West Indies

With Test skipper Joe Root not playing for family reasons, Stokes will get his first taste of international captaincy when England begin their three-Test series against West Indies on Wednesday.

Holder, in contrast, is vastly experienced in the job. The 28-year-old is also number one in the ICC Test all-rounder rankings, sitting just above his opposite number ahead of the return of international cricket amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The individual battle between the two skippers will be an interesting subplot to proceedings, particularly as Stokes will now have to deal with added responsibilities as he fills in for the absent Root.

"England are in capable hands [with Stokes]," Holder told the media ahead of the series opener in Southampton. "He's an excellent cricketer and a great competitor. I'm sure the guys in their dressing room will look up to him.

"He'll have experienced campaigners in his dressing room to help him along, I'm sure. I wish him all the best in this one game as captain."

Both teams boast strong seam-bowling depth, suggesting it will be a tough series for batsmen.

Like England, West Indies have often leaned heavily on the lower order for runs but Holder - who averages 32.72 in the format - is not concerned over who contributes for his team, so long as they post a competitive total.

"It doesn't have to only come from the top order. We're putting a lot of emphasis on the top order," he said.

Yes, they haven't probably lived up to the expectations, but in general it's still a team sport. We've just got to put runs on the board. However we get them, personally, I don't care.  

"It's just a matter of us putting runs on the board and giving our bowlers something to work with."

Holder confirmed West Indies would leave it until the morning of the game to decide on their final XI. The tourists have travelled with a larger squad to work in bio-secure conditions, though the unique situation has afforded opportunities for some on the fringes to impress.

"We've got a few young fast bowlers on tour. Obviously the circumstances have led to us bringing a much bigger touring party and that has given us the luxury to work with some young promising fast bowlers," Holder said.

"I must say I've been very impressed with all of them. They look very, very fit and healthy. There is obviously a lot of room for improvement, but having them here they have been open to learning. A lot of them have grasped so many things over the past couple of weeks.

"The practice session we had yesterday was one of the best practice sessions I've seen in my time playing cricket. It was very, very lively. The fast bowlers really ran in and challenged our batters.

"That really says a lot about the future for these young guys if they can stay fit and healthy, stay on track and work hard, we will have a really good cohort of fast bowlers."

Chasing a Duckworth-Lewis-Stern adjusted target of 188 in 34 overs after several rain interruptions, the Windies lurched from 99 for two to 135 for six following Will Jacks’ unlikely three wicket-haul.

But after Jacks and Rehan Ahmed were bowled out, leaving the Windies requiring 33 off the last four overs, Romario Shepherd greeted returning quick Gus Atkinson with back-to-back sixes to turn the tide.

Atkinson leaked 24 from the over and Shepherd ushered the Windies to a four-wicket win, with 14 balls to spare, with a belligerent 41 not out off 28 balls alongside debutant Matthew Forde (13no).

Forde earlier took three for 29 as England stumbled to 49 for five, with captain Jos Buttler out for a golden duck after an ill-judged hook at Alzarri Joseph took a top edge and ballooned to the fine leg fielder.

Ben Duckett’s classy 71 off 73 balls, putting on 88 with Liam Livingstone (45), dug England out of a hole and was the backbone of their 206 for nine in 40 overs, with the lower order adding some grit.

A 2-1 loss in their first assignment is hardly the start Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott would have wanted in this reset post-World Cup, but a top-order collapse left them with a mountain to climb after they were asked to bat first when play belatedly got under way following a two-hour rain delay.

England’s openers had made four successive partnerships of 50 or more, but were separated in the first over as Phil Salt’s lame chip just about carried to Joseph.

Forde’s day got better when Zak Crawley shaped to leave but the ball reared up off a length, thudded into his glove and looped into the slips.

The rookie’s only misstep occurred with a misfield on the boundary after Duckett’s meaty pull, giving the left-hander the first of three fours in an over but Forde atoned in his next over, hitting a nagging length and finding a bit of shape to take the edge of Jacks.

Matters deteriorated even further in the 10th over for England as Joseph’s direct hit ran out a diving Harry Brook while Buttler’s rush of blood to his first delivery left them five down.

