Match report
STUMPS – West Indies lead by 71
102nd over: West Indies 329-5 (Hope 147, Blackwood 21) The day’s nearly done, but Moeen still wants Blackwood to go big. A few go above the eyes. Second ball, Blackwood opens the face into a drive and gets four through cover point. Two to cover. And then he finishes the day with a four around the corner as Moeen drifts one down leg.
Remarkable day for West Indies. Remarkable day for Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope. They came together at 35-3, nine overs into the morning’s play and combined for 246 runs. Hope, maiden Test hundred in the bag, might be eyeing up a double tomorrow. Tomorrow should be a belter.
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101st over: West Indies 319-5 (Hope 147, Blackwood 11) Solid from Hope, as he pinches two on the off side. Just when I was starting to wonder if he’d packed most of his attacking shots away, he goes for an expansive drive and has to pull out as Stokes finds a bit of movement off the surfrance. Not for the first time today, the ball flies through the gap at third slip and away for four.
100th over: West Indies 313-5 (Hope 140, Blackwood 11) Blackwood gets on strike and Moeen tosses a couple up. Two drives are played, both flamboyant, but only the second goes anywhere. It may be right to mid off, but Blackwood’s sharp and makes his ground with ease. Hope, meanwhile, is doing as Hope does.
99th over: West Indies 311-5 (Hope 140, Blackwood 10) Just a single from the over: a leg bye taken by Jermaine Blackwood, who ideally wanted to send Ben Stokes over square leg but has to watch the rest of the over from the nonstriker’s end. Change of tact as Moeen Ali comes into the attack for James Anderson...
98th over: West Indies 310-5 (Hope 140, Blackwood 10) Bit of shape for Anderson, away from Blackwood... so Blackwood follows the ball, opens the face, and slaps it over cover. YES.
97th over: West Indies 305-5 (Hope 140, Blackwood 6) Stokes to continue. He’s been excellent this evening. Blackwood plays a helicopter leg glance to the man out on the leg side fence for a single. High risk, low reward.
96th over: West Indies 302-5 (Hope 139, Blackwood 4) Excellent from Anderson, as he beats the new man, Blackwood, with a leg cutter that leaps off the surface. JB nabs a leg bye to get himself off strike.
95th over: West Indies 300-5 (Hope 138, Blackwood 4) No nightwatchman as Jermaine Blackwood walks to the crease. Like that. Like that a lot. Stokes greets him with a short ball which he ducks. Blackwood returns the jab with a haymarker through cover on the up for four. OUTRAGEOUS shot to get off the mark. Even Stokes is impressed.
WICKET! Chase c Cook b Stokes 5 (England 296-5)
Now then... [/Athers]... Stokes gets Chase with a sharp, rising delivery that is fended to first slip. Seven overs after this one left in the day. Can England steal a march at the death?
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94th over: West Indies 295-4 (Hope 137, Chase 5) James Anderson replaces an erratic Chris Woakes and is immediately on the money. A delivery that moves late catches Hope unawares. Leg stump is in danger but, somehow, an inside edge just misses and runs away for four. Next delivery, Anderson tempts a drive and gets one... through cover for three.
93rd over: West Indies 288-4 (Hope 130, Chase 5) Ben Stokes has turned things up a notch. He’s bowling at good pace – mid-to-high eighties – and nearly tempts Chase into a loose pull. Chase, however, pulls out well.
92nd over: West Indies 287-4 (Hope 129, Chase 5) Cracking delivery from Broad, third one up. Scrambled seam angles into the right-handed Chase, before holding its line off the pitch and beating his outside edge. He’s bowled some bad spells with some cracking deliveries in them, today. The very next ball, he offers Chase the chance to through his hands through the ball. Chase obliges – four through cover.
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91st over: West Indies 282-4 (Hope 128, Chase 1) Solid maiden from Stokes, who sets up Chase for a delivery from wide of the crease, angled into the pads. Chase covers up well with his bat.
Finally a wicket. Was starting to get nostalgic for the all conquering England sides of early August 2017
— Charlie Reynolds (@cwjreynolds) August 26, 2017
90th over: West Indies 282-4 (Hope 128, Chase 1) Roston Chase is the new man in. Broad, running in a little harder, tests out his defence. Solid enough. When he’s slightly short, Chase is off the mark with a whip to the boundary rider out on the leg side.
Just before Broad started this over, Tom v d Gucht sent this email: “I reckon England are just about on top here. No doubt a massive batting collapse is awaiting the Windies just around the corner, limiting them to a lead of around 70-80, before Cook and the other decent England players all bosh out some runs before skittling the Windies second time around for under 100 following a Broad hot-streak.”
WICKET! Brathwaite b Broad 134 (West Indies 281-2)
WICKET! YES! REALLY! Broad gets one to move off the surface and into Brathwaite, who can’t cover the movement well enough. Stumps disturbed. What an innings through. Incredible effort from Kraigg Brathwaite, who gets a hearty ovation for his 249-ball effort.
