ENG vs WI, 2nd Test, Day 1: Stokes, Sibley Fifties Propel England To 207/3 At Stumps In Old Trafford

In the final session of the day, Stokes and Sibley continued to show tremendous application and patience.

A determined knock from the opener Dom Sibley (82 runs off 253 balls) and his 121-run partnership with national hero Ben Stokes (59 runs off 159 balls) helped England finish strongly at 207/3 at Stumps on the opening day of the second Test at Old Trafford on Thursday. Both Stokes and Sibley left no stone unturned to make sure skipper Holder regrets his decision to bowl first at the venue where no team has won a Test game after deciding to bowl first. 

Ben Stokes smashed the first six of the series in the final over before tea to help England go into the break on 112/3. In the final session of the day, Stokes and Sibley continued to show tremendous application and patience. The Windies bowlers now looked desperate to break the solid building partnership to push themselves back into the game.

Dom Sibley's simple game plan against the bowlers worked well. The England opener completed his fifty with a single off Chase. Sibley looked to carry with his patient knock with national hero Stokes on the other end to give him company. Soon after, the duo brought up their 50 partnership.

Even the luck today was on Sibley's side as he was put down on 68 by captain Holder. Few overs later, Stokes hits a three to bring up his half-century and the 100 run partnership.

Sibley, Stokes Help England Reach 112/3 At Tea

A cautiously played, disciplined knock from the batting pair of Ben Stokes and Dominic Sibley helped England bring up 100 in the 42nd over after losing quick wickets. The Windies bowlers attack were now dominating the England batsmen with variation in movement from the pitch. England managed to reach 112/3 at Tea.

Roston Chase Strikes To Remove Burns; England 29/1 At Lunch

Spinner Roston Chase gave Windies what they wanted on the final ball before Lunch as he removed Burns (15) to break the dangerous-looking opening wicket partnership. At Lunch, England were 29/1.

The toss and 2nd Test got delayed due to wet weather conditions. Bless the ground staff, they worked efficiently to get the field dried off quickly. West Indies captain Jason Holder on Thursday won the toss and elected to bowl against England in the second Test.

West Indies have a 1-0 lead in the series following their four-wicket win in the first Test played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

Teams:

England (Playing XI): Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root(c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler(w), Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad

West Indies (Playing XI): Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich(w), Jason Holder(c), Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel

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