England captain Joe Root hit a masterful century on day one of the second Test against the West Indies at Bridgetown.

Having won the toss and chosen to bat, Root was at the crease early on after Zak Crawley was dismissed for a duck, but was not flustered as he set about giving his team a solid foundation on a flat pitch.

The visitors ended the day on 244-3 with Dan Lawrence contributing an excellent 91, as West Indies struggled to get anything out of the pitch, though things could have been different but for a dropped catch.

England handed debuts to bowlers Saqib Mahmood and Matthew Fisher in place of Mark Wood and Craig Overton, and got off to a shocking start as Crawley was out without scoring after he failed to leave a Jayden Seales delivery, nicking it through to Joshua Da Silva.

Root and Alex Lees steadied the innings as they slowly put together a partnership of 76, though Root was somewhat fortunate to see Da Silva drop him on 34, even if it was a difficult opportunity for the West Indies wicketkeeper down the leg side.

The Yorkshireman reached his 50, only to see Lees fall next ball for 30 to lbw off the bowling of Veerasammy Permaul.

Lawrence was next in and though he started slowly, soon settled in as he began hitting boundaries, including a six off Permaul.

The 24-year-old reached the fourth 50 of his career just before Root sealed his ton, which is the 25th time he has raised his bat to three figures in Test cricket.

After tea, it was all too comfortable for England as Root (119 not out) and Lawrence (91) continued to build on a partnership of 164, before Lawrence hit a Jason Holder delivery straight to Kraigg Brathwaite off the last ball of the day to give the hosts a rare occasion to celebrate.

Root in the form of his life

It must be said that it was a very batsman-friendly pitch on day one at Bridgetown, but Root took full advantage as he put together a very useful knock to surely ensure a big first-innings total for his team.

After scoring 1,708 Test runs in 15 matches in 2021, he has already managed 310 in three and a half in 2022.

This was the fourth Test 100 Root has scored in the West Indies, more than he has managed in any other country apart from England.

Lawrence offers ideal support role

One continuing theme of the recent Ashes series was England players coming in to bat, seemingly trying to settle slowly into their innings, and then getting themselves out before they started scoring any runs.

Lawrence looked to be doing the same here, but once he got his first boundary, looked calm and composed at the crease as he set about assisting Root in building a big total, and managed to reach the highest score of his Test career so far before a disappointing dismissal.

Christopher Young of Edwin Allen High established a new meet record in the Class I shot put on Day 2 of the 2022 Central Championships at the G.C. Foster College in Spanish Town, St Catherine in Jamaica on Wednesday.

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite hopes to see a more efficient performance from the bowling line-up as the team eyes pulling ahead of England when the three-match Test series resumes on Monday.

In the opening match, a total of 1,182 runs were scored over five days in a stern examination of bowlers from both teams.  Things did not start out that way, however, as the Windies took four wickets at the top of the first innings only for Jonny Bairstow to lead England’s recovery in the middle overs.

“I think we just have to be a bit more disciplined in the middle periods, probably a little tighter, under three runs an over, I think.  Creating that pressure will help to get more wickets in the middle overs,” Brathwaite told members of the media on Tuesday.

The West Indies will have fond recent memories of facing the English in Barbados having secured a massive 381 run win when the teams last met at the venue in 2019.  Brathwaite was quick to point out, however, that the team would not be preoccupied with history.

 “I think it’s history, to be honest, and we really have to look more to the future and be more disciplined.  I think we can draw from some things we did well, so of the players for sure, but I think we have to buckle down and start fresh.”

Hydel’s 17-year-old sprint star Brianna Lyston sizzled at the Central Track and Field Championships at the GC Foster College on Tuesday.

Despite only running in the heats of the Girls Class One 100m, Lyston stole the show with a spectacular 11.14, a personal best and world-leading time.

The former St. Jago athlete didn’t turn up for the final, which was won by Edwin Allen’s Tina Clayton in 11.26 ahead of her sister Tia who ran 11.37 for second. Janela Spencer of Manchester High was third in 11.79.

