The second test match between England and West Indies is going on in Manchester Olie Pope and Jos Buttler were the heroes for the day. They stood at the crease and took the momentum away from the opposition. West Indies looked dangerous to England after knocking the top four just at 122 runs, but the English batsmen marched back in a fairy tale.
The 136-run stand between Buttler and Pope changed the situation for the English side and drifted the momentum. Pope struggled in his first few overs at the crease but the got his form back and played a terrific knock 91, while Jos Buttler scored 56 runs, and the opener Rory Burns contributed 57 runs in the team total. By the end of Day 1 English team was at 258 with the loss of 4 wickets.
Stokes is undecided for bowling in the second test match
“I’ve been better,” Stokes said before the start of the first day’s play on Friday. “But we were in a situation in the last game where everyone just had to throw everything that we possibly had at them.”
Stokes’ heroics carried England to a 113-run victory which levelled the series at 1-1 but left him with a quadriceps injury.
“It’s going to be a day-by-day thing to see (whether I can bowl). Yesterday I tested out my quad and I was a little bit worried I wouldn’t be able to offer everything that I possibly could with the ball, especially in the first innings,” he told Sky television before play started. The tourists put England into bat after winning the toss.
“But hopefully as the game goes on, and it settles down, I might be able to rock ‘n roll some off-spin if needed!,” he joked.