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Umpires apply disinfectant on ball after Dominic Sibley accidentally uses saliva
It has finally happened and this will certainly be a trivia question in the future – who was the first player to accidentally use saliva on the ball in the post Covid-19 era? The answer is Dominic Sibley. The England batsman, who scored a century in Manchester in the first innings, was seen accidentally rubbing the ball with saliva at the end of a Chris Woakes over on Day 4 of the 2nd Test against West Indies. Read FULL STORY.
Another partnership developing for West Indies
Partnerships have kept West Indies in this game. Barring the opening partnership, all the remaining three have been meaty ones for West Indies. After Brathwaite and Joseph added 56 for the second wicket, Brathwaite put on 53 with Shai Hope. And this stand, between Brathwaite and Brooks is 55 off 89. West Indies 178/3 after 60 overs, trail England by 291 runs.
Fifty for Brathwaite
With a sublime straight drive, Brathwaite brings up a half-century, his 19th in Tests. He has scored three boundaries already off Stuart Broad post lunch and seems to be growing in confidence. West Indies still need 123 to avoid the follow on and Brathwaite holds key to those chances. Ben Stokes created a chance as he managed to draw a loose shot from Brathwaite outside off, but the edge flew safe through the gap between second and third slip. Shamarh Brooks has helped himself to a couple of early boundaries to move to 10. Ben
Curran strikes for England, another low score for Hope
Curran strikes! England get the breakthrough as Hope is out caught behind for 25. West Indies 123/3, trail by 346 runs. It was an off-cutter from the left-armer and Hope, who was standing on off-stump poked the the ball. Edged and taken for Jos Buttler. Another low score for Hope, who would be disappointed having started off so well. As for England, timely strike this.
Welcome back for Session 2
Right then. The lunch interval is over and we’re heading into the most crucial session of the day. If West Indies manage to bat the way they did in the morning, they might just give themselves a solid chance here. For England, well, they need a wicket here and break this partnership which is beginning to look threatening. Curran bowls the first over post lunch and Hope takes a single off it.
Lunch on Day 4, West Indies steady in reply
West Indies reach 118/2 at lunch on Day 4 in Manchester (Brathwaite 41*, Hope 25*), behind England by 352 runs. They would be mighty pleased with their effort, especially the way Hope and Brathwaite carried on after nightwatchman Alzarri Joseph went for 32. The pair has added 48 off 112 balls and West Indies are moving cautiously towards avoiding the follow-on. Good morning session for the visitors.
Rock-solid Brathwaite
We haven’t really spoken much about Kraigg Brathwaite’s batting today, which has been top class so far. He has been rock-solid while Joseph and Hope have scored the most boundaries of the innings. Not to say Brathwaite hasn’t – he just stroked a crunching drive through covers to help West Indies bring up their 100. Hope, meanwhile has helped himself to his fifth four – 20 off his 24 runs have come in boundaries. West Indies have done everything right in the session.
Brathwaite, Hope steady for West Indies
They have scored 27 off 69 balls, exactly what the West Indies need. West Indies closing on their 100 and as we enter the final 30 minutes before lunch, they’d be mighty pleased with their effort. There has been swing available for England seamers, but the Windies have played it with a lot of confidence. Heck, this is better batting compared to how the Indian batsmen performed during the 2018 tour. Remember, and we cannot stress in enough, a draw here is enough for them to retain the Wisden Trophy.
West Indies need another 180 to avoid follow-on
Shai Hope has moved to 16, of which 12 have come in boundaries. He hasn’t had the best of runs in Tests – in fact, he averages the lowest among top four batsmen since 2018. Could today be the big score Hope is eager to. West Indies would love that prospect.
Hope starts positively
Shai Hope took nine balls but got off the mark with a crisply-timed boundary and follows it up with another one four balls later. So far, West Indies have had a 17-run, 13-run and eight-run over in the session, taking the run-rate to 2.89. They’re 81/2, behind by 388 runs.
Bess gets breakthrough
OUT! The bowling change has worked for England as Dom Bess gets Alzarri Joseph. A soft dismissal really; slightly short and the batsman lobs the ball straight to forward short leg. A wonderful effort by him to score 32 off 52 balls. West Indies 70/2, trail by 399 runs. Shai Hope is the new batsman.
Joseph frustrates England
Wow. Joseph is batting like a top order player. Two boundaries in that over from Broad. None the less, the 50-partnership is up between Joseph and Brathwaite off just 62 deliveries. There has been no shortage of runs here for West Indies. The second boundary came off Joseph’s helmet and there’s a concussion test taking place. Yup. all good and we’re ready to resume. West Indies 67/1, trailing by 402 runs.
