Eng vs WI, 1st Test, Day 4: Burns-Sibley Opening Stand Help England Reach 79/1 At Lunch, Trail By 35 Runs

On Day 4, Burns and Sibley made their way out in the middle to start the proceedings for England with the match slightly in favour of West Indies, leading by 99 runs.

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England openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley added 72 runs for the opening wicket to help their team reach 79/1 at Lunch on Day 4 of the first Test at Southampton. The hosts trail West Indies (318) by 35 runs. West Indies bowlers conceded just 17 runs in 16 overs since drinks break, as well as picked up the wicket of Burns to break the opening stand. Any sort of lead between 150-200 for England will be tricky for the Caribbean side on a pitch that is bowler-friendly and flat.

On Day 4, Burns and Sibley made their way out in the middle to start the proceedings for England with the match slightly in favour of West Indies, leading by 99 runs.

After seeing overcast conditions in the first innings, England finally had the chance to set a good second innings total under the clear blue skies at Southampton.

Burns and Sibley got off to a steady start as they both smashed some boundaries off the Windies bowling attack to keep the scoreboard ticking. With all wickets intact, the English batters brought up their third fifty partnership in Tests and looked confident to make it their first-century partnership.

Seeing the flattened out pitch of Day 4, captain Holder introduced spin for the first time in this Test match as he brought in Roston Chase into the attack but he failed to break the opening stand in his initial overs. However, the bowlers wisely kept a tight lid on the scoring to build some pressure on both batsmen.

Shot @roryburns17 👌

Live Scorecard & Videos: https://t.co/ldtEXLmhKl#ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/FuGnaFjVFb — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 11, 2020

Burns and Sibley continued to grow their partnership but not for long as Chase finally managed to find a way past this opening pair by dismissing Rory Burns (42 runs off 104 balls), who spooned a cut shot to point only to get out caught by John Campbell. Joe Denly was the next batsman to the crease.

At lunch, England trailed West Indies (318) by 35 runs.

So far in the Test, both team skippers have lived up to the expectations. While Jason Holder's career-best bowling figures in Tests (6-fer) put Windies in a commanding position, Stokes' 43 with the bat and 4-fer ensured that the hosts remain in the contest.

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