Lyston’s Hydel teammate Alana Reid won the Girls Class Two event in 11.37, while Edwin Allen’s Theianna-Lee Terrelonge won the Class Three event in 11.88.

St. Jago’s Odaine Crooks was in record-breaking form in the Boys Class One 100m, running 10.46 to win. Steer Town's Omarion Barrett ran 10.83 to win the Class Two event, while St. Jago's Ray J Reece won the Class Three event in 11.31 after running a new record 11.29 in the preliminaries.

Saqib Mahmood will make his Test debut in England's only change for their second match against West Indies, starting on Wednesday at Kensington Oval.

The Lancashire seamer is a like-for-like replacement for the injured Mark Wood, who has been ruled out due to an elbow problem sustained in the first Test.

Joe Root's side played out a draw in that opening contest against Kraigg Brathwaite's hosts in Antigua and have moved on to Barbados for the second of three tussles for the Richards-Botham Trophy.

Centuries for captain Root, Jonny Bairstow and Zak Crawley were stymied by a superb display from Nkrumah Bonner and Wood's injury, on the back of Ollie Robinson being ruled out for the opener.

Root admitted that while Durham bowler Wood would be a loss, he had little doubts about 25-year-old Mahmood's potential.

"He's very mature for a guy who hasn't played a huge amount of international cricket, and he has an understanding of how he wants to operate," Root said.

"He's been very impressive. He's got a slightly different trajectory and will give us a point of difference. He has done that when he's played in other formats.

"Clearly he has good control, especially if the ball moves with reverse swing."

West Indies batsman Bonner, whose recent emergence as a Test player has followed a false start in international cricket in the T20I format 10 years ago, is relishing another battle after his man-of-the-match performance.

"During that 10-year period when I was out, there was a lot of work I put in mentally, physically and technically, and I'm really happy to be reaping the rewards now," Bonner said, quoted by BBC Sport.

"I'm more experienced now, I understand my game a lot better. I always had that belief I could play international cricket.

"Obviously sometimes the belief goes down a little bit, but I kept working and I'm really happy to have come back."

Stokes closes in on select England landmark

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been relatively quiet with bat and ball since returning to the international fold, but he could reach a notable landmark this week.

He needs 84 more to reach 5,000 runs in Test cricket for England; in doing so, he would become just the 23rd player to achieve this feat for the team.

West Indies are one of the three teams against whom he has scored over 1,000 runs.

Roach poised to move up WI rankings

Kemar Roach needs only one more wicket to become the outright seventh-highest wicket taker for West Indies in men's Test cricket.

Roach is level with Garry Sobers on 235 wickets, and the paceman has more wickets against England (54) than against any other team in this format.

Once he moves ahead, he will have sixth-placed Michael Holding in his sights, with 249.

Kingston College’s Jaydon Hibbert produced personal best and world-junior leading 16.56m to win the Boys Under-20 Triple Jump at Jamaica’s Carifta Trials at the National Stadium in Kingston on Sunday.

Hibbert’s 16.56m is also the third-longest jump outdoors this season among seniors and juniors.

The silver medallist at the 2021 World Junior Championships in Nairobi will be joined on the CARIFTA team by Petersfield High’s Royan Walters who jumped 15.22 for second place.

The Jamaica College pair of Chavez Penn (14.02) and Euan Young (13.74) were the top two finishers in the Under-17 section.

Moving away from the sand and into the sprint hurdles, St. Jago’s Bryana Davidson won the U-17 Girls 100m Hurdles in 13.52 ahead of Hydel’s Jody-Ann Daley (13.62) and St. Jago’s Briana Campbell (13.74).

Petersfield’s Alexis James ensured it wasn’t a clean sweep for Hydel by winning the U-20 Girls event in 13.16 ahead of the Hydel pair of Oneka Wilson (13.22) and Kerrica Hill (13.25).

Kingston College’s Jadan Campbell won the U-17 Boys 110m Hurdles in 13.57. Calabar’s Shaquane Gordon was second in 13.68 while Campbell’s KC teammate Daniel Clarke was third in 13.94.

St. Jago secured the top two spits in the U-20 Boys race with Jahvel Granville winning in 13.65 ahead of Demario Prince (13.77). Shamer Blake of STETHS was third in 13.91.