Early movement for Broad, reprieve for Joseph
The first chance of the day, in the second over, and it goes begging. Woakes squared up Joseph, who nicked the ball to second slip, where Crawley put down a dolley. Ouch! Not what England wanted first up. Two threes, and a boundary to finish makes it 13 from the over. Broad and Woakes generating a decent amount of swing. The commentators discuss whether Sam Curran could have started the day, while showing the replay of the India Tests from 2018 where the left-armer picked up 19 wickets in the series.
Day 4 kicks off in bright and sunny Manchester
The passing shower has passed and it’s in ideal morning for a Test match. Nasser Hussain rings the bell, with gloves in one hand, and we’re underway. A crucial day for England. First session may be an indication as to what lies ahead for each side in the series. Remember a draw here will make sure that the West Indies will not lose this series.
Match about to begin
98 overs, extended sessions | Bright and sunny conditions in Manchester promises to make this an enthralling day of Test cricket. And as a result of it, to make up for the time lost on Day 3, a total of 98 overs will be bowled with all three sessions extended. In 2 days, England face the task of picking up 19 wickets. Tough but definitely possible.
Which bowler will be surprise factor for England?
Nasser Hussain believes Sam Curran. He explains in his column for Sky Sports: “Another bonus for England is Curran’s height. Curran playing in Barbados last year was a mistake but the fact he is short helps England at Old Trafford because he bowls the full length that brings lbw and the stumps into play. Jason Holder, who is 6ft 7in, was bowling a full length and only just trimming the bails, so a load of DRS decisions weren’t overturned. Curran, at 5ft 9in, has a different trajectory and brings the stumps into play.”
Nasser Hussain’s advice for England
“The West Indies’ magical number is 270. That will avoid the follow-on, England will have to bat again and that will take time out of the game. West Indies may then only need to bat two sessions to save the Test,” Hussain wrote in Sky Sports column.
DRS debate continues
“The umpire is always right and you don’t argue with his decision’ used to be the first lesson a young cricketer was taught. This admirable exercise in discipline and self-control is now not applicable as the introduction of DRS is encouraging a form of player dissent,” Ian Chappell wrote for ESPNcricinfo. Do you agree that DRS needs an immediate overhaul? READ MORE
Ben Stokes the best allrounder at the time?
“At this point of time, there is no doubt in my mind that Ben Stokes is the number one all-rounder in the world across all three formats. He has an average of 43 in Tests, 59 in ODIs over the last two years,” Aakash Chopra said on his Youtube channel. “He has a good bowling average across all formats as well, there is no doubt that Stokes is the number one all-rounder in the world across all formats,” he added. READ MORE
‘Patient’ Ben Stokes on his sensational innings to Sky Sports
“I made a real conscious effort to be as clinical as I possibly could, especially around that sort of fourth- and fifth-stump line that Jason and Kemar [Roach] are fantastic at doing. It was about understanding what we had to do at different times throughout the game. I had to be really disciplined in leaving the ball because I know by now that teams will hang the ball wide and test my patience. So I was playing the game with them as long as I could, and waiting to be able to capitalise on anything.”
Can England bowl out West Indies twice?
Ben Stokes tells Sky Sports: “If we use the first two days as a benchmark for how we want to bat then, then the better we’re going to become. We are a very good team at bouncing back from defeats and we’ve proven that. If we can keep producing days and games like we generally do after a first Test then we’ll start coming closer to being the No. 1 team, which is obviously a goal of ours. We’re in a great place as a side. We’ve got the right personnel, the right team, the right people helping the players out right now. And I think in two or three years’ time, all the tough times that we’ve experienced – in South Africa and this first game against West Indies – is a great learning curve, not just for the younger guys in the team at the moment but also for the more experienced guys. If you are always learning from mistakes, it’s going to make you a better player as an individual, but also a better team.”
Ben Stokes on press conference
“It’s looking like we’ve got to take 19 wickets in two days,” Stokes told Sky Sports. “But the wicket has offered something throughout the whole Test so far, so we just need to make sure that we can expose that and put as many deliveries as we can, challenging their defensive shots as much as we can.”
Has all been lost for England?
Has rain spoilt England’s chance to win Test? England are sitting comfortably at the moment in the match and had Day 3 would have seen some action, West Indies could find themselves in tough spot. But has it been too late? Can the Three Lions still bowl out Windies twice in the two remaining days?
Hello and Welcome
Hello and welcome to our live blog on Day 4 of the 2nd Test between England and West Indies in Manchester. If you are Joe Root, you must be feeling disheartened knowing that the Day 3 was entirely washed out which leaves you less time to bowl out Windies twice to win the match. If you are Jason Holder, you would not mind it too much as England were in a good position in the Test, and Windies had a tough task ahead of them. Day 4 will be crucial as any more interruptions will seal the fate of this Test towards a draw.
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