West Indies enjoy fine second day as Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel share England wickets

Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope – the heroes of Headingley when West Indies last toured – nullified England's attack to ensure that the visitors ended the day in a strong position

jasholder090705

Take out a digital subscription with The Cricketer for just £1 for the first month

Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel starred for West Indies on the second day of the first Test at the Ageas Bowl as England were restricted to just 204 after winning the toss and electing to bat.

After resuming just a single wicket down, having lost Dom Sibley on a truncated opening day, Gabriel quickly accounted for Denly and Burns, knocking over the Kent batsman’s off-stump before pinning the Surrey captain in front with a quick full delivery.

From the other end, Holder, the world’s top-ranked allrounder, was getting into his work. He had Zak Crawley lbw to a ball that nipped in off the seam, though – as in Burns’ case – he was forced to rely on the Decision Review System after Richard Kettleborough had initially turned down both shouts.

Ollie Pope, after two quickfire boundaries, became the fourth victim of the morning; he nibbled at a delivery that moved away off the surface from Holder, edging behind to Shane Dowrich.

It meant that England went to lunch five wickets down, with captain Ben Stokes and vice-captain Jos Buttler together in partnership.

For a while after the interval, the pair counterattacked; they hit 13 boundaries between them. But when Holder returned, he squared up Stokes with a ball that held its line from round the wicket, enticing him to edge to Dowrich, before forcing Buttler into a similar demise in his next over.

From 157 for 7, England did well to add another 47 runs for the final three wickets. Without Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali or Sam Curran down the order, it was left to Dom Bess to dig in with the tail until Holder and Gabriel polished off the innings.

In response, John Campbell and Kraigg Brathwaite dug in well. Campbell was given out twice and successfully overturned both decisions, but he was eventually trapped in front by James Anderson.

Jofra Archer and Mark Wood both bowled quickly, though Brathwaite and Shai Hope – the heroes of Headingley when West Indies last toured – nullified them to ensure that the visitors ended the day one wicket down when bad light intervened.

Save 30% when you subscribe to The Cricketer’s print & digital bundle. £35 for 12 issues

Subscribe to The Cricketer for exclusive content every day: The inside track on England's Test tour with George Dobell in Pakistan, award-winning analysis, breaking news and interviews and the only place for in-depth county coverage all year round. Plus: An ad-free app experience at your fingertips. Subscribe to thecricketer.com today for just £1.

Comments

LATEST NEWS

STAY UP TO DATE Sign up to our newsletter...
SIGN UP

Thank You! Thank you for subscribing!

Units 7-8, 35-37 High St, Barrow upon Soar, Loughborough, LE128PY

website@thecricketer.com

Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.