The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Cricket West Indies (CWI) have confirmed that this year’s CPL event will feature a women’s tournament with three franchise teams competing for the first Women’s CPL (WCPL) title. The three teams will showcase the best women’s cricketers from across the Caribbean with overseas stars rounding out the teams.

The three teams who will compete in the inaugural WCPL will be Barbados Royals, Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinbago Knight Riders.

The women’s tournament will take place during the men’s event inside the Hero CPL tournament window which this year will run from 30 August and 30 September.

The 2022 tournament will be celebrating 10 years of the Biggest Party in Sport and enters its 10th season off the back of a highly successful 2021, with over half a billion viewers tuning in for the second successive year.

“Increasing the opportunities for West Indian women and girls to get involved in cricket is one of CWI’s strategic priorities, and we are delighted that we have been able to partner with CPL to further the expansion plans that we had first unveiled in 2019 prior to the arrival of the COVID Pandemic. We are confident that all CPL women’s games will be highly competitive and will add quality entertainment to our fans in the region and around the world,” said CWI President Ricky Skerritt.

Hero CPL will be played across more countries this year, with three Caribbean countries being selected for the group stages and fourth venue being chosen for the finals. CPL anticipates that this four-venue structure could become the norm for future seasons.

“The addition of a women’s event to the CPL is something that has been an ambition for a long time and we are very pleased that it has become a reality. We would like to thank CWI for working with us to make this happen. The Women’s T10 Challenge which took place during the 2019 CPL was a huge success and we are looking forward to the next step forward,” said Hero CPL CEO Pete Russell.

“We are very pleased to confirm the dates for the 2022 tournament and with travel around the world and region becoming easier CPL will be able to visit more than one country this year, so fans can enjoy CPL in person once again,” he added.

CWI has confirmed that a window has been created in an otherwise very busy international schedule so that all selected West Indies players will be available for this year’s Men’s and Women’s CPL tournaments.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) Men’s Selection Panel has named an unchanged squad for the second Apex Test match against England. The match will be played at Kensington Oval from March 16-20.

The three-match Apex Series is level 0-0 following a draw in the first Apex Test match, which was played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

Nkrumah Bonner was named Player-of-the-Match. He scored a career-best 123 in the first innings and 38 not out in the second innings on the final day.

“It was a hard-fought first match in Antigua and we decided to stick with the same 13 players for the second match in Barbados,” said lead selector Desmond Haynes in explaining the decision not to make any changes ahead of the second Test.

“Bonner demonstrated the way you should play, and we were very pleased with the way he played in the first innings and again in the second innings. It was hard work for all the bowlers, and we were very happy with the way they stuck to the task.”

WEST INDIES TEST SQUAD: Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood (Vice-Captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Veerasammy Permaul, Anderson Phillip, Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales.

Edwin Allen’s Bryan Levell and Hydel’s Brianna Lyston won their respective U20 200m races in impressive fashion on Sunday’s final day at Jamaica’s Carifta Trials at the National Stadium in Kingston on Sunday.

Rayon Campbell threw the gauntlet down to his rivals locally and regionally on Sunday when he ran a blistering 49.52 to win the U20 Boys, 400m hurdles at Jamaica’s Carifta Trials at the National Stadium in Kingston. By the looks of it, Jamaica will field a formidable duo in the event set for April 16-18 in Kingston as Roshawn Clarke of Camperdown High was close behind in a time of 49.85.

Campbell’s Kingston College schoolmate Antonio Forbes ran 50.48 for third place.

Jordan Mowatt, also of Kingston College, won the U17 final in 52.53 over Martin Princewell of Jamaica College, who stopped the clock at 53.01. Daniel Wright of Excelsior High School was third in 54.77.

The Girls U20 final was won by Safhia Hinds of St. Jago who ran 58.06. She was a comfortable winner over Hydel High School’s Oneika McAnnuff, who took second place in 59.35. Shackelia Green of St Elizabeth Technical High was third in 59.77.

