 |
| Photo from BBC Sport |
England suffered another batting collapse, being bowled out for 187 in Antigua.
England were all out for 77 in the first Test, falling to 93-6 in the second despite Jonny Bairstow hitting a half century.In difficult conditions for batting, new opening pair Rory Burns and Joe Denly on his debut - replacing Keaton Jennings - both fell early on.
Moeen Ali struck 60 and Ben Foakes 35, but England lost their last four wickets for just nine runs.
The former arrived at the crease with England 78-5 and made a frantic start to his innings, aiming wild hook shots at bouncers and missing the ball with flashy drives.
But he found some fluency and hung in, not always trying to hit the short ball and attacking off-spinner Roston Chase to bring up an excellent fifty - his first in 10 Test innings.
He may have found some welcome form through his aggressive start, after a poor run that saw him average 9.75 in the first four Tests of the winter.
Foakes showed better defensive technique than his team-mates in support of Moeen until falling in unfortunate fashion as he gloved a loose short ball from Gabriel on to his hip and then the stumps.
Although Bairstow, Moeen and Foakes ensured England avoided a repeat of the humiliation in Barbados, this was by no means an assured batting performance, especially in contrast to Brathwaite and Campbell on the same surface.
Kemar Roach took 4-30 on a pitch offering uneven bounce.
Before the close of play, the hosts reached 30-0, trailing by 157.
Openers Braithwaite and Campbell batted out 21 overs, showing discipline to get to 11 and 16 respectively.
England did not bowl badly, if slightly short, but they'll hope for early wickets tomorrow to swing the match their way.
West Indies vs England Test Fixtures and Results
23-27 January
First Test, Barbados (Kensington Oval)
West Indies won by 381 runs (West Indies 1-0 England)
31 January - 4 February
Second Test, Antigua
9-13 February
Third Test, St Lucia
Follow me on Twitter
Listen to my latest radio show on Mixcloud
Check out my YouTube channel
No comments:
Post a Comment