England have endured some epic collapses in the Caribbean down the years and this briefly threatened to be added to an ignominious list, but Duckett and Livingstone stabilised the tourists.

Duckett was especially impressive, strong on his favoured cuts and pulls off the back foot but he eschewed his customary sweeps to the spinners until he had adjusted to an unpredictable pitch.

After going past 50, the left-hander then Livingstone upped the ante, each hammering sixes off Joseph but both perished when they were too early on balls holding up in the pitch. Duckett got a leading edge to short midwicket while in Shepherd’s next over, Livingstone miscued to mid-on.

After a 45-minute rain delay which led to England’s innings being reduced from 43 to 40 overs, last-wicket duo Atkinson and Matthew Potts got them above 200 with an unbroken stand of 35 off 29 balls.

Another downpour took more overs out of the game and meant a revised target, with England making a breakthrough after eight deliveries when Brandon King punched Atkinson to Jacks on the ring.

While Sam Curran found lavish movement and Potts, in for the unwell Brydon Carse, was tidy, there were no further inroads as Buttler turned to Ahmed in the ninth over. The leg-spinner was greeted with a glancing cut by Alick Athanaze before ending his over being driven for another four by Carty.

Ahmed clipped Athanaze’s off-stump without dislodging the bails, tricking England into a review for caught behind, before Atkinson returned to pin the left-handed opener lbw five short of his 50.

After Shai Hope tamely chipped Ahmed’s googly to midwicket, Buttler opted for spin at both ends on an increasingly wearing pitch where prodigious turn was on offer.

Jacks capitalised as Shimron Hetmyer lobbed to point while Sherfane Rutherford holed out. Carty, who had dropped two simple catches when the Windies fielded, made a crucial 50 but gave Jacks a return catch.

Jacks drew the edge of Shepherd two balls later but the ball whistled away for four while the Windies big-hitter threw his hands at Ahmed to alleviate some of the building pressure.

Buttler opted to turn to Atkinson after Ahmed and Jacks bowed out but the paceman delivered two full tosses which were dispatched over the rope, the first following a fumble by Livingstone.

There was no coming back from that for England and Shepherd sealed victory in Livingstone’s next over with a slog sweep for four.

Burns was the only dismissal in the morning session on Saturday, caught by John Campbell at backward point off Roston Chase for a 104-ball 42.

Sibley got to his 50 off 164 deliveries but lost out to Shannon Gabriel soon after.

Joe Denly, 20, and Zack Crawley, 7, are the men at the crease with England 125-2.

England had resumed its second innings on 15-0 at the empty Rose Bowl in reply to West Indies' first-innings total of 318. Progress was slow in the morning with at one point only three runs off nine overs, and 64 runs from 30 overs overall in the session.

England scored 204 in its first innings of the rain-affected test.

Dowrich’s West Indies will face England in the first of three Test matches at the Aeges Stadium in Southampton on July 8, and Dowrich believes the visitors’ pace attack is as good as any.

“If you look at the main four in Shannon, Kemar, Jason and Alzarri, they all present different skills. “Kemar is probably the most skilful of them all in terms of being able to get a consistent line and length and moving the ball both ways. Shannon and Alzarri have a little more pace and Jason is Mr Consistent; he can put the ball on a 10-pence piece,” Dowrich said.

“So I think we bring the whole dynamic, and then obviously you have young Chemar Holder coming up, who is an exciting talent and the way he bowled in first-class cricket this season shows that. So I think we have a well-versed attack and I look forward to seeing them bowl in this series.”

Notwithstanding, Dowrich has nothing but praise for Archer.

“I know Jofra pretty well, he’s an amazing talent and I wish him well going into this series. But at the end of the day when we cross that line, it’s the West Indies against England, but at the end of the day, we have a wonderful bowling line-up and I’m happy with the team that takes the field with me,” he said.

Anderson – England's all-time leading wicket-taker with 700 in 187 red-ball matches – will play his final Test against West Indies at Lord's this week.

The 41-year-old is not going out on his own terms, insisting on Monday that he is bowling as well as he ever has but saying he has been forced to "make peace" with the decision.

