After winning the first Test at Southampton, West Indies reached Manchester to face England in the second Test of the three-match series. Just like the Ageas Bowl, toss took place after a 90 minutes delay in Old Trafford due to showers.
Unlike the first game, Joe Root joined the squad as captain of England. However, he lost the toss, and Jason Holder opted for bowling first. It was expected from the Caribbean pacers to dominate the first session as the weather was in support of bowlers. But the likes of Shannon Gabriel, Alzarri Joseph and Holder failed to take the early advantage.
It appeared that the pitch had dampness, due to which the seamers were not getting enough support from the deck. However, Holder made a smart move just before the lunch break. He brought part-timer Roston Chase in the attack which turned out to be the magical move.
During the 13th over, Chase drew the first blood as he sent Rory Burns back into the stadium. The off-spinner bowled a good length delivery going straight on to the stumps. Burns complicated things by playing for the turn, but the ball ended up hitting his pads. Though the English opener went for a review, but in the replay, it looked plumb with three reds.
It was the second delivery of Chase’s over when lunch-break was announced.
At the start of the second session, England had no clue what was coming at them. Chase continued his over and got Zak Crawley out for a duck.
Holder’s clever move was pretty well appreciated by fans as well as the legends of the game. Iconic cricketer Sachin Tendulkar heaped praises on Holder for coming up with a completely different move.
Tendulkar referred to the dampness in the pitch and said it was difficult for fast bowlers to shine. He hailed Windies skipper for bringing the spinner into the attack which changed the scenario for the visitors.
“In the 1st session, I noticed a few balls didn’t even carry to the keeper off fast bowlers, indicating a lot of dampness in the pitch. Smart move by @Jaseholder98 to bring on a spinner on such a track where the odd ball may grip, and the other may go straight. #ENGvWI” tweeted Tendulkar.
In the 1st session I noticed a few balls didn’t even carry to the keeper off fast bowlers indicating a lot of dampness in the pitch.
Smart move by @Jaseholder98 to bring on a spinner on such a track where the odd ball may grip and the other may go straight. #ENGvWI— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 16, 2020
Former Indian wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta also showered praiseworthy comments for Holder’s incredible captaincy.
“Brilliant from Jason Holder to have introduced Riston Chase this early. If the pitch is moist enough to seam, it’ll spin too #ENGvWI” Deep wrote.
Brilliant from Jason Holder to have introduced Riston Chase this early. If the pitch is moist enough to seam, it'll spin too #ENGvWI
— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) July 16, 2020
