That’s LUNCH at the Ageas Bowl.
The West Indies reaped the benefits of bowling full and straight in tough conditions for batsmen as England lost four wickets to collapse to 106 for 5 on Day 2 at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. The decision of stand-in England captain Ben Stokes to bat first under forecast overcast skies was looking misguided as the top order struggled to deal with the pace and seam movement of Shannon Gabriel (3-38) and Jason Holder (2-24). Stokes was unbeaten on 21 off 62 balls, and Jos Buttler was 9 not out.
England 106/5 on Day 2
Ben Stokes 21*, Jos Buttler 9*
Jason Holder 2/24; Shannon Gabriel 3/38
OVERS 42.1: FOUR! Magnificent shot from Buttler. He plays Joseph beautifully towards deep extra cover. ENGLAND 104/5
OVERS 40.6: FOUR! Ben Stokes guides Alzarri Joseph towards deep mid wicket for a boundary. ENGLAND 97/5
OVERS 40.2: DROPPED! Short from Alzarri Joseph. Ben Stokes goes for pull but gets a top edge. Catch is the call. Roach runs, dives, grabs the ball but spills it in the end. ENGLAND 91/5
Jos Buttler comes to the crease
OVERS 37.4: WICKET! Jason Holder takes his second wicket, removes Ollie Pope for 12 runs. Brilliant delivery from the West Indies captain. Pope finds the outside edge. Wicketkeeper Dowrich takes an easy catch behind the stumps. Second wicket for Holder. Brilliant bowling from Windies today. ENGLAND 87/5

OVERS 36.4: FOUR! That’s Stokes special. Perfect balanced shot. Full length delivery from Alzarri Joseph. Stokes plays this beautifully straight down the ground. ENGLAND 85/4
OVERS 36: FOUR! Wow! Shot of the day. Pope at his best. He leans forward and guides Holder towards deep extra cover. Back-to-back boundaries for Pope. ENGLAND 81/4
OVERS 35.5: FOUR! Wonderful shot from Pope. Brilliant head position. He flicks the ball towards deep mid wicket.
Ollie Pope joins Ben Stokes in the middle.
OVERS 33.1: WICKET! A loud LBW appeal from Holder against Crawly. Umpire says NO. Holder makes a ‘T’. No bat. The ball hitting the leg stump. Umpire changes his decision. It’s OUT. First wicket for captain Holder. England are 4 down. Crawley departs for 10. ENGLAND 71/4

OVERS 32.3: FOUR! What a shot from Stokes. Half volley from Roach and Stokes punches this beautifully straight down the ground. ENGLAND 71/3
OVERS 31.6: FOUR! Holder to Crawley. The England batsman gets a thick outside edge and the ball races towards backward point for a boundary. ENGLAND 67/3
OVERS 30.2: Crawley dabs this towards cover point. Stokes says ‘run’. Crawley takes a quick single. Excellent running between the wickets.
It’s time for DRINKS!
30 overs gone! ENGLAND 62/3. Crawley 5*, Stokes 5*
OVERS 28.3: APPEAL! Another loud LBW appeal from Kemar Roach against Ben Stokes. Umpire says NO. Roach looks at Holder but he isn’t convinced. Impact outside.
OVERS 27.5: FOUR! Stokes gets first runs as as England captain with a fine boundary towards backward square leg. He gets applause from the dressing room. Big moment for Stokes. ENGLAND 60/3
OVERS 26.5: FOUR! Crawly is off the mark with a classy boundary towards deep extra cover.
England captain Ben Stokes comes to the crease.

OVERS 25.4: WICKET! Shannon Gabriel takes his third wicket, Rory Burns departs for 30. A loud LBW appeal from Gabriel and captain Holder. Umpire says NO. Gabriel is having a small chat with his captain. Holder immediately asks for a review. That’s absolutely plumb. The ball misses the bat and crashes on to the stumps. Umpire has to reverse his decision. It’s OUT. Windies are elated. Third wicket for Gabriel. Brilliant bowling from him today. ENGLAND 51/3 .

Zak Crawley is the new man at the crease.
OVERS 23.2: WICKET! Shannon Gabriel castles Joe Denly for 18 runs. The West Indies pacer knocked him over. What a delivery. Good length delivery from Gabriel, Denly fails to judge the pace, the ball rips through the gap and does the rest. Poor footwork from Denly. Second wicket for Gabriel. ENGLAND 48/2

OVERS 23.1: FOUR! Denly sends Gabriel towards deep mid wicket for a boundary.
OVERS 21.3: On to the stumps from Gabriel. Burns plays this down the leg side. He will get a couple. Good running between the wickets by Burns and Denly. ENGLAND 43/1
Words of encouragement from former West Indies player Sarwan:

OVERS 19.4: First NO BALL of the match. Gabriel has overstepped.
OVERS 19.1: FOUR! Gabriel to Burns. The England batsman gets a thick outside edge and the ball races towards deep backward point for a boundary. ENGLAND 40/1
OVERS 18.6: 1000 RUNS for Burns. Rory Burns takes a single off Jason Holder and reaches 1000-run mark in Test cricket.

OVERS 18: Joseph completed his over by bowling two dot balls. ENGLAND 35/1
Here we go.. Alzarri Joseph starts the Day 2 for West Indies
Welcome back! Like you, we here at Timesofindia.com too hope the rain Gods in Southampton are more kind today and fans world over get to see a full day’s play on the second day of the first Test between England and West Indies that marked return of cricket after almost a four-month-long break forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
After all the anticipation, day one of the first of three Tests turned out to be a damp squib. If any fans had been allowed, in they would have been jeering and complaining as the players remained in the pavilion for more than 90 minutes because of bad light, despite the Ageas Bowl having floodlights.
The bad weather allowed just 17.4 overs and the hosts closed a frustrating day on 35/1. England won the toss and opted to bat but soon lost Dom Sibley for nought after he left a Shannon Gabriel delivery which cut back to clip his off stump.
The match is being played in a “bio-secure environment” with daily health checks for everyone in the ground.