Andy Jalil
England, July 11
The first day of the first test at Lord’s usually signals the start of the English summer in earnest. But it didn’t quite look like it this time with conditions grim and West Indies batsmen struggling under a cloudy sky after being asked to make first use of a slowish pitch.
By stumps, England on 189 for three, and taken a lead of 68 after Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope had put on a 94-run stand for the second wicket with Crawley hitting his 15th Test half century and Pope his twelfth.
It was a particularly special occasion for Jimmy Anderson, playing in his 188th and final Test match at almost 42 years of age. With 700 Test wickets he has the highest number of wickets by an England bowler along with the highest number of Test matches played than any other cricketer other than India’s ‘little master’ Sachin Tendulkar.
However, Anderson was upstaged on a day when the focus would have been on him as the day belonged totally to Test debutant Gus Atkinson whose excellent bowling brought him 7 wickets for just 45 in only 12 overs of controlled pace bowling. It was the second-best figures by an England bowler on Test debut after Dominic Cork’s 7 for 43, also on this ground, in 1995 against the same opposition. Furthermore, Atkinson goes on Lord’s honours board for his five wickets. Quite a debut.
West Indies batters struggled against the movement that Atkinson achieved in cloudy conditions and generated considerable pace throughout his spells hitting 90 mph. The tourists made a cautious start to the innings and were 34 after 10 overs before Atkinson had the first wicket of his haul, having replaced Anderson and striking with his second ball in Test cricket when Kraigg Brathwaite chopped the ball on to his stumps.
Two runs later the tourists were 36 for two with Atkinson finding the edge of Kirk McKenzie’s bat for Crawley to snap it up at second slip. Ben Stokes brought himself on to take the next wicket of Mikyle Louis with Harry Brooks also taking a low, one-handed catch. Louis’ 27 included four fours and a six over square leg off Woakes.
Thereafter, it seemed a recovery may be on its way with West Indies getting to 88 for three after lunch which had been taken on 61 for three from 28 overs. But Atkinson had other ideas. In a remarkable ninth over from him and the 35th of the innings, three wickets fell.
Alick Athanaze was the first of the trio to go pushing at a ball that rose a bit from a good length for a catch at first slip. The next ball accounted for Jason Holder who got an outside edge as he tried to flick off his pads with the shot going across him to second slip and two balls later Joshua Da Silva inside-edged behind the stumps. Three in four balls!
The following over bowled by Woakes claimed another and West Indies were reduced to 88 for seven. Four wickets had been blown away in seven balls without a run being scored. A revival seemed highly unlikely from such a disastrous position and soon after the hundred of the innings had come up, two more fell on 106 to Atkinson in three balls, before Anderson mopped up the innings on 121, an hour and ten minutes after lunch in just 41.3 overs.
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