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89th over: West Indies 281-3 (Brathwaite 134, Hope 128) New spell for Stokes. A good diving stop from Root at wide mid off keeps a four through cover at bay and the dots that follow nearly bring about a dismissal when Hope drives loosely towards Mark Stoneman at cover point. However, the ball drops short and Stokes goes red. Again.
“If Italy did play Test cricket,” starts Graeme Thorn, “then the president of the Italian Cricket Federation would have to be that famous Milanese cricketer,
Ted Dexter.” Had no idea about that little bit of trivia on Ted.
Here’s a nice little feature on cricket in Italy from 2013:
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88th over: West Indies 281-3 (Brathwaite 134, Hope 128) Just two runs after the drinks break. Gorgeous blue sky about Headingley. Tickets still available for tomorrow by the way, if you in the area. £35 for adults, £10 for kids. Good value Test cricket.
“For a while now, I’ve been trying to mentally fit Kraigg Braithwaite into the song Zabadakand I’ve just realised I was wrong,” writes John Starbuck. “The cue was Shai Shai for Mr Hope. I know it’s a bit ancient, but it’s quite good for a singalong to accompany an obdurate innings or two.”
87th over: West Indies 279-3 (Brathwaite 133, Hope 127) Nonsense review called by Joe Root but led by Jonny Bairstow. Woakes sends one down the leg side and Bairstow is so sure that Hope has tickled this through to him. He hadn’t, though. Bat far away from pad – a pad which diverted the ball to JB’s left. Woakes, struggling, drifts onto leg stump and is dealt with accordingly. Hope gloriously timing him through midwicket for four. Next ball, he’s check-driven exceptionally down the ground for a second boundary.
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86th over: West Indies 271-3 (Brathwaite 133, Hope 119) The ball may be new but the approach is still the same. Brathwaite’s playing it under his eyes. Hope is adjusting the face of his bat with a shrug, finding singles here and there. One for him this over comes through gully.
Rock bottom. We are so bad we should be playing countries like Italy.
— Alan JENKINS (@aljen64) August 26, 2017
Gareth Berg with the new ball, Michael DiVenuto setting the tone at the top of the order. Tough ask.
85th over: West Indies 268-3 (Brathwaite 132, Hope 117) Not a long spell from Anderson. Just two overs and he has made way for Chris Woakes. “I think it’s about time you said West Indies are outplaying England,” writes Romeo. No doubt about that. Take a look at the score. I’ve been on the OBO for two days and only written about England wickets. “Six sessions in a row so far.” Woakes is loose – i.e. not very Woakes – and is flayed through backward point twice for boundaries.
84th over: West Indies 258-3 (Brathwaite 122, Hope 117). Brathwaite produces a carbon copy drive that Hope finished the last over with, only his timing is slightly off so he’ll only get three. Broad grunts, the spectators titters among themselves and Shai Hope walks down to do a bit of gardening. All is well with the greater game.
And the scores are level.
83rd over: West Indies 255-3 (Brathwaite 119, Hope 117) What looks a standard Anderson over – probing, shaply, frugal – ends with a nice drive from Hope, who connects well enough to beat mid off on the inside, down the ground, for four bits.
82nd over: West Indies 251-3 (Brathwaite 119, Hope 113) Stuart Broad charges in, goes for the stumps, tumbles over and Shai Hope keeps his cool, driving straight back past Broad’s strewn body for four. One leaves the right-hander, but he plays deliberately inside the line. No harm.
This stand between Brathwaite and Hope is West Indies's biggest in England in over last 30 yrs. Greenidge/Gomes 287*, Lord's, 1984.
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) August 26, 2017
81st over: West Indies 246-3 (Brathwaite 119, Hope 108) The first ball squares Brathwaite up, but he’s in enough to follow the ball effectively and push it out into the off side. All about playing themselves back in with this new, ruby-sheened Dukes.
@Vitu_E He may have failed at Edgbaston, but Roston Chase is averaging 44 in tests and has three test hundreds in 20 innings, two not out.
— Mark Worgan 🇪🇺 (@worgztheowl) August 26, 2017
80th over: West Indies 246-3 (Brathwaite 119, Hope 108) That’s that then. New ball, anyone? It’s taken straightaway and James Anderson gets to use it first. 22-overs left in the day. Here’s a window of opportunity for England...
79th over: West Indies 245-3 (Brathwaite 118, Hope 108) Hope finds a single to midwicket. Otherwise, we’re on the cricket equivalent of “walking” a batter as they do in baseball. Hurry up, out of the way, so we can gets to wickets taking with the new nut.
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78th over: West Indies 243-3 (Brathwaite 118, Hope 106) Hope pads away a few from Moeen. Can we “simulate” the next three overs, a la Brian Lara Cricket?
