ENG vs WI Live Score, 1st Test, Day 2

A good start to Day 2 for West Indies. Not because Shamar went for just 1, but because it seems like a plan. Ever since the 2016-17 Ashes, when Pat Cummins got Root falling over consistently with indippers, sides all across the world have started to try and follow that pattern and hit Root's front pad and try and trap him LBW. Here's Jayden Seales. 9-1-31-2 so far.

Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, Much fuller this time, outside off. Root comes down the pitch, taps it into covers and races to the other to get the first run on the board here for the hosts on Day 2. Root will retain the strike.

Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, Make that 5 now! Shamar Joseph has started quite positively here. Good length, on top of off. Joe Root stays back and defends it out watchfully.

Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, Four dots on the trot here. Quicker and fuller, on off. Root blocks it out with full face off the blade.

Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, This one stays a bit low after hitting the deck, on a length, on off. Moving into the right-hander once again. Joe Root gets his blade down in time and blocks it awkwardly back to the bowler here.

Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, Joseph goes fuller this time, but once again working with the same angled, Joe Root negotiates it well with an angled bat.

Shamar Joseph to Joe Root, Here we go. Shamar Joseph starts the Day 2 with a length delivery, that angles into the right-hander. Joe Root hangs back, closes the face a tad and tucks it into the leg side, for no run.

All set for play to begin on Day 2 then. A sea od red greets us at Lord's, for the annual #RedForRuth day, which is about raising awareness and funds for the Ruth Strauss' foundation. It is a charity foundation, supporting families in grief, facing the death of a parent. Players from both teams would be wearing baggy red caps, which would be auctioned, along with the numbers on their shirts being painted in red. Right. Now, out come the two overnight batters - Joe Root and Harry Brook - to warm applause from the crowd. It will be Shamar Joseph to start off proceedings on Day 2, to Root. 

And now, an important thing. If there is one villain who stands between the guys covering the game and a weekend break, it is the weather. It was a touch gloomy on Day 1, with play interrupted a couple of times but the forecast for Thursday looks pretty good. It is a glorious day in London, with not a cloud in the sky AT THE MOMENT. West Indies would hope for some overcast help, so that they can get the ball to move and trouble the English batters. Hopefully, we get all the 90 overs in without interruptions. Rephrasing. Hopefully, we get the whole day's cricket. Have to check when was the last time a side other than India bowled 90 overs in a day.

Aren't we playing? Chides a fan from Barbados. Why is this sounding so biased in favour of one side? No, mate. We totally understand that cricket is a sport played between two countries but the level of cricket between the two teams is so afar that unless someone special stands up for the visiting side, they are all set to go under the pile by the end of Day 2. They have a ray of hope in Shamar Joseph, who has gone for 42 so far in his 9 overs. The problem is - usually in England, the pitches get better to bat as the days go on. Have the hosts got the best of the batting conditions come Thursday and Friday? West Indies, as a whole, need to step up. They just need to have a look at their opposition's batting unit - break this partnership and then you have a guy struggling for runs, followed by guys who have not played much Test cricket or at least, recently. Can the visitors bounce back and bowl out England under 300? For the sake of competition, let's hope that happens and the match livens up.

Crawley, Duckett and Pope are back in the pavillion, with Duckett being the lone failure, while Root and Brook are already amidst a 36-run stand in 55 balls. To follow? Ben Stokes - eager to forget the post-Ashes scores, Jamie Smith eager to demonstrate his skills along with Woakes and Bashir eager to get some batting practice. In a pre-2023 Ashes scenario, one would have felt Root would be the stem of this innings while the others would be the brances playing alonside him, but post the Ashes, the better question would be - how many sixes would Joe Root score off his reverse scoop today? And who will get the fastest 50 of the day?

Right. Done with the prelude. Where does this Test stand? One would feel, on the doorstep of another 4-day finish. And if Bazball has its way, this could become a 3-day finish with the scorers and commentators in lieu to get the weekend off. England have pulverized West Indies totally, knocking them off for 121 and getting 68 ahead as well, before Stumps were drawn. West Indies would be happy with the 3 wickets taken but after seeing what transpired in the Ashes, especially on the opening day, when England hammered 393 in 78 overs and DECLARED, don't be surprised if ODI cricket is played right from the offset on Thursday.

With Broad done for, Anderson hanging up his boots, Archer spending more time on predictions and the Wood-Robinson duo spending more time in rehabilitation, England are short of tearaway fast bowlers and with the next Ashes series scheduled in Australia in November 2025, who better than Strauss to know the bowlers needed to win games over there? After all, he was the captain when England last won an Ashes series Down Under, way back in 2010 and that time, the side had giants in the form of Chris Tremlett and Tim Bresnan. Strauss was super excited to see Atkinson move the ball around with that pace but was also honest in saying that it depends on how the English team management handles him for the next 18 months or so. Because unlike 2010, there is plenty of white-ball cricket these days which makes it hard to keep players fit these days.

