A well-deserved second Test century from Dom Sibley helped England reach 264/3 at Lunch on Day 2 of the second Test at Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday. National hero Ben Stokes reached 99 at Lunch. Stokes and Sibley ensured that it was a second consecutive wicketless session for West Indies. ALSO READ | UAE Likely To Host IPL 2020 In September-November Window, ICC T20 Might Get Cancelled: Report


Stokes and Sibley's partnership is currently the third-slowest 150-run partnership for England in Tests for which balls faced were recorded.


The partnership between Stokes and Sibley for the fourth wicket is on 183 off 465 balls. While Sibley faced 316 balls for his 101, Stokes has absorbed 252 balls thus far.


After ending the first day at Manchester on 207/3, Ben Stokes came out in the middle to start Day 2 on 59 and Dom Sibley on 86. The duo put on a solid 126 run partnership for the fourth wicket. Windies looked for making an early breakthrough with the new ball in the first session.


The visitors attacked the English batters aggressively with fast bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Shannon Gabriel as they looked to pull themselves back into the game.


In the first few hours of the game, the bowlers managed to swing the ball, bowled some good length deliveries but nothing threatened the English batsmen.


Despite the pair surviving for more than two sessions, the first session was an encouraging one for the West Indies in the way that they repeatedly beat the two batsmen's outside edge and not allowed them to score freely despite Stokes trying to do so on multiple occasions.


Roston Chase, in particular, managed to procure significant turn from the pitch in the last over before lunch with the last delivery going past Stokes' outside edge.


The partnership between Stokes and Sibley is now England's highest fourth-wicket partnership at Old Trafford, beating 179 by Alec Stewart and Marcus Trescothick in 2000. This is also Stokes' longest innings in terms of balls faced.


(With IANS Inputs)


Brief Scores: England 264/3 (Dom Sibley 101*, Ben Stokes 99*; Roston Chase 2/55) vs West Indies