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England vs West Indies 2020, 2nd Test, Day 2 – Twitter Reactions

By Yash Mittal

Updated - 18 Jul 2020, 01:36 AM

Ben Stokes and Dom Sibley. (Credits: Twitter)

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England have asserted themselves into a position of real strength on the 2nd day of the second Test against the West Indies in Manchester. Riding on multiple-record breaking 260-run stand between the centurions’ Dom Sibley and Ben Stokes, England declared their innings at a commanding 9-469 in the last hour of the post-tea session.

The West Indian opening pair of Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell negotiated the opening six-over burst by Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes but they were not so lucky against Sam Curran, who struck on his fourth delivery when he pinned John Campbell courtesy a nip-backer in front of the wickets. Joe Root and England went for the review and were rewarded with the scalp of the Windies opener.

Curran would have got another, had he decided to review what turned out to be the second last ball of the day when he pinned Alzarri Joseph [14*] with an inswinging yorker. England’s reluctance to take it upstairs ensured West Indies finished the at 1-32 after 14 overs.

Earlier, Dom Sibley started the day exactly from where he had left on the first day, blunting the West Indian attack, who bowled brilliantly but without luck, with his patience and grit.

England, West Indies
Dom Sibley [Photo-Twitter]
The right-hander started the day at 86 [from 253 balls] and played with the same determination and at one stage, it looked like Ben Stokes would get his hundred before the opener. The moment finally came on the 312th ball of Sibley’s knock when he claimed a triple to register the 5th slowest hundred by an England batsman in the last 30 years.

Ben Stokes ensured that he did not repeat the same mistake that he did in Southampton where he squandered his starts. The left-handed all-rounder got to the three-figure score with a reverse-sweep off Roston Chase after the Lunch break.

England, West Indies
Ben Stokes [Photo-Twitter]
With England desperate for a move-on, Stokes shifted his gears in the first hour of the second session with regular boundaries. His nonchalant flick- which went for a six- off Alzarri Joseph- was perhaps the shot of the Test so far.

Kemar Roach’s fortunes did not show any signs of a revival as he endured yet another ‘Umpires Call’ after having reviewed for LBW. Sibley swept Roston Chase for his 5th boundary of the innings to bring the 200-run-stand.

Also Read: Watch: Ben Stokes Plays An Outrageous Shot Over Long-On For A Maximum

Hundreds from England’s Ben Stokes and Dom Sibley flattens the West Indies

The double-century stand came off 498 balls but it did not take much time for the duo to cross the 250-run mark as Stokes continued to up the ante. The duo went on to break Michael Clarke and Steven Smith’s record of the highest fourth-wicket stand [214 in 2013] at Old Trafford but fell seven runs short of toppling Graham Thorpe and Michael Vaughan’s record 267-run-stand in 2001 for any wicket at the venue.

Roston Chase gave the West Indies a much-needed reprieve when he dismissed Dom Sibley, who in an attempt to up the scoring rate holed out in the deep.

England, West Indies
Roston Chase [Photo-Twitter]
West Indies could have got Stokes too had Shai Hope taken the catch in the gully region. Ollie Pope, however, made the cardinal mistake of playing back to a delivery that wasn’t exactly short and was trapped plumb in front of Roston Chase.

The scoring rate once again dipped post the fall of two successive wickets in the last half hour of the post-lunch session. England showed clear intent in the post-Tea session. Jos Buttler stroked three boundaries off Roston Chase over while Ben Stokes regularly danced down the track.

Kemar Roach toiled away for 521 balls since he claimed Virat Kohli in September 2019, for an elusive wicket but when it finally came, it came in buckets. The right-hander, all of a sudden, found himself on a hat-trick ball, dismissing Ben Stokes, who was caught-behind in an attempt to reverse-hit, and Chris Woakes, who was undone by a beauty that saw him nick it straight to the slip-cordon.

Jos Buttler [40], Sam Curran [17] and Dom Bess, who scored an unbeaten 31, provided healthy contributions before England finally decided- at the score of 9-469- that they have had enough and declared to have a crack at the West Indies openers for a good 15 overs. Roston Chase claimed a much-deserved five-wicket-haul, finishing with figures of 6-172 in 44 overs.

 

Here’s how Twitter reacted to the 2nd day of the England vs West Indies Test:

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