Strong batting line-up led by Ollie Pope guides England to 416 against West Indies in 2nd Test

Nottingham [UK], July 19 (ANI): Ollie Pope’s century, followed by valiant knocks by opener Ben Duckett and skipper Ben Stokes, guided the England side to 416 against West Indies on the first day of the second Test at the Trent Bridge on Thursday.

At stumps on Day 1, the hosts were bowled out for 416 in 88.3 overs.

The Caribbean skipper, Kraigg Bratwaitwe, won the toss and elected to bowl first. Openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett came out to the middle.

The Three Lions didn’t get the start which they wanted as they lost the first wicket on the third ball of the match as Crawley was dismissed by Alzarri Joseph when the team score was 0.

Following Crawley’s departure, Ollie Pope came into bat along with Duckett. Both of them stitched up a partnership of 105 runs before Duckett was sent back to the dressing room in the 19th over after playing a brilliant innings of 71 runs from 59 balls which came with the help of 14 fours.

After Duckett’s dismissal, experienced right-hand batter Joe RToot came out to bat. He was dismissed after playing an innings 14 runs when the team score was 142.

Harry Brook came next to bat along with Pope. Both of them built a partnership of 59 runs before Brook was sent back to the pavillion after scoring 36 runs which included five fours and a six.

Pope was the fifth one to fell. He played an outstanding innings of 121 runs from 161 balls which was laced with 15 boundaries and a maximum. He was dismissed by Joseph in the 58th over of the innings.

After Pope’s wicket, the Ben Stokes-led side’s score was 281/5 in 57.1 overs.

Following Pope’s wicket, only Stokes (69 runs off 104 balls, 8 fours), Chris Woakes (37 runs from 48 balls, 3 fours), and Jamie Smith (36 runs in 54 balls, 2 fours and 2 sixes) were able contribute in scoring runs for their national side.

The English side was bowled out for 416 runs in the penultimate over of the day. The highest wicket-taker for the Kraigg Bratwaithe-led side was Joseph who snapped three wickets in his spell of 15.3 overs where he conceded 98 runs.

Two wickets each were bagged by Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair, and Kavem Hodge in their respective spells. Also, one wicket was taken by Shamar Joseph in his spell of 11.3 overs where he conceded 44 runs.

Brief Score: England 416 all out in 88.3 overs (Pope 121, Duckett 71, Stokes 69, A Joseph 3-98) vs West Indies.