Gus Atkinson will make his Test debut against the Windies, while Dillon Pennington and Matthew Potts are competing to replace Anderson when the three-match series moves to Nottingham.

England's revamp of their bowling attack comes after they failed to reclaim the Ashes on home soil last year, drawing a rain-affected series 2-2. 

They head down under for the next edition in 2025-26, and Stokes says they will use the intervening time to blood a new generation of talent.

"You look at how long it's been since we've played a Test match, I think it's been five months," England's red-ball captain told reporters on Tuesday. 

"When you have a lot of time off, you've got a lot of time to think about how you can take the team forward.

"I've been captain for two years, so it's about progressing this team. Especially for the first two years, we've been very focused on the here and now of what we need to do.

"But for me, I want to be able to implement stuff to push this team as far as they can go, not only as a collective but also as individuals.

"If you look at where we've got to go in 18 months' time, to Australia… we want to win that urn back.

"We've got an incredibly talented and exciting group of bowlers coming through at the moment, so giving them the experience of playing international cricket, getting Test matches under their belt, will put us in a much stronger position to win the Ashes."

Anderson's farewell comes at a venue where he has taken 119 Test wickets, the second-most of any player at a particular venue after Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo (166).

"He's an amazing bowler. There's no doubt that he could still go out there and play Test cricket, because he is good enough," Stokes said of Anderson. 

"But when we spoke with Jimmy, we laid it out with him and gave him our reasons, and he totally understood it.

"This week will all be about Jimmy, and rightly so, but I can tell you his main focus is about going out there, taking wickets and trying to win this game for England."

The limited-overs trip to the Caribbean, coming straight off the back of a gruelling six-week trawl of India, had already been highlighted as a time to look at fresh faces but the ODI party contains only six survivors from the unimpressive title defence.

Captain Jos Buttler remains in charge and is joined by Gus Atkinson, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone.

Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Mark Wood have been rested ahead of January’s Test series in India and Test captain Ben Stokes is heading straight for an operation on his long-term knee injury.

But the omissions of Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes from the 50-over squad may prove to be more final.

Moeen and Woakes, together with Adil Rashid, are retained for the T20 leg, suggesting they still have a chance of next summer’s short-form World Cup, but Malan has been cut from both formats.

Despite being England’s top run-scorer over the last few weeks, finishing exactly 100 clear of his nearest challenger, at 36 he seems to have run out of road.

Three uncapped players make the cut in ODI side with Test vice-captain Ollie Pope joining seamers John Turner and Josh Tongue. The pace pair also feature in the 20-over squad.

Phil Salt, Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed will also make the full trip, indicating they are all seen as important parts of England’s white-ball rebuild.

While Ahmed was handed a two-year central contract last month, it is notable that neither Jacks nor Salt were among the 29 names who did receive deals.

Malan, who appears to have played his final international, was signed up for a year.

ODI squad: J Buttler (c), R Ahmed, G Atkinson, H Brook, B Carse, Z Crawley, S Curran, B Duckett, T Hartley, W Jacks, L Livingstone, O Pope, P Salt, J Tongue, J Turner

T20I squad: J Buttler (c), R Ahmed, M Ali, G Atkinson, H Brook, S Curran, B Duckett, W Jacks, L Livingstone, T Mills, A Rashid, P Salt, J Tongue, R Topley, J Turner, C Woakes.

The wicket-keeper-batter hit an impressive 95 off 109 balls, falling just shy of his maiden century in only his third Test.

Chasing the Windies' first-innings total of 282, England made a nervy start with the early wickets of Ollie Pope (10) and Harry Brook (two) leaving them at 54-5.

Joe Root (87) and Ben Stokes (54) settled the hosts down with a 115-run stand, while Smith's near-century and 62 from Chris Woakes helped them to a total of 376 - a 94-run advantage.

West Indies' response was immediately halted as Woakes claimed skipper Kraigg Braithwaite for a duck in the first over.

Kirk McKenzie (eight) then fell to Gus Atkinson, while opener Mikyle Louis was fortunate to see Stokes drop a simple catch, as the visitors reached stumps on 33-2.

Data Debrief: Root roars past Lara

Root delivered another impressive batting display for England. Although he was fortunate not to be dismissed in the second over, as replays showed he would have been given out had the Windies reviewed an lbw appeal.

Nevertheless, he fully capitalised with his 87 taking him past 12,000 Test runs, making him only the second England player to do so after Alastair Cook.

Although a 33rd Test century narrowly eluded him, Root did leapfrog Brian Lara into seventh place on the all-time leading Test run-scorers list. 

The 26-year-old has not played for England since their visit to India in March due to the long-standing issue.

Archer had surgery in May and was subsequently ruled out of the T20 World Cup and ongoing Ashes series, but the Barbados-born bowler revealed earlier this month that he was close to a return.

However, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Tuesday that Archer went under the knife again 10 days ago, and is facing even more time out of action.

The ECB did not confirm a timeframe for Archer's absence, but he is not expected to return until the 2022 domestic season.

"The procedure addressed the long-standing stress fracture of his right elbow," the statement read. 

"A return to cricket will be determined in time, but Jofra will not be available for any of England's remaining winter series."

After the Ashes concludes in a month's time, England have five T20Is to come against West Indies from January 22 and three Tests against the same opponents in March.

England then face world champions New Zealand in a three-Test series on home soil, beginning on June 2.

The Windies face England in behind closed doors games over the course of July, starting next Wednesday.

As a show of solidarity with the movement campaigning for racial equality, England's players will have "Black Lives Matter" displayed on the collar of their shirts throughout the three-match rubber after agreeing to do so with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

The emblem was designed by Alisha Hosannah, the partner of Watford captain Troy Deeney, and has been added to Premier League shirts for all games since the resumption of elite football in England last month.

West Indies' players will wear an identical logo on their shirts.

"It is important to show solidarity to the black community and to raise much-needed awareness around the topics of equality and justice," said England captain Joe Root, who will miss the first Test in Southampton due to the birth of his second child.

"The England players and management are unified in this approach and will use the platform of international cricket to fully support the objective of eradicating racial prejudice wherever it exists.

"There has to be equal opportunity and equal rights for all. We hope by making this stance we can play our part in standing shoulder-to-shoulder as a team and we hope that by continuing to raise awareness we can move towards a society in which the colour of your skin and your background has no bearing on your opportunities.

"It is very simple, we believe there is no room for racism or any form of discrimination, anywhere."

The Test side were hammered 4-0 by Australia and only avoided a whitewash after clinging on for a draw in a rain-affected match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

As a huge inquest into that pitiful failure Down Under begun, the T20I squad was preparing to lock horns with the Windies in the Caribbean, where Paul Collingwood is standing in for Chris Silverwood as head coach.

England top the rankings, but missed out on T20 World Cup glory when they were beaten by New Zealand at the semi-final stage last November.

West Indies never looked like retaining the trophy in the United Arab Emirates, losing four and drawing one of their five matches.

Things went from bad to worse for the Windies when they were whitewashed 3-0 in Pakistan, before losing an ODI series to Ireland 2-1 on home soil.

The tourists are not at full strength so soon after the Ashes, but Eoin Morgan still has a strong squad - with a mix of new faces and experienced heads - as they build towards another T20 World Cup in Australia this year.

England have won four consecutive T20Is versus the struggling Windies, who have lost eight of their past nine matches in the shortest format ahead of the opening match of the series at Kensington Oval,

We pick out some of the standout performers who could light up the series ahead of the opener in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Living up to the hype, Roy ready to fire

England fell short in their mission to become 50-over and T20I world champions, but they were outstanding before an expensive over from Chris Jordan swung the semi-final in the Black Caps' favour.

Liam Livingstone showed his prowess with the ball in that loss to the Windies and the clean-striking all-rounder should have a huge part to play in England's bid to dethrone Australia later this year.

Livingstone can put on a show in the Caribbean and there could be fireworks from Jason Roy, who blasted 115 from only 47 balls in a warm-up game against a Barbados Cricket Association President's XI this week. 

Rebuilding job for Windies

West Indies were bowled out for only 55 in their defeat to England at the T20 World Cup, with Adil Rashid taking incredible figures of 4-2.

That just about summed up their tournament and they must turn the corner under the leadership of Kieron Pollard, who retained the captaincy.

Nicholas Pooran is set to play in his 50th T20I this weekend and the vice-captain is among the experienced players Pollard will need to step up.

Last month, the England Cricket Board announced the decision to pull out of the tour of Pakistan, which was expected to include matches for both the men’s and women’s teams.  The decision came sharply on the back of the New Zealand’s team's choice to pull out of a similarly planned tour after citing security concerns.

The ECB cited a concern for "mental and physical well-being" as the primary reason for taking the decision particularly as the group had ‘already coped with a long period of operating in restricted Covid environments’.  Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chair Ramiz Raja accused the ECB of failing a fellow member of the cricket fraternity and Holding was also not convinced by the body’s reasons.

"The ECB statement doesn't wash with me," the always forthright Holding said. "No substance."

"Nobody wants to come forward and face up to anything because they know what they did was wrong,” he added.

"So they put out a statement and hid behind a statement. It just reminds me of the rubbish they did with Black Lives Matter.

"I won't go back into that because I've said enough about that. But what that signal sends to me, is the same Western arrogance.

"I will treat you how I feel like treating you, it doesn't matter what you think, I'll just do what I want."

Wood, 32, bowled 17 overs in the first Test in Antigua before suffering an issue with his right elbow and subsequently underwent two scans since arriving in Barbados for England's second outing.

Those scans have confirmed a problem with his bowling arm and he will now return to England for "a specialist opinion regarding the management of his injury".

The Durham quick will take an "indefinite break from cricket until more information is determined from the elbow specialist", which leaves him unable to feature in the third Test that starts on March 24 in Grenada.

Wood has also been ruled out of contention for the IPL with the Giants, who paid £735,000 for Wood in the auction and start their IPL campaign against fellow debutants Gujarat Titans on 28 March.

England, who are already without injured duo Olly Stone and Jofra Archer, are yet to confirm whether they will call up a fast-bowling replacement, with Craig Overton and Ollie Robinson likely to return soon.

Wood was the pick of England's bowlers in the poor series against Australia, finishing as Joe Root's leading wicket-taker with 17 dismissals, including his first Ashes five-for, during his four appearances in the five-Test series.

The hosts ended the day on 248-3, aided by two century partnerships from Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett, and Joe Root and Harry Brook. Both Brook, on 71, and Root, on 37, will resume batting on Sunday.

Despite Chris Woakes claiming the wickets of Alzarri Joseph (10) and Jayden Seales (duck) in successive balls, a final-wicket stand of 71 from Shamar Joseph (33) and Joshua da Silva, who was left unbeaten on 82, saw West Indies, who resumed at 351-5, reach 457.

Scores: England 416 & 248-3 (Duckett 76, Brook 71*, Pope 51, A Joseph 2-58) lead West Indies 457 (Hodge 120, Da Silva 82*, Woakes 4-84) by 207 runs

England's second innings, which they began 41 runs adrift, got off to a nervy start as opener Zak Crawley (three) was run out by Jayden Seales at the non-striker's end.

However, much like they did in the first innings, Duckett (76) and Pope (51) settled the hosts down with a 119-run second-wicket stand, before Alzarri Joseph claimed both in the space of eight deliveries.

Still, Brook and Root also produced an important, unbroken 108-run partnership that placed Ben Stokes' side in command heading into day four.

Data Debrief: Successive century partnerships for Duckett and Pope

With a strong finish to their opening innings, the Windies reached 457 - their highest total on English soil since 1995.

England's response was led by Duckett and Pope's impressive stand of 119, their second three-figure partnership of the series.

They became only the ninth pair to make two century stands for England in a men's Test, and first since Joe Root and Alistair Cook achieved the feat against Pakistan eight years ago.

The pacemen were part of the side that lost the series opener in Southampton last week but will not feature at Old Trafford, Anderson missing out on playing at his home ground.

With Anderson and Wood left out, Stuart Broad - a surprising omission from the line-up last week - looks set to earn a recall.

England have drafted left-armer Sam Curran and uncapped Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson into a 13-man squad as they strive to keep the series alive.

Another change sees captain Joe Root, who missed the opening Test due to the birth of his second child, return in place of batsman Denly.

Zak Crawley will move up a place in the order to bat at number three, with Root slotting back it at four.

England were unable to train outdoors on Wednesday due to bad weather, though Root has had a chance to look at the wicket as his side bid to level the three-match series. 

"I had a quick look yesterday – it has been under covers for the large part of yesterday evening and all of today," he told the media. 

"It looked like a good wicket and I’m expecting it to be just that really. Hopefully there is an opportunity for batters to go out there and make big scores, go on and convert some starts if we get in. With that, you want to see a bit of carry and bounce."

Meanwhile, Saqib Mahmood has left the Test party and will join up with England's white-ball training group on Thursday ahead of the home series against Ireland.

Robinson is struggling with a back spasm and has not recovered in time to play in Antigua.

The uncapped Saqib Mahmood has taken Robinson's place in a 12-man squad for the opening game in a three-match series.

Mark Wood had been feeling unwell this week, but the paceman has been included in the squad.

With James Anderson and Stuart Broad overlooked for the tour, the likes of Craig Overton and Mahmood will be determined to make their mark.

The tourists will name their side at the toss on Tuesday as they attempt to restore some pride following a 4-0 Ashes thrashing in Australia.

England squad for the first Test:

Joe Root (captain), Jonny Bairstow, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

The tourists were frustrated on day five of the first Test in Antigua when the Windies preserved a draw with six wickets in hand.

But Joe Root's side will get a chance to put that right on Sunday after once more moving slowly in the right direction in the second match.

England closed on 40-0 on day four, 136 ahead and no doubt weighing up how long into the next session they should bat for before pursuing victory.

Root may have to take a risk, given this track has so far favoured the batsmen, with the hosts having resumed on 288-4 in reply to England's 507-9 declared.

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite was unbeaten on 109 and continued to frustrate England despite the absence of the sort of long-term partner he had found in Jermaine Blackwood the previous day.

There were still 100-ball stands with Alzarri Joseph (19) and Joshua Da Silva (33) before Brathwaite finally departed to Jack Leach and the new ball for 160, leaving West Indies on 385-7.

That total reached 411 before England were able to bat again, with 15 overs yielding 40 runs for Alex Lees (18 not out) and Zak Crawley (21 no).

Brathwaite bats time

England's first-innings total meant the Windies were never likely to win this second Test. Instead, their aim with the bat was to drag their first innings out as long as possible.

Brathwaite could not have done much more on that front, his marathon stint in the middle using up an incredible 489 balls. He has only once faced more balls across both innings of a Test match, when scoring 126 and 85 against Sri Lanka last year.

Outlasted by Leach

Brathwaite's exhaustion could only be matched by the man who finally took his wicket, as Leach bowled 69.5 overs – again, his second-most in a Test after his 73.4 in the first meeting last week.

Despite those efforts, Leach produced the most economical bowling figures of his career, his 3-118 at a rate of 1.68 as he crucially accounted for three of the four West Indies batsmen to make 30 or more.

The pace bowler suffered the injury during England’s tour of South Africa, featuring in just the first of four Test matches before withdrawing from the Twenty20 series against the Proteas.

In a statement released on its website, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced Archer has undergone a repeat MRI scan and, following a review by the medical team, is focused on being fit for the first Test against West Indies in June.

The 24-year-old, who will again be assessed in April, had hinted at potentially being fit in time to play in the Indian Premier League for the Rajasthan Royals, but will instead make his comeback in the County Championship.

"Following a repeat MRI scan undertaken this week in London, Jofra Archer has been reviewed by the ECB medical team and is progressing as expected from the stress fracture to his right elbow sustained during the South Africa tour in January," the statement read.

"He will have a further scan in mid-April before a return to competitive cricket.

"Archer's focus will be playing for England, starting with the West Indies Test series, which commences in early June.

"He will play County Championship cricket in May for Sussex to ensure his preparation is optimal for Test cricket."

Archer helped England win the Cricket World Cup last year and has played in seven Tests so far in his international career, taking 30 wickets in the longest format at an average of 27.40.

He recently signed a two-year contract extension with Sussex, saying: "I am very happy to commit long term to the club."

Pace bowlers Jofra Archer, James Anderson, and Mark Wood are missing from the England team for the second Test, which could be seen to leave the hosts short on firepower.  While Anderson and Wood have been rested with a long summer of Test cricket ahead, Archer has been omitted after breaking the protocol by leaving the series’ bio-secure environment.

Even without the trio, however, Brathwaite believes England has plenty of bowling options to remain dangerous.

“I wouldn’t say we have an advantage, they still have plenty of world-class players.  There is still Broad, Curran, and Woakes, these guys do well, so it will still be challenging,” Brathwaite told members of the media via a Zoom press conference on Thursday.

“I think it will be very challenging because they are all still world-class players,” he added.

In addition to the above-mentioned bowlers, England will also still have the service of all-rounder Ben Stokes with the ball.  Stokes claimed 6 wickets for England in the first Test, which ended in a four-wicket win for the West Indies.  Broad was omitted from the line-up for the first Test.

The teams will be the first to return to international cricket amidst the COVID-19 pandemic when the series bowls off at 5:00 am (6:00 am ECT) on Wednesday morning.  This time around the battle for the Wisden Trophy will take place in unusual circumstances, as it will be played in a bio-secure environment completely free of fans and fast bowlers will not be allowed to put saliva on the ball to encourage reverse swing.

The unique conditions under which the series will take place aside, Holder believes one thing will remain the same, the England team has a formidable record on home soil.  They have not lost a Test in England since being shocked by Sri Lanka in 2014.  The West Indies will have to look much further back than that for success having not won in England since 1988.

“England are probably favourites, in their home conditions they are very, very strong.  They are a very strong side in their home conditions, and it is proven,” Holder told members of the media during a Zoom conference call on Tuesday.

“They have a really good track record at home.  So, we got our work cut out for us if we want to beat them.  England are not going to roll over and die they are going to come at us very, very hard,” he added.

“Those guys want to win just as badly as we do, so I’m expecting a keen contest and it’s a matter for us to dethrone England in their backyard, which is not going to be an easy task.”

The West Indies are the current holders of the Wisden Trophy after defeating the England team 2-1 in the Caribbean last year.  It was the Englishmen who won 2-1 when the teams last met, in England, in 2017.

It was an encouraging start for the tourists, especially with England being one specialist batsman light for the match after choosing to select four fast bowlers as well as a spinner. That meant star allrounder Ben Stokes moved up the order to No. 4.

Stokes was already in the middle by lunch, but brilliant bowling from Kemar Roach just after had him bowled for 20.

After the Windies won the toss under overcast skies, Kemar Roach trapped Sibley lbw off the sixth ball of the innings from a ball that didn't deviate. Sibley, a century-maker in the second Test won by England, didn't get off the mark this time after playing across the delivery and was so plumb he didn't bother reviewing.

Root played circumspectly for his 17 off 59 balls and was looking set when he tried to pinch a single after Burns steered recalled spinner Rahkeem Cornwall down to third man. Roston Chase threw to the wicketkeeper's end and clipped the outside of the stump, one bail popping up with Root short of the crease.

West Indies paceman Shannon Gabriel started for the third straight match this series and spent some time off the field with an apparent hamstring strain after pulling up during his fourth over. He returned, though, to the relief of captain Jason Holder and was back bowling before lunch.

The not out batsmen are Ollie Pope on 24, and Jos Buttler on three.

The series is tied at 1-1 and the Windies, who won the first test in Southampton, are looking to capture a test series in England for the first time since 1988.

England recalled pacemen Jofra Archer and James Anderson in place of Sam Curran and top-order batsman Zak Crawley, leading to that restructuring of the batting order.

Stokes is struggling for full fitness and is unlikely to bowl, so will be a specialist batsman for this Test.

The West Indies made one change, bringing in Cornwall for Alzarri Joseph.