England vs West Indies 2nd Test Day 1 Highlights: Ton-Up Ollie Pope Leads England To 416 All Out Against West Indies

And with that, we end our discussion for the time being. The one-hour sermon is completed and it is time to take a pause. No no, not from the game - but from our discussions. Because the action is about to begin. And when there is action happening out there in the middle, let that speak for itself. Hardly a cloud is seen in the sky as Ben Stokes leads his side out to the middle. Excellent crowd with the first three days being sold out, informed by Nasser Hussain on air. No Jimmy Anderson, remember, so who will it be to open? Woakes? Wood? Atkinson? It is Chris Woakes. The openers for the West Indies are the usual - Kraigg Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis. 4 slips await...

Normally, in England, pitches tend to quicken from Day 2. And the fast bowlers usually come to the party, especially on the second day. Then, the pitch slowly starts to flatten out and perhaps take some turn come Days 4 and 5. So the best batting conditions would be from today onwards and the tourists have been given another opportunity - get the best of batting conditions and make use of the willow. Yes, the opposition has got 400-plus, but thanks to their batting approach, don't you have quality time to bed in? With little time left for the day to begin, they might want to just check some footage from the archives - when India toured Pakistan in 2006 - apart from that third Test in Karachi, both teams batted. That's it. Just batted. The bowlers were rendered absent. Might help the Windies to make this game a bit interesting.

Given that we always like to take detours, let's take a turn now. We mentioned about a legend so shall talk a bit about his department. Bowling. More prominently, spin. Whether it was Shamar Joseph's discomfort or whether it was the fact that the second new ball was around the corner and the quicks needed to be rested - Kraigg Brathwaite turned to spin seriously around the 70-over mark and by the end of the day, 4 wickets had gone to the tweakers - 2 apiece to Kevin Sinclair and Kavem Hodge. Shoaib Bashir would have made a note of that but only time and West Indies can tell whether he would be allowed to bowl. At Lord's, Bashir batted for 17 balls, ran a few yards to save some runs for his side but the reason for which he was primarily picked - bowling - never got applied on him. The amount of overs England have batted in this inning almost equal the amount of overs West Indies batted in BOTH innings at Lord's, with quicks doing the damage.

We now cast a look at the rest of the batters and barring Stokes and Crawley, everyone else got in and got out. It is understood that is, in essence, what Bazball implies - keep attacking. But the last time when I checked the rule book, nowhere was it mentioned that a batting side should bat for only one day in a Test. So why the hurry? If batters are going to come in, get set and then throw it away, how good will it do for a viewer? Wasn't this same thing exposed first by Australia and then, brutally by India? Plenty of times, we have seen England be in a dominant position and then throw it away, just for the sake of attacking. It may not matter here, in this Test. But against attacks which have quality, does this approach make sense? Yes, in 2009, the legendary Shane Warne did mention that the rules of Test cricket need to change and every inning needs to be restricted to 80 overs. Dear me, after 14 years, when the Bazball era began around 2023, is the English team restricting itself to bat for only a day? Serious wastage of allotment in that case.

For people following English cricket, this would not be the first time Ollie Pope has been compared to an Ian Bell or Joe Root. That's primarily because of the way he bats, with technique extremely solid and footwork totally assured. On paper. In reality, he has been just a prolonged advert of what big is to come. But for how long will the advert last and people wait for the actual movie? In 79 innings in Tests, Pope has crossed the 50-mark 18 times - that's roughly one every 4-5 innings. But 23 of those 79 innings have seen him get to 30 and then get out - which means almost 30 percent. That's more than one fourth. That number is okay for a person who has batted 20-odd innings but not for one who has played more than three quarters of a hundred. There's more coming on the others.

It was another of many, not only for West Indies, but for England as well. We mentioned about Ollie Pope and for a reason. Not just because of his 121, but because the first 50-odd runs never gave any assurance of him being set at the crease. He was dropped twice, on either side of the Lunch break and he was more than happy to make the Windies pay. That's one of many for West Indies - try and look competitive numerous times in Tests, only to kick opportunities with both feet and let the opposition off the hook. How another of many for England? Yeah, we will elaborate on that and dedicate an entire paragraph to the same.

Sadly, the second Test has also begun on the same note. Not because England have raked 400-plus in a day. But because we are not sure whether there was any plan in place by the West Indies in their bowling. And if there was any, it was clearly not followed. The first new ball was wasted, being sprayed on both sides of the wicket, with the lengths not being consistent and England capitalized. In fact, the visitors would have totally forgotten that they had Zak Crawley caught in the slip cordon on the third ball of the match! Because what followed after that was attack by the batters, leading to inconsistency from the bowlers, further compounded by shoddy fielding. Ollie Pope was looking edgy for almost 90 percent of the first hour that he batted, but when he looks at the scorecard now, he would be asking, 'Struggling? Who, me? No jokes on workdays please.'

