The England cricket team is all set to go one-on-one against the West Indies cricket team for the second Test of the three-match series. The game will be played Thursday onwards at 3:30 pm at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
England are leading the three-match series by 1-0 as they scored a stunning win in the first Test by an innings and 114 runs. The Ben Stokes-led side looked in good spirits in the first Test as both the batters and the bowlers aced their roles properly. The likes of Gus Atkinson and James Anderson were wonderful with the ball while Zak Crawley, Joe Root, and Jamie Smith looked in form with the bat.
The team will be without the services of Anderson for the rest of the series as the ace seamer announced his retirement from international cricket. Dillon Pennington might debut for the England team in the second Test as a replacement for the veteran seamer.
As far as the West Indies team is concerned, they have a lot to improve to make a comeback in the three-match series. The team delivered one of their worst batting performances in the first Test as they failed to touch the score of 150 runs in any of their two batting innings.
Meanwhile, the bowlers also looked out of touch as they leaked 371 runs in 90 overs in England’s only batting innings. This would be a pressure match for West Indies on Thursday as it will be a do-or-die game for them.
What has happened so far?
The England cricket team came into the three-match Test series against West Indies following a dismal performance against India. Earlier this year, Ben Stokes’ men travelled to India for a five-match Test series and it was a forgettable outing for the visitors. They got off to a good start by winning the first Test by 28 runs and taking a lead of 1-0.
However, things went downhill for the team post-victory as the hosts made a comeback and won the remaining four matches to record a series win by 4-1.
As far as the West Indies is concerned, their last Test series came against Australia in January this year where they won one match while losing the other. It was a decent performance by the Caribbean nation as after losing the first Test by ten wickets, they scripted a wonderful comeback to win the second Test by eight runs.
However, the West Indies team has had trouble continuing the winning run as the first Test match against England saw them losing by an innings and 114 runs. The batters let the team down as they scored only 121 and 136 runs respectively across two innings.
Head to Head Record
England and West Indies have a long history against each other in the purest format of the game. They have so far featured in a total of 164 Test matches, with England winning 52 games and West Indies scripting a win on 59 occasions. Interestingly, as many as 53 games between the two sides ended in a draw.
Key Players
Gus Atkinson won the Player of the Match award during the first Test against West Indies
Gus Atkinson (England): It was the debut Test match for the young Gus Atkinson as England locked horns with the West Indies cricket team in the first Test of the three-match series. The right-arm medium bowler had a dream entry into the longest format of the game as he took home the Player of the Match award after England won by an innings and 114 runs.
Atkinson was absolutely lethal in the first innings of the game as he dismissed as many as seven batters while conceding only 45 runs in his 12 overs to restrict West Indies to a low score of 121 runs.
The 26-year-old continued his assault during England’s second bowling innings as well as he picked five wickets at an economy rate of 4.4 to stop dismiss the opposition at a score of 136 runs in just 47 overs. Now, the bowler is expected to churn out another sensational performance and help England score a series win.
Kraigg Brathwaite (West Indies): It was a poor performance by both the West Indies batters and bowlers as the team scored a big defeat by an innings and 114 runs in the first Test match. For the team to make a comeback to the winning ways in the second Test and level the series, it would be crucial for the skipper Kraigg Brathwaite to lead from the front.
The 31-year-old succumbed to a poor performance in the first Test as he ended up with scores of six and four runs across the two innings. However, Brathwaite has a lot of international experience under his belt, especially in the longest format of the game, and that makes him one of the crucial players for West Indies. He has a total of 5523 runs to his name in just 90 matches at an average of 33.88.
Predicted XIs
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes ©, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Shoaib Bashir, Gus Atkinson, Dillon Pennington
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite ©, Mikyle Louis, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Jason Holder, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales
Prediction
The England cricket team is likely to have an upper hand when they play against West Indies in the second Test of the three-match series. The hosts were absolutely sensational in the first game as they again stamped their authority at home and are favorites to continue their domination in the second Test as well.
On the other hand, the West Indies cricket team will be low on confidence following a massive defeat. However, they have a talented squad at their disposal and will be looking forward to causing an upset in the second Test and levelling the series.