West Indies Struggles After Smith's First Fifty

West Indies Struggles After Smith's First Fifty

Anderson was the first to make a breakthrough, by delivering the ball that came in late and clean-bowled Brathwaite. This was the eighth time Anderson had dismissed Brathwaite in Tests

Jamie Smith, a new player, scored 50 runs to help England. James Anderson, Ben Stokes, and Gus Atkinson bowled excellently, pushing England towards a big win in the first Test match against West Indies at Lord's. England scored 371 runs first. By the end of the second day on Thursday (July 11), West Indies were at 79 for 6 wickets, needing 171 more runs to make England bat again.

James Anderson was to make his final appearance in Test cricket. In his final show, he remained focused and successfully captured the ball in different methods. He started by preventing Kraigg Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis from hitting any runs. Even though the West Indies failed to score in their initial 12 balls, the captain, Brathwaite, scored a boundary with the second ball bowled by Chris Woakes. Next up, Louis played a brilliant stroke that yielded four runs of the same bowler. Anderson was the first to make a breakthrough, by delivering the ball that came in late and clean-bowled Brathwaite. This was the eighth time Anderson had dismissed Brathwaite in Tests. Number 41 soon to be retired bowled 5 overs out of all the overs, 4 did not cost a single run, conceded just 2 runs, and claimed one wicket.

England lost a review while trying to get Louis out in Atkinson's first over. Stokes successfully dismissed McKenzie without any addition to the score and reached another coveted landmark of 6000 runs and 200 wickets in Test cricket. Stokes followed suit and bowled well to get rid of Louis who was caught by the keeper off an outside edge. Holding, England’s top bowler, took his eighth wicket when Hodge scored onto the wickets, thus getting West Indies at 37-4. Stokes also bowled well and he took 2 wickets in 10 overs while giving away 25 runs. Anderson, who bowled along with Stokes, got his line and length right and did not allow West Indies to free their wrists. Anderson bowled out Athanaze to finish the 10 overs with a performance of 2-11. Stokes came very close to getting Holders run out with a brilliant piece of fielding. Atkinson’s last over was nasty on Holder and West Indies were in trouble by the end of the day.

Smith scored 70 runs, helping England lead by 250. After half-centuries from Harry Brook and Joe Root, England fell from 244 for 3 to 287 for 6. Smith and Woakes added runs, reaching 371. Woakes got out, giving Jayden Seales his third wicket, and Holder got Gus Atkinson out, leaving England eight down.

Smith, with tailenders, scored over 50 on his debut as a wicketkeeper. He hit sixes off Shamar Joseph and Seales, but a direct hit from Louis got Shoaib Bashir out. Smith hit a four off Seales before being caught, ending England's innings.

Root started carefully, and Brook hit a four off Seales. They made a half-century stand, crossing 200. Root hit two fours off Seales, and England's lead grew over 100, making good progress as West Indies struggled.

Brook hit the day's initial six, successfully taking Shamar over the line, and reached his eighth Test fifty, scoring just 55 runs off just a few balls, with a couple of them being off Alzarri. However, West Indies' relentless focus on short-pitched deliveries eventually paid off when Alzarri hit a high edge, resulting in Brook's exit from the game and concluding a 91-run partnership with the fourth-wicket holder. It was a productive stretch for West Indies as Stokes was out shortly after Root became the fourth half-centurion. The captain of England, Root, was bowled by a delivery from Gudakesh Motie that was delivered sharply, marking his fifth consecutive score below 20. Smith and Root then had a solid partnership, which ended with Root being bowled by Motie just before Lunch.

Score Summary-

The West Indies team scored 121 runs in their first innings and currently have 79 runs for 6 players in their second innings. Alick Athanaze made 22 runs. England scored 371 runs in their innings, with Zak Crawley scoring 76, Jamie Smith 70, Joe Root 68, Ollie Pope 57, and Harry Brook 50. Jayden Seales took 4 wickets for 77 runs. England is ahead by 250 runs in the match.