No disrespect at all to any English fans. The cricket played by their team has been supreme with their superior skills clearly visible on display. But as any neutral cricket fan would wish, a CONTEST is what is anticipated when a fixture is announced. Test cricket is considered to be the pinnacle of the sport as it tests the players' resolve, again and again. And when that happens and players pass that test, it brings joy to watch for a viewer. But when there is barely a test for someone and the other is constantly under the pump, it results in a total one-sided encounter which is nowhere close to being called a contest. We have had 4 days of cricket in this series so far and barring that brief period of an hour on Day 2 of the first Test, it has been nothing short of a forgettable tour so far for the Men from the Caribbean.

For all those who could not catch the action on Day 1 of the second Test, it was purely action packed, with 416 runs scored at around 4.7 an over, with 10 wickets falling. And to add, 90 overs were not even bowled. West Indies chose to bowl on what teams normally do in English conditions, with the pitch predicted to get better on subsequent days. But then, England chose to attack and not only did they attack the ball, they attacked the mindset and soul of the visitors. One look at the scorecard and it is enough to understand that England bossed Thursday. But as a new movie usually releases on Fridays, raising the hopes of exciting entertainment over the weekend, will West Indies give cricket fans across the world the same anticipation? Hopefully they do and this does not become another 3-day mourning. On that note, hello and a warm welcome to the second day's coverage of the second Test between England and West Indies at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

Watch out! The next season of your favourite web series is set to release on so and so date. I am sure, in this digital age of OTT platforms, many of us would have already got hooked onto the habit of watching web series and what not on the digital platform. Seems like Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have taken inspiration from the same. After Bazball was heavily criticized in India, that method seemingly took a break in the first Test at Lord's. But come the second Test, it is back. And back with a bang. At least that's what the first episode promised us, which aired on 18th July, 2024.

... DAY 2 ...

Right then, that's a wrap for Day 1, with England firmly in the driver's seat thanks to some extraordinary batting performances. West Indies will be hoping for a stronger start on Day 2 as they look to mount a comeback. Join us for all the action on Day 2, starting at 3.30 pm IST (10 am GMT). Until then, cheers and goodbye!

England will aim to come out all guns blazing early on Day 2, looking to press their dominance with the ball. West Indies will need to survive that crucial first hour, where the ball is likely to do most of the talking, and then focus on stitching together small partnerships to give themselves a chance for a strong comeback in this Test.

In the final session, West Indies tightened their approach, securing the prized wicket of Ollie Pope. However, they struggled to capitalize on the breakthrough, allowing Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith to form another 50+ partnership. Stokes eventually fell for a well-compiled 69. The spinners then regained some control, with Kavem Hodge claiming two wickets to expose the tail. Despite some resistance from Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, West Indies wrapped things up efficiently, claiming all remaining wickets and restricting England to 416 runs to end the day on a high.

In the second session, West Indies began with tight bowling that resulted in the dismissal of Joe Root. However, they struggled to maintain momentum as their bowlers faltered, compounded by a couple of missed opportunities in the field. After a promising start, Harry Brook fell quickly, but Ollie Pope capitalized on being dropped twice to notch up a century, ultimately closing the session in England's favour.

England seized control of the game in the very first session despite an early setback in the opening over. Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope capitalized on loose deliveries from the West Indies bowlers, laying a solid foundation before Duckett's dismissal. Joe Root then partnered with Ollie Pope to guide the team safely to Lunch with 134 runs on the board. West Indies managed to tighten their bowling towards the end of the session, gaining some momentum heading into the break.

This has been a fantastic end to the day's play as England firmly grasp control of the second Test match ending their first innings with 416 runs on the board at the end of Day 1. West Indies after a tough day did well in this final session to pull things back and wrap this English side up. In the final session, 35.3 overs saw 157 runs scored, but more importantly for West Indies, they managed to claim 6 crucial wickets.

OUT! CAUGHT! The outside edge goes to hand this time! Alzarri Joseph wraps up the England innings! Alzarri Joseph hurls it in, on a nagging length, on off, Shoaib Bashir stays on the back foot and hops to get on top of the bounce. Looks to defend it out with a straight bat but gets an outside edge again. It goes low but straight into the hands of second slip this time where Jason Holder is expecting the edge and he stays low to grab it low in front. Joseph finishes with three wickets as England get bowled out for 416!

FOUR! Edged away! Alzarri Joseph delivers it on a hard length, tighter line, on off and middle, Shoaib Bashir gets on his toes and shows the full face of the bat to cover the line of the ball. Gets an outside edge that flies towards gully where it beats Alick Athanaze to his right for a boundary.

NO BALL! Joseph serves it full this time, around off, Mark Wood backs away to access the off side and has to reach out to drive it to deep point for a single. Alzarri Joseph has overstepped!