77th over: West Indies 242-3 (Brathwaite 118, Hope 105) Hint of a caught behind from Tom Westley. Not out. Earlier this summer, I saw Tom Westley dismiss Kumar Sangakkara. The context? Sanga was 16 away from equalling the record for consecutive hundreds in first class innings. He was all set to join Don Bradman, Mike Procter and CB Fry before Westley stuck out a mit and took a diving return catch off his own tweak. Awful bloke.
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76th over: West Indies 241-3 (Brathwaite 118, Hope 104) There’s a half-half-chance (quarter, then) as Brathwaite sweeps Ali and it rebounds off short leg and balloons down to fine leg. Dawid Malan does brilliantly to save two right at the sponge.
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75th over: West Indies 239-3 (Brathwaite 116, Hope 104) Tom Westley returns to ensure we get this new ball as quick as possible. Aside from these two, the rest of the West Indies batting line-up doesn’t really have much to comfort them, aside from Jermaine Blackwood, who is in next. One brings four and all that...
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Review from England... NOT OUT
74th over: West Indies 238-3 (Brathwaite 115, Hope 104) Moeen with another over as Ben Stokes seethes at first slip. One turns a fair amount and low, striking Brathwaite on the front pad. The appeal goes up, the umpire says not out and so England think “why not”, with reviews set to reload after 80 overs. He’s like a cat:
Brathwaite comes out on the right side of DRS for a fourth time. 35,46,81, 114. Overturned two himself and two England appeals.
— Rory Dollard (@thervd) August 26, 2017
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73rd over: West Indies 236-3 (Brathwaite 114, Hope 103) There’s the two-hundred partnership off 313 balls between Hope and Brathwaite as the latter drives Stokes aerially through cover.
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Hope springs, or something better
Well played Shai Hope on reaching 100. https://t.co/fRy3qe2eXQ pic.twitter.com/TqYUkP2RND
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 26, 2017
72nd over: West Indies 220-3 (Brathwaite 110, Hope 100) England keen to get to this new ball ASAP. Moeen Ali continues and rattles through six balls in the time it takes to unwrap a Kit Kat. Maiden.
THERE IT IS – SHAI HOPE'S MAIDEN TEST CENTURY!
71st over: West Indies 229-3 (Brathwaite 109, Hope 100) Utterly glorious from Shai Hope. A maiden hundred from 159 balls. The shot to get to three fiures was a tap around the corner. The one to take him to 99 needs to be put on display: Stokes short, Hope on one leg, whipping a pull behind square leg for four.
Shai Hope follows Brathwaite to a hundred. West Indies trailing by 30 now, partnership almost 200. A lot of humble pie on the menu.
— Rory Dollard (@thervd) August 26, 2017
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70th over: West Indies 221-3 (Brathwaite 107, Hope 95) Glorious from Hope, as he smites inside out for four. Looks like he fancies getting to that maiden hundred in a hurry...
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69th over: West Indies 212-3 (Brathwaite 103, Hope 90) Ben Stokes back into the attack but running up the hill rather than running down it from the Kirkstall Lane End. The Sky commentators reckon it’ll make him hit the crease hard rather than lose his rhythm by getting carried away accelerating down and losing his line. Bang on the money, he gets the edge... but right through the gap at third slip! Oh my. He’s not happy. No one is. Other than Shai Hope, who moves to 90...
Ever get the impression Atherton doesn't like Botham?@Vitu_E pic.twitter.com/MJFyvuhbci
— Benjamin Parker (@bnjmnprkr) August 26, 2017
68th over: West Indies 206-3 (Brathwaite 102, Hope 85) Play back underway for the evening session and Shai Hope has to cover his toes as one from Moeen Ali keeps low. Just 15 away from his maiden Test hundred...
Decent stat to have your name to, Kraigg Brathwaite:
Openers to score 100s in 3 away from home countries in last 3 yrs:
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) August 26, 2017
Cook (In/UAE/WI)
Elgar (Au/En/N)
Rahul (Au/SL/WI)
Brathwaite (SA/UAE/En)
By the way, there is also over-by-over coverage of the Bangladesh-Australia Test series, which begins tomorrow. Adam Collins is out in Dhaka as we speak, wheeling away on Tuk-Tuks and preparing to wax lyrical on a resurgent home side and a few bloody Aussie noses.
Read his first dispatch, here:
Strikking, Kraigg
Tea comes moments after Brathwaite smacked a six to reach his hundred. Well played. It's 206/3. https://t.co/fj9iNi6t9u pic.twitter.com/uo23ucRqq0
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 26, 2017
BRATHWAITE BRINGS UP HIS HUNDRED IN STYLE!
67th over: West Indies 206-3 (Brathwaite 102, Hope 85) Right, Tom Westley’s having a bowl, which doesn’t really make sