West Indies defeat England in first test match since Corona outbreak
In the first international match of the Corona era, the West Indies started with a win. The Caribbean team defeated hosts England by 4 wickets in the first Test match. With this, the visiting West Indies took a 1-0 lead in the current three-match Test series. The second Test match of the series will be played in Manchester on Thursday 16 July.
Joffra Archer gave a shock to the West Indies in the beginning of the second innings. Archer sent Craig Braithwaite (4) and Brooks (0) to the pavilion, while Mark Wood took the wicket of Shai Hope (9). West Indies opener John Campbell was injured. Archer’s yorker hit his leg, forcing him to leave the field.
Archer and James Anderson kept the West Indies batsmen in trouble by bowling accurately from the very beginning. The Barbados-born pacer Archer brought England their first success in the sixth over when Brathwaite played the ball on his wickets.
Archer dismissed Brooks LBW in the next over. Hope hit two boundaries off the cover drive, but Wood bowled him as soon as he took the ball. Hope missed an attempt to drive on Wood. Roston Chase (37) was caught at the hands of Jose Butler. In the second innings for England, Jacques Crowley (76), Dom Sibley (50), captain Ben Stokes (46), Rory Burns (42) managed to take England to 313.
Shannon Gabriel took 5, Roston Chase and Alzari Joseph took 2–2 wickets, while captain Jason Holder got one wicket. England scored 204 runs in the first innings, while the Windies scored 318 runs.
In the second innings, captain Ben Stokes (46) was shown the path of the pavilion by the opposing captain, he was caught by Shai Hope. England’s fourth wicket fell at 249. After this, Jacques Crowley (76) also returned with the score at 253. He was caught by Alzari Joseph on his own ball. Vice-captain Jose Butler (9) also failed to score much. Dom Bess (3) and Ollie Pope (12) were bowled by Shannon Gabriel at a score of 278 and 279 respectively. Jermaine Blackwood top scored for the visitors with 95 in the second innings.
