On Thursday, July 18, the second Test of England and the West Indies’ three-match series got underway at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Following the toss, the West Indies chose to bowl first, and England’s batting performance was spectacular, led by Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett, and Ben Stokes.
On the third ball of the game, Alzarri Joseph got rid of Zak Crawley, giving the tourists the perfect start. With just 112 balls used in a 105-run partnership, the southpaw batted with greater aggression.
But when Duckett and Ollie Pope got together, they helped England surpass their own record for the fastest team fifty in Test cricket—they reached the mark in a just 26 balls.
In the Test arena, Duckett achieved the fastest half-century for an England opener in just 32 balls. He hit fourteen boundaries before being out for a 59-ball 71. Nonetheless, Pope continued to demonstrate his extensive skill set and mentioned his century during the second session. Alzarri struck 15 fours and one six before finishing his 121 off 167 deliveries with a smooth knock.
While Harry Brook played a brisk 36-run knock off 34 balls, Root was removed cheaply. Before being removed by Kavem Hodge after smashing a 104-ball 69, Stokes made a good contribution. Chris Woakes and Jamie Smith both started but left the game at 36(54) and 37(48), respectively.
It appeared that England would not be dismissed below 400 runs after taking a dominant 281/4, but when they fell to 370/8, it appeared otherwise. But before they were bowled out in the penultimate over of the day, Woakes’ contribution allowed them to reach 416.
Also Read: 2024 ENG vs WI: England assembles its quickest team Test fifty against the West Indies in 26 balls
Although they took wickets throughout the day, the West Indies would probably be satisfied with their performance given that they gave up a few too many runs. Considering that England should have been out of the game far sooner, Kraigg Brathwaite will lament the opportunities his team lost during the day. On Day 2, though, the visitors will need to look past their lacklustre fielding performance and focus on putting up a strong batting display.
Here’s how ‘X’ users reacted to the action on Day 1:
England bowled out for 416 and that is stumps on day 1.
An interesting days play with the West Indies after the first hour consistently chipping away and not letting England score (relatively) too many runs. #ENGvsWI— Yosef Mordechai Coleman (@yosecakes) July 18, 2024
How many more to close the day and probably declare, for BAZBALL ??#ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/vUhY9C4JAW
— UndergraD🏏 (@ugcric) July 18, 2024
Day 1 closed as Bashir nicks Alzarri with England all out at 416
West Indies will bat to start the Day 2 tomorrow morn. #ENGvWI https://t.co/K9NrZTzL9U pic.twitter.com/PBZhXKlqXt
— UndergraD🏏 (@ugcric) July 18, 2024
Fabulous Knock. 8th Test Half-Century for @BenDuckett1 71(59).
4s ➡️ 14
1500 Test Runs for Ben Duckett.
10000 First-Class Runs for Ben Duckett.@englandcricket#ENGvWI @TrentBridge— JaayShaan (VaidhyaJayaShankar) (@JaayShaan) July 18, 2024
T20 and ODI in Whites by Ben Duckett.#Benball#ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/s3X2OyrX22
— Rohit Sharma (@RohitSsarma) July 18, 2024
Fastest Test fifties for England (by balls faced)
28 – Ian Botham vs India, Delhi, 1981
30 – Jonny Bairstow vs New Zealand, Headingley, 2022
32 – Ian Botham vs New Zealand, The Oval, 1986
32 – Ben Duckett vs West Indies, Trent Bridge, 2024— cric. mani7 (@p_manikumaran) July 18, 2024
History Alert 🚨 in Test Cricket 🏏
England 🏴 became the Fastest Team to score 50 Runs in just 4.2 Overs against West Indies 🌴 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham#ENGvWI #Bazball pic.twitter.com/UapU7bILZa
— Richard Kettleborough (@RichKettle07) July 18, 2024
A 32 ball fifty by Ben Duckett in the 2nd Test against West Indies. pic.twitter.com/CC5Od7Bm93
— Reality Talks (@RealityTallk) July 18, 2024
Loving this bazball style of batting from England. Ben Duckett is batting on 38 in 17 balls. England scored 55-1 in 5 overs against West Indies. pic.twitter.com/q0PYgo5GZV
— Faiz Fazel (@theFaizFazel) July 18, 2024
What a knock!!! 🔥
Standing ovation for Ollie Pope ♥️👏 pic.twitter.com/UC04Hp3XeB— Brooky⁸⁸ (@88Brooky) July 18, 2024
🏏🌟 Ollie Pope shines bright with his 6th Test century and surpasses 2600 runs! 🎉
Did you know? He’s yet to make his mark in International T20 and ODI cricket. 🤔 #Cricket #OlliePope #TestCricket pic.twitter.com/r3KWjKHjYY
— Randomrambler (@Randomrambler24) July 18, 2024
HUNDRED BY OLLIE POPE. pic.twitter.com/SNp9IfKPfB
— Cric-Corner (@cricketxtra1) July 18, 2024
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