In this difficult time of the Corona epidemic, the first match played between England and the West Indies ended in an exciting manner. The West Indies, who dominated the first innings, took a 1-0 lead in the series over England after registering a convincing victory by 4 wickets in the last session of the fifth day of the first test match.
Here is the summary of the whole test match starting from England’s poor start in the return game to International cricket amid coronavirus epidemic and West Indies’s Blackwood scoring tremendous 95 runs in the second game to chase down the target.
England – 1st Inning
Host team captain Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bat first. On the very first day of the match, the game was affected due to rain. Due to which only 17.4 overs were played on the first day.
The Caribbean bowlers, who were touring England in the midst of the Covid-19 epidemic with high spirits, tightened their grip from the start.
However, on the second day of the game, with the 43 runs from England’s captain Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler’s 35 runs, and Dom Bess’s unbeaten 31, the England team was able to score 204 runs.
At the same time, captain Jason Holder from the West Indies took 6 wickets in his 20 overs. Apart from Holder, Shannon Gabriel took the remaining 4 wickets for his team.
West Indies – 1st Inning
In response to England’s score, West Indies opener batsmen Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell made a brilliant start.
Both the players batted carefully and added 43 runs for the first wicket. Campbell was dismissed for 28 while Brathwaite played a brilliant half-century scoring of 65 runs.
Apart from Braithwaite, Shamrah Brooks contributed 39 runs and Roston Chase added 47 runs for the team. Wicketkeeper-batsman Dorich’s 61 to take a crucial lead of 114 runs in their first inning with scoring 318 runs.
For England the captain Ben Stokes took 4 wickets in 14 overs. James Anderson took 3 wickets, Dom Bess took 2 wickets and Mark Wood also bagged one wicket. Whereas Jofra Archer
England – 2nd Inning
In the second innings, the England players started batting carefully. Opener batsmen Rory Burns and Dominic Sibley, who failed in the first innings, shared a 72-run partnership for the first wicket.
Burns contributed 42 runs in the second innings while Sibley was dismissed for 50 runs. Joe Denly scored 29 runs after both of them were out. Although Zak Crowley, who came to bat in the middle order, played a brilliant 76-run inning.
The team definitely turned towards a big score, but after the dismissal of captain Ben Stokes, no other players in the lower order could spend more time on the crease. Ben Stokes was out for 46 in his second innings.
In this way, the entire team of England was all out before 315 runs in 111.2 overs before lunch on the fifth day. In the second innings, the most successful bowler for West Indies was Shanon Gabriel, who dismissed five England batsmen. Whereas Roston Chase and Alzarri Joseph got two wickets, while Holder took only one wicket.
West Indies – 2nd Inning
In the second innings, West Indies were given the target of 200 runs by England which the West Indies team achieved by losing 6 wickets in 64.2 overs.
Jermaine Blackwood played a key role in helping the team win. Blackwood batted cautiously for the West Indies after the top order stumbled in the beginning. He made a stunning 95 off 154 balls which included 12 fours.
At the same time, wicketkeeper-batsman Dowrich, who played a half-century in the first innings, contributed 20 runs. Apart from this, Roston Chase played a crucial inning of 37 runs. Captain Jason Holder (14) and John Campbell (8) remained not out.
What’s next?
West Indies team has taken the lead by 1-0 in 3 match series. Both England and West Indies team will move to Manchester where the remaining 2 test matches will be played. The 2nd match will start on 16th July, followed by the 3rd test match which will start from 24th July.
Follow us on Instagram