Deandra Harris of Spot Valley won the U17 event in 61.78. She finished miles ahead of Edwin Allen High’s Kelly Ann Carr, who completed the race in 65.22, just ahead of St Jago’s Olivia St. John (65.30).

New York City FC kickstarted their MLS Cup defence with a 4-1 win over CF Montreal at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.

After failing to score in their opening two games – a 1-0 loss to LA Galaxy and a goalless draw with Vancouver Whitecaps – City hit the lead after only seven minutes, with Alexander Callens rifling home after Montreal failed to clear their lines from a corner.

Santiago Rodriguez spectacularly chipped Sebastian Breza to double the margin on 20, but only after Montreal gifted City possession in an attempt to play out from their own half.

Zachary Brault-Guillard pulled one back for CFM, but following further City goals from Telles Magno and Thiago Andrade, the scoreline arguably belied the performance.

Douglas Costa opened his account in the MLS later on Saturday, scoring the equaliser in LA Galaxy's 3-2 loss away to Seattle Sounders.

Javier Hernandez gave the Galaxy a shock lead in the sixth minute, after fine link-up play between Raheem Edwards and Kevin Cabral, but the Sounders fought back to lead before the interval – with goals from Jordan Morris and Fredy Montero.

Costa drew the visitors level from the dead ball after 48 minutes, wrong-footing Stefan Frei, but Xavier Arreaga headed home in the 72nd to give the Sounders their first win of the season.

Los Angeles FC continued their unbeaten start to the season, meanwhile, grinding out a 2-0 win against a 10-man Inter Miami at DRV PNK Stadium.

A deflected Carlos Vela pass put Kwadwo Opoku through on the stroke of the interval, and the 20-year-old Ghanaian finished with composure. That didn't spell the end of events in the first half, though, as Brek Shea was given a straight red card in injury time.

LAFC had six shots for the match compared Inter's seven, despite 53 per cent possession and an extra man. However, an Ismael Tajouri free-kick crept inside Inters back post in the 82nd minute to secure the win.

Steve Cherundolo's side are equal top in the Western Conference with Real Salt Lake, who defeated New England Revolution 3-2. Austin FC couldn't keep pace in the final Saturday game, however, going down 1-0 away to Portland Timbers through a Bill Tuiloma goal.

Columbus Crew share the lead in the Eastern Conference, following their 2-1 win over Toronto FC. They are joined by Philadelphia Union, who defeated San Jose Earthquakes 2-0.

A Darwin Quintero brace handed Houston Dynamo a 2-0 win against Vancouver Whitecaps, while Brandon Vazquez scored a double of his own in FC Cincinnati's 2-1 win at Orlando City.

FC Dallas, Chicago Fire and Colorado Rapids respectively secured 2-0 victories over Nashville, DC United and Sporting Kansas City in Saturday's other games.

Joe Root praised his England team for their performance in a first Test draw with West Indies following a "difficult year".

Captain Root has led England into this series alongside stand-in coach Paul Collingwood after the ECB made widespread changes in response to a dismal Ashes tour.

England had issues throughout their line-up in Australia, and the decision to respond by leaving both Stuart Broad and James Anderson at home for this series was not a popular one.

Fellow bowler Mark Wood was lost to an injury for which he is being assessed in the first Test, too, but England remained the most likely winners in Antigua.

Helped by Root's 109 in a second-innings 349-6 declared, England gave themselves two sessions to bowl out West Indies and threatened to do so when Jack Leach took three wickets in a strong spell.

It was not to be, as West Indies finished on 147-4 – some way short of a target of 286 but not at real risk of defeat.

The post-match outlook from Root was a positive one, however.

"I'm really pleased with the way we played, especially given the position we were in after that first hour," said Root, referring to an alarming first day when England slumped to 48-4 prior to Jonny Bairstow's vital 140.

"The guys stayed calm and showed great maturity to get us to a total, especially off the back of a difficult winter and a difficult year where we've not scored anywhere near enough runs."

Lauding his bowlers, too, Root added: "The way the guys stuck at it, especially having one bowler down as well, showed a huge amount of character and it was a huge step forward in many respects.

"No-one stopped believing or gave up all day. We really did give ourselves the best chance of winning this game."