To say West Indies were put to the sword might sound cliche, but that is exactly what transpired on day one of their second Test against England at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
Much like West Indies batsmen had no response to Gus Atkinson's precision in the first Test at Lord's, the Caribbean side's bowlers did little to slow England's batting onslaught on this occasion, though it was not for a lack of trying. This, as several chances were squandered in the field, and England rode their wave of fortune to post a daunting 416 all out.
Ollie Pope, who was dropped twice on 46 and 54 by Jason Holder and Alick Athanaze, plundered 121 from 165 deliveries. His knock, which had 15 boundaries and a solitary six, was backed by Ben Duckett's 59-ball 71 and captain Ben Stokes, who made 69.
Alzarri Joseph got three for 98, as Kavem Hodge (2-44), Jayden Seales (2-90), and Kevin Sinclair (2-73), a late addition for Gudakesh Motie, who woke up feeling ill, picked up the other wickets.
With the batsmen having done their part, the England bowlers will be basking in the prospects of possibly ending this contest within three days and taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Scores: England 416 all out (88.3 overs)
After winning the toss, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite was optimistic of an improved bowling performance, and he would have relished his decision when Alzarri Joseph removed Zak Crawley with the third ball of the innings. However, Pope and Duckett pelted the boundary in a 105-run second wicket stand, but that was eventually broken when Shamar Joseph had the latter caught by Holder, who took four catches in total.
Joe Root (14) and Harry Brook (36) had brief stays in the middle, but Stokes and Pope added a further 80 runs for the fifth wicket to keep West Indies pinned against the proverbial ropes.
Pope was inevitably removed by Alzarri Joseph with England at 281-5, while Stokes' entertaining knock was ended by Kavem Hodge.
Jamie Smith (36) and Chris Woakes (37) chipped in with quickfire scores too, with Shoaib Bashir's dismissal in the final over of play bookending a fantastic first day for England.
Data Debrief: Speedy Duckett into the history books
Duckett needed just 32 deliveries to reach a half-century, as he kept up a pace mostly seen in T20Is.
It is the third-quickest 50 for England in their Test history, with Duckett drawing level with Ian Botham's effort against New Zealand in 1986.
Jonny Bairstow is second on that list (30 v New Zealand in 2022), with the legendary Botham leading the way (28 v India in 1981).
Spain climb to third in FIFA rankings after Euro 2024 triumph
Newly crowned European champions Spain have risen to third in the FIFA world rankings.
The latest rankings were published on Thursday, with World Cup winners Argentina holding on to the top spot following their Copa America triumph.
There were some notable changes to the world rankings after a busy month for football, with Argentina beating Colombia to win the Copa America and Spain defeating England to win Euro 2024.
Euros runners-up England moved up to fourth, leapfrogging Brazil after their underwhelming Copa America campaign.
Venezuela, who reached the Copa America quarter-finals, were the most improved side in the rankings, rising 17 places to 37th.
One of the other big movers were Euros quarter-finalists Turkiye, who jumped 16 places up to 26th.
The top 10-ranked nations:
1 - Argentina
2 - France
3 - Spain
4 - England
5 - Brazil
6 - Belgium
7 - Netherlands
8 - Portugal
9 - Colombia
10 - Italy
Postecoglou remains focused on Tottenham amid England links
Ange Postecoglou has insisted that his full focus remains on bringing success to Tottenham after being linked with the England job.
It was announced on Tuesday that Gareth Southgate had resigned from his position as the England head coach after an eight-year tenure.
Southgate managed 102 games in that time, taking charge of his century fixture in the Three Lions' penalty shootout win over Switzerland in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024.
The 53-year-old, however, became the first manager in European Championship history to end up on the losing side in two finals following their defeat to Spain in Berlin on Sunday.
Under Southgate's tenure, England reached more major tournament finals in four attempts (two) than they did in their first 23 appearances at the World Cup and Euros (one) before his appointment in 2016.
However, England are on the hunt for a new manager, with Postecoglou among the potential candidates to take on the role alongside Eddie Howe, Graham Potter and Pep Guardiola.
Tottenham started their pre-season preparations with a 5-1 win over Hearts on Wednesday, and the Australian stressed his immediate attentions were on preparing Spurs for the new campaign.
"I am at the start of pre-season and am the Tottenham manager, so I have got nothing else [on my mind] but trying to bring success to this football club," Postecoglou told Sky Sports.
"Until I do that, there is no point in me thinking about anything else."
Postecoglou is no stranger to international management, having taken charge of Australia between 2013 and 2017.
Australia secured qualification for the 2018 World Cup during his tenure, ending with a win percentage of 44.9% from his 49 matches in charge.
"I enjoyed my time [with Australia]. I had four great years," Postecoglou continued.
"We won the Asia Cup and qualified for the World Cup, but with all these things there is always a natural end, and I thought it was a natural end for me there.
"I loved coaching the national team. In the future, who knows? Five years ago I was in Japan, and now I am in the Premier League."
Still believing: Windies skipper Brathwaite says first Test disappointment to serve as motivation for Trent Bridge encounter
“The guys are ready to go.”
That is the declaration from West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite, as his team targets a significantly improved batting performance in the second Test against England at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
After being hammered by an innings and 114 runs in the opening contest at Lord’s last week, West Indies require a win to not only level the three-match series but, more importantly, to lift their spirits and hopes of pulling off a series win in England for the first time since 1988. Whether they will produce an efficient enough performance to achieve the feat is left to be seen.
The Caribbean side only managed scores of 121 and 136 across both innings, while England only required one innings for their match-winning 371.
Despite that, Brathwaite backed his inexperienced batting line-up to bounce back, as the past few days have harboured much talk about their famous comeback against Australia in Gabba earlier this year.
"Obviously, it is a young team, and playing any Test match would always be a challenge for anyone that’s young. We’ve been here for a number of weeks now, and what is gone is gone. The first defeat is gone, the preparation period is gone, and I think the guys are in very good spirits, and mentally, it’s very important to believe in yourself,” Brathwaite said during a pre-game conference.
“The guys are ready to go. It’s pretty simple what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to bat a lot better. Obviously, we’ve got to find a way, which we’ve had some discussions around different things we can do better as a team. We’ve just got to put runs on the board. It’s simple,” he added.
Brathwaite takes a break after a training session. (Getty Images)
With only debutant Mikyle Louis (27), Kavem Hodge (24) and Alick Athanaze (23), Jason Holder, and Gudakesh Motie (31) offering very little resistance in the first Test, Brathwaite believes the disappointment should serve as motivation for his team heading into the second encounter.
“We have a motivation – we’ve got to be better than the first Test. The batsmen have to obviously put runs on the board and that’s our focus. I think once we remain disciplined, session by session, build partnerships that will put us in a good position in the overall result of the game. A few guys did get in but didn’t go on,” Brathwaite reasoned.
He continued: “It’s just important that you go on for longer because the longer you bat, the easier it becomes, and it’s important to stay in that plan for as long as possible. Obviously, you want to put away bad balls – that’s what every batsman wants to do – but it’s that hard work you do for 40 minutes, being able to take that to an hour and two hours.
“It’s a mixture of putting away the bad balls because when you put away the bad balls, it gives you confidence, so we just have to keep learning. I think a lot of learning would’ve taken place in the first Test, and we just have to believe in our ability and do it for longer periods.”
While he has been scrutinised for failing to lead from the front at the top of the order, Brathwaite argued that his lean spell has little to do with his captaincy.
The Barbadian, who is the most experienced player in the team with 90 Tests under his belt, has only tallied a paltry 44 runs in his last six innings.
“I enjoy captaining, I enjoy leading. I’ve been opening my whole life, so when I go out there to bat, it’s always to see off that new ball and be there as long as I can—that’s always my focus. I don’t see it as any added pressure. Yes, at times you don’t get runs, and it can be a little bit tough, but it is important to stay mentally tough and keep believing,” Brathwaite ended.
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