So who is Gus Atkinson? A Chelsea fan, (no, that's just an assumption, since he was born in Chelsea), he made heads turn in the 2023 edition of The Hundred and then made those heads rotate as he was announced in the ODI World Cup squad of England to follow that year. The reason was given by Ben Stokes, who was impressed by the 26-year old's breakthrough performances in red-ball cricket, albeit little and wanted raw pace as early as possible in the national side. And on Wednesday, the Lord's crowd witnessed what raw pace can do. Raw pace could swing the ball like a banana, cut the ball across the batters with zip and bowl the short ball with venom. So much so, that former England selector Sir Andrew Strauss waited no more than a moment to answer Nasser Hussain's question on air - 'Would you have him in your side Down Under?' 'Yep, I would', was the reply.

12-5-45-7 - these were the figures which summed up GUS ATKINSON'S performance - with just one blemish. Had that last wicket of Jayden Seales been taken by Atkinson, he would have become the first English player to take an 8-fer on Test debut. But how could the Lord of Lord's go wicketless? And as it would be, Jimmy ended up picking that final wicket. But it all started post that Lunch session when things went down spiralling for the West Indies. They were 88/3 and looking okay, but Atkinson nicked off Athanaze and the next 6 wickets fell in the span of 44 balls, for the addition of just 33 runs. The tourists were blown away but given the improvement they had shown at the 'Gabba against Australia earlier this year, they would have expected better.

If you are checking the scorecard now, it would have read no different from what most would have predicted after the toss - West Indies bowled out under 200 and England either into the lead or close to getting one at the end of the day. But, there was a slight change in the way it all transpired. By no means is this guy new to international cricket - having played 12 white-ball games by the age of 26 - but it was the first time he had the red cherry in his hand. And boy, it was an honour to see this bloke's name getting etched on the honours' board at Lord's.

Can't blame you if you were also feeling the same way for the whole of Wednesday, especially the first hour, when Anderson was serving bananas in terms of swing while the West Indies were looking for apples. The ball beat the outside edge, inside edge, missed the stumps, squared the batters and did everything that Jimmy asked it to do - except, get a wicket. Ironically, the visitors batted out the toughest period brilliantly, seeing off Anderson and Woakes in the first hour, but when the conditions got better to bat on with the sun paying a visit, well, the batters went into a daze.

The stage was set. A 41-year old bloke from Lancashire, playing his 188th and last Test match at Lord's - his favourite venue. Opposition - the West Indies, against whom he averages in the low 20s and strikes roughly once every 9 overs. And when daughters Lola and Ruby rung the bell at Lord's on Wednesday, James Michael Anderson knew - the time for one final outburst had come. Overcast conditions. Toss in his favour. And so, went the imaginary headlines - Anderson rips through inexperienced Windies to help England take control. Suddenly, the alarm bell rings and I realize - Ohhh...time to get ready to cover Day 2 of the first Test between England and West Indies at Lord's.

... DAY 2 ...

Right then, the opening day proceedings of the 2024 Richards-Botham Trophy have drawn to a close with England firmly in the driver's seat. Leading by 68 runs and with 7 wickets in hand, England will look to bat for as long as they can and bat the West Indies out of the Test. As per Stuart Broad on air, Day 2 at Lord's is the best day to bat in Test cricket and if indeed that is the case, West Indies are in for a long day at the office. That said, early wickets in the first session will help the belief to grow in the Windies camp. On the other hand, England will look to safely negotiate the first hour and then press home the advantage. Do join us for the action on Day 2 at 3.30 pm IST (10 am GMT). Until then, take care and cheers!

In the third session, Ollie Pope made his intentions clear right away, hitting a couple of early boundaries to get going. Pope capitalized on loose deliveries and kept the scoreboard ticking for England, while Zak Crawley was less fluent. It didn’t take long for Shamar Joseph and Jason Holder to pose tough questions to the batters. Holder trapped Pope in front of the stumps, only for the decision to be overturned as the ball was going down leg. Pope eventually fell for 57, with Holder getting his man. After a brief interruption due to bad light, the sun peeked out from the clouds, making life a bit easier for the English batters. Zak Crawley grew in confidence as his innings progressed and began to take more chances. Just as Crawley was beginning to flourish, Jayden Seales went through his defences, dismissing him for the fourth time in four Test matches. Joe Root and Harry Brook then came together, with Brook being the busier of the two and ticked along nicely. West Indies introduced spin late in the day but the two overs of Gudakesh Motie did not yield them any success as Brook and Root saw off that tricky phase before Stumps.

