Tests and 13 wickets, Shamar Joseph became an overnight sensation in world cricket. But come his third Test, against England at Lord’s, his form tapered off.
Across two days of Test match cricket, Shamar only bowled 15.4 overs, and even in that, he was blowing very cold. It is evident in the way he bowled a whopping 36.2% of his balls in the fuller region.
Jamie Smith is here to stay
England wicketkeepers have often been found in a place where they have slumped while batting alongside the bowlers. But not Jamie Smith.
The right-handed Surrey man stitched up an important partnership with Chris Woakes (52) before putting on a similar show alongside Shoaib Bashir (25). Smith ensured that he got himself to a well-deserved half-century (70).
Ben Stokes is back baby!
A ten-over bowling shift from Ben Stokes? Wow.
Stokes returned to playing Test cricket for the first time since recovering from knee surgery, and in the first Test itself, it became evident that his knee was doing a lot better than before. During the second innings of the first Test at Lord’s, the Durham all-rounder bowled a ten-over spell.
He wasn’t just accurate but also bowled at a good pace (130 kmph+), something that he lacked when he was injured. Stokes removed both Mikyle Louis and Kirk McKenzie, the second of which got him to his 200th Test wicket and his 100th one at home.
Anderson with the icing on the cake
What more could one have asked on his farewell Test?
After a lull in the first innings, where he only picked up a solitary wicket, James Anderson struck up front to remove Kragg Braithwaite for the eighth time in his Test career. It was almost like Anderson was rolling back the years with a delivery that swung prodigiously back into the right-handed Brathwaite.
Against Alick Athanaze, Anderson showed a wide range of variety, bowling both in and away from the left-hander. Eventually, it was that corridor of uncertainty that accounted for Athanaze in a spell that saw him bowl his 40,000th Test ball.
England are just four wickets away from winning the first Test, with West Indies trailing by 171 runs at the end of day two's play.
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