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England’s opening Test match against the West Indies at Lord’s saw a combined batting effort led by debutant Jamie Smith scoring a half-century. James Anderson, Ben Stokes, and Gus Atkinson then bowled brilliantly to help the hosts secure a commanding lead. West Indies were reduced to 79 for 6 at Stumps on Thursday, July 11, after posting 371 in their first effort. The visitors still need 171 runs to force England to bat again.
As disciplined as ever, Anderson was bowling both ways, starting with maidens to Mikyle Louis and Kraigg Brathwaite, even if it was his final Test match. After playing 12 dots, the West Indies captain finally got rolling in Chris Woakes’s second over with a boundary past mid off, and Louis then nailed a beautiful front-foot blow for a four off the same bowler. Anderson struck first, getting Brathwaite to swing in late and be bowled for the eighth time of the Test match against the West Indies captain. In his debut season, the soon-to-be 41-year-old had 5-4-2-1 numbers.
In Atkinson’s opening over, England lost a review for a leg-before appeal against Louis. However, in Stokes’ opening over, he joined Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis in an elite club of 6000 runs and 200 wickets in Test cricket by trapping Kirk McKenzie in front for a duck. After Alick Athanaze hit three fours in an Atkinson over, the England captain was economical with the ball, bowling three maidens in a row and taking his second wicket by getting Louis to edge to the ‘keeper. When he had Kavem Hodge slide the ball onto the stumps in the first innings, England’s best bowler claimed his ninth wicket of the game and reduced the opposition to 37/4.
Stokes finished his first spell with outstanding figures of 2 for 25 in 10 overs, including four maidens, despite being hit for a couple fours. With Jason Holder and Athanaze in survival mode, Anderson was back in the attack at the other end, bowling in tandem with Stokes and keeping it tight to make it difficult for the West Indies to score runs. However, the seasoned pacemaker forced Athanaze into a drive to pull him out caught behind, breaking their resistance.
After finishing his second session with stats of 2-11 in 10 overs, Anderson became the first pacer in Test cricket history to bowl more than 40,000 deliveries. Stokes was nimble on the pitch even after his long bowling spell, and he almost had Holder run out with some great fielding. West Indies finished the day in serious danger after Atkinson punished Holder with short deliveries in what turned out to be the final over before play concluded.
After assisting Root in a 33-run partnership, Smith and Woakes shared 52 runs for the seventh wicket.
Prior to this, Smith stole the show with his 70, which gave England a 250-run advantage at the end. After Joe Root and Harry Brook scored half-centuries, England lost wickets quickly, falling to 287 for 6 from 244 for 3. At this point, Smith took the initiative and Woakes helped him out well; together, they helped the hosts end with 371 runs in their opening innings. West Indies elected to bowl with the second new ball, and Woakes got his third wicket by flicking the ball straight to deep square leg, ending the stand. Holder then managed to find Gus Atkinson’s outside edge with his bat, leaving England eight down.
Having only the tailenders with him, Smith raised the stakes after being the 10th wicketkeeper in England history to hit fifty or more on his debut. While Shoaib Bashir did well to hold on at the other end, he was caught short of the crease by a direct hit from Louis as he attempted to bring Smith back on strike. He smacked sixes off Shamar Joseph and Seales. Later in the second session, England were bowled out after Smith hit a four off Seales and then dropped a catch in the deep.
When the first session got underway, Brook got things going with a clean cover drive for four off Seales while Root watched intently. When England reached 200, a half-century stand was quickly built, with Brook perfectly timed a late cut off Alzarri Joseph. After settling into a groove, Root struck two fours off Seales with a pull and a cover drive. The advantage was over 100, and Root kept getting better with consistent distances. England made significant strides in the first hour as the West Indies bowlers struggled with discipline and the pitch provided little support.
After hitting the first six of the day, which forced Shamar over the fence, Brook reached his seventh fifty in Test matches in just 55 balls, including two from Alzarri. However, West Indies’ perseverance with short deliveries paid off when Alzarri produced a top edge, which resulted in Brook’s removal and broke their 91-run stand at the fourth wicket.
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After Root reached the fourth half-centurion, Stokes fell, making it a good little period for the West Indies. Gudakesh Motie bowled the England skipper with a delivery that turned in sharply, his seventh consecutive score of one digit. After that, Smith and Root made a valuable stand, which resulted in Motie bowling Root shortly before lunch.
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