The second session began promisingly for the West Indies, with Alick Athanaze and Kavem Hodge displaying intent from the outset. However, Gus Atkinson opened the floodgates for England, striking thrice in the same over. This triggered a massive collapse, with the tourists losing their last seven wickets for just 33 runs, ending their innings at 121 with Gus Atkinson taking 7 for 45, the third-best figures for an Englishman on Test debut. As soon as the English openers came out to bat, the sun appeared, neutralizing the overhead conditions that could have favoured the Windies' pacers. Ben Duckett, however, could not make it through until Tea, leaving England trailing by 91 runs with the loss of one wicket. 

SESSION SUMMARY - 32 overs, 159 runs and 2 wickets. England take the opening day honours and find themselves in a strong position at the end of the opening day's play. As for the West Indies, they are left playing catch-up for the rest of the Test and are right up against it early in the game. Earlier in the day, after Ben Stokes won the toss, he had no hesitation in opting to bowl first. Put into bat under overcast conditions, Kraigg Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis got the West Indies off to a steady start, helped in part by Chris Woakes and James Anderson not bowling full enough to test them. However, Gus Atkinson and Ben Stokes bowled well in tandem, and with the lacquer coming off the ball, they were able to get more movement, helping them to dismiss the Windies' top three.

Jason Holder to Harry Brook, Angled into the pads, Harry Brook tucks it straight to Gudakesh Motie at square leg who misfields and allows the batter two runs to finish the day at 189/3 with a lead of 68 runs.

Jason Holder to Harry Brook, A full-length delivery outside off, Harry Brook takes a big stride out and drives it through covers for a couple of runs. 

Jason Holder to Harry Brook, Almost sneaked through to the stumps! Jason Holder surprises Brook with a yorker into the stumps, Harry Brook looks to push it through the line and gets an inside edge on the pads and it trickles past the stumps.

Jason Holder to Harry Brook, Keeps the line straight and attacks the off stump, Harry Brook blocks it right under his eyes. 

Jason Holder to Harry Brook, Another fullish delivery into the stumps, Harry Brook stays put and drives it straight back at the stumps on the bowling end. 

Jason Holder to Harry Brook, Goes full and attacks the stumps, Harry Brook flicks it to mid-wicket.

Do we have time for one more over? Yes, we do. It will be Jason Holder to bowl the last over of the day.

Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Angles it into the leg, Joe Root looks to flick it away but fails to make connection. 

Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Another tossed up delivery on off, Joe Root offers a solid front foot defence. 

Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Tossed up and on off, Joe Root blocks it well.

Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Fractionally short and outside off, Joe Root rocks back and punches it through covers. The fielder chases the ball and throws a dive to keep it down to just two.

Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Floats it full and into the stumps, Joe Root blocks it to the on side. 

Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Skids this one through on a fuller length and angling into the off stump line, Joe Root waits back and gets his bat down in time to keep it out. 

Jason Holder to Harry Brook, Nips one back in sharply from a length and on off, Harry Brook gets surprised by the movement off the deck but manages to dab it out. 

Jason Holder to Harry Brook, Angles it into the right-hander on a length and into the pads, Harry Brook tucks it along the ground to deep square leg for a couple of runs. 

Jason Holder to Joe Root, A fraction fuller than a length and on off, Joe Root presses ahead and nudges it past point for a single. 

Jason Holder to Joe Root, Hits the deck on a good length and just outside off, Joe Root takes a step out and blocks it back onto the pitch. 

Jason Holder to Joe Root, On a length outside off, Joe Root hangs back and pushes it to backward point.

Jason Holder to Joe Root, With the change of ends, Holder charges in and goes full but sprays it down leg. Joe Root looks to flick but misses.

Gudakesh Motie to Harry Brook, A slight hint of spin as this is floated up on off, Harry Brook presses ahead and blocks it out. 

Gudakesh Motie to Harry Brook, Full and on off, Harry Brook defends again.

Gudakesh Motie to Harry Brook, Tossed up on off, Harry Brook plants his front leg ahead and blocks it. 

Gudakesh Motie to Harry Brook, On a nagging length, on off, Harry Brook punches it to cover-point.

Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Drags the length short and bowls it outside off, Joe Root rocks back and cuts it to left of backward point where the fielder swiftly gets low to his left and makes a stop keeping it down to just one. 

Gudakesh Motie to Joe Root, Starts from around the wicket and bowls it full and outside off, Joe Root takes a big stride out and drives it to the left of the bowler. 

First look at spin in this Test as Gudakesh Motie comes on to bowl.

Shamar Joseph to Harry Brook, FOUR! Runs coming thick and fast now! Shamar Joseph overpitches this into the pads, Harry Brook flicks it beautifully through the gap at mid-wicket for a boundary.