SM
Watford vs. Leeds: 6 hrs 42 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

England suffer top-order collapse on second morning against West Indies

:Headline: England suffer top-order collapse on second morning against West Indies: ID:405792: from db_amp
The hosts had resumed on 35 for one after a rain-ruined start to the series.

West Indies seamers Shannon Gabriel and Jason Holder took two wickets apiece as England buckled under pressure on the second morning of the first #raisethebat Test.

Resuming on 35 for one after a rain-ruined start to the series, England were put in their place in Thursday’s opening session, slumping to 106 for five in the face of some high-class bowling.

With Joe Denly, Zak Crawley, Rory Burns and Ollie Pope all failing to make any real impression on the scoreboard the job of justifying the decision to bat first looked to fall squarely on the man who made it: Ben Stokes.

The stand-in England captain was 21 not out having been dropped by Kemar Roach, with his deputy Jos Buttler on nine.

Denly took the best part of half-an-hour to add to his overnight score of 14, chipping Gabriel for four through mid-wicket, and was dismissed by the very next ball.

The delivery topped 90mph, zipped in between bat and pad and sent the stumps sprawling. A score of 18 from 58 balls will do little to ease the scrutiny of Denly’s place in the team but he was not alone in struggling here.

Joe Denly failed to make a telling contribution (Adrian Dennis/NMC Pool/PA)

Gabriel followed up by seeing off Burns, who had looked solid for 30 before playing across a fast yorker that was destined for leg stump. Richard Kettleborough rejected the initial appeal but DRS settled the matter in Gabriel’s favour.

Stokes and Crawley added 20 as they looked to build a response, with the latter knowing a significant score could see him retained ahead of Denly when Joe Root returns from paternity leave next week.

Instead he was gone for 10, Holder rewarded for a probing spell with a second successful lbw referral of the morning.

New man Ollie Pope, who excelled in South Africa over the winter, was up and running with back-to-back boundaries off Holder but the visiting skipper exacted full revenge.

Pope had 12 when he poked at a ball in the channel, edging through to the wicketkeeper to make it 87 for five. Alzarri Joseph came desperately close to picking up the big one – Stokes top-edging a hook to fine leg on 14 – but Roach allowed the ball to squirm loose as he dived.

amp_article__405792 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-07-09 12:34:04:
html db last update - 2021-02-27 16:52:07 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .