ENG vs WI, 2nd Test: Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes takes England to 207/3 on Day 1
Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes (Image Source: Twitter)

After defeating England in the first Test of the three-match series in Southampton, West Indies came prepared for the second Test in Manchester. Even the fortune favoured the tourists, as Jason Holder won the toss and elected to bowl first in bowling friendly conditions.

However, the Caribbean pace battery was unable to take the benefit of a new ball along with cloudy atmosphere. The ‘Player of the Match’ in the first Test, Shannon Gabriel looked out of touch on Day 1 of the second Test. Even Holder couldn’t produce magical spell as he did in the Ageas Bowl.

But right before the end of the first session, Holder brought his spinner, Roston Chase, in the attack and the offie didn’t disappoint his skipper. Chase first dismissed opener Rory Burns and then right after the lunch-break the Barbados all-rounder sent Zak Crawley back to the pavilion for a duck.

However, Dominic Sibley held his end and kept on surviving the overs. He was a bit slow in the run-making process but didn’t lose his precious wicket. After Crawley’s dismissal, Sibley added a 52-run stand for the third wicket with Joe Root.

The English skipper was giving positive signals until he was tempted to play a wide off-stump delivery by Alzarri Joseph. Root in an attempt to go after the pacer chased the ball with a flashy drive which tickled healthy outside edge and Holder grabbed an easy catch at second slip. Also, it was the fourth time that Joseph got the priced wicket of Root in the longest format.

Then came England’s stand-in captain in the Southampton Test, Ben Stokes, who stitched a vital partnership with Sibley and completely owned the second and third session. The pair took England from 81-3 to 207-3, adding as many as 126 runs for the fourth wicket.

At the end of day’s play, Sibley remained unbeaten on 86 while Stokes was on 59 not out.

For the tourists, only Chase turned out to be the most successful bowler, claiming two wickets for 53 runs in 16 overs. Joseph too bowled 15 overs and grabbed one scalp for 41 runs. Whereas, Kemar Roach, Gabriel and Holder ended the day without earning a wicket.

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