Sibley, Stokes steel England after early drama

It was slow, steady and perfectly suited to England’s needs after a difficult start – on and off the field. Dom Sibley’s 86 not out, amid an unbroken 126-run stand for the fourth wicket with Ben Stokes, rescued his side from 81 for 3 and put them in a far more comfortable position at the close than appeared likely earlier in the first day of a must-win match for the hosts.

It was a day when the drama of Jofra Archer’s match-morning omission for breaching biosecurity protocols by stopping by his house in Brighton en route from Southampton to Manchester dominated the narrative. But Sibley did the needful for England in the face of a West Indies bowling performance which stuttered, then contained the hosts, before running into serious resistance as Sibley and Stokes saw their side to stumps still only three wickets down.

It could have been so much worse for England when they lost Rory Burns, Zak Crawley and Joe Root cheaply. Jason Holder won the toss and elected to bowl first in hopes of making the most of gloomy overhead conditions when play finally began 90 minutes late due to the mop-up operation required to deal with a wet lead-up to the match.
Both sides took a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, as they had done in Southampton before play began. Holder played around with his attack in the hour of play to lunch, replacing Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach after just three overs each with himself and Alzarri Joseph. That was after Gabriel had looked uncomfortable in his run-up and out of rhythm. Roach, meanwhile, toiled hard for no reward once more.

Gabriel – player of the match at the Ageas Bowl, where his nine wickets, including a five-for in England’s second innings, helped West Indies to victory and a 1-0 series lead – returned with more control after the lunch break for another four-over spell. But he limped from the field with an apparent hamstring problem, returning in the evening session but without making any inroads in three more overs.
Roach, who is only seven away from claiming 200 Test scalps, remains wicketless for the series despite bowling with accuracy for the most part.

It was not until Holder brought off-spinner Roston Chase on in the last over before lunch that West Indies made a breakthrough, with Chase trapping Burns lbw with a ball that beat the inside edge and rapped him on the pads bang in line with middle stump.
That signalled lunch, but Chase struck with the next ball after lunch: one that spun a little as Crawley flicked low to Holder at leg slip. Crawley, whose second-innings 76 in Southampton cemented his place at the expense of Kent team-mate Joe Denly when someone had to make way for Root’s return from parental leave, was out for a first-ball duck.
Root survived the hat-trick ball, and he and Sibley built a 52-run partnership. But when Gabriel left the field, Holder turned again to Joseph, who had accounted for three of Root’s previous four dismissals against West Indies going into the match. Joseph made it four in the last five with a full, outswinging delivery which Root swiped to Holder at slip.
That left Sibley and Stokes in the middle, and the pair set to work, Sibley keeping it low key while Stokes produced the odd flash of strokeplay when it was warranted, including the first six of the series when he smacked Chase back down the ground.
Sibley’s circumspection was familiar. After a duck in the first innings at the Ageas Bowl, he faced 164 deliveries in the second innings before he was out moments after bringing up his fifty. This time, he stuck around upon reaching the milestone, grinding out his score off 253 deliveries so far.
He was dropped on 68 when, in Gabriel’s first over since returning to the field, he sent a thick outside edge straight to Holder at second slip, only for the ball to slide through Holder’s hands, hit him in the stomach and fall to the ground.
Roach was imploring when he reviewed a not-out decision for lbw which would have dismissed Sibley for 82, but with the ball striking high on the front pad, the batsman survived on the umpire’s original call.
Either Stokes, Sibley or both have been involved in each of the five highest partnerships of the series so far, all of them yielding in excess of 50 runs. Their union on Thursday took their team past England’s first-innings total at the Ageas Bowl of 204, which proved too low and was a factor in the hosts’ defeat there.
If they are able to push on into the second day in Manchester, it will put less pressure on the England bowling attack, which has had an overhaul in the absence of Archer and the resting Mark Wood and James Anderson.
Stuart Broad returned after being left out of the first Test, and was joined by Chris Woakes and Sam Curran, with Stokes taking up the fourth seamer’s position. Their fresh legs could be key as England seek to thwart West Indies’ quest for a first Test series win in England for 32 years. But after their batting performance in Southampton fell short, England will be happy to delay the appearance of their bowlers, regardless of who they are, a little longer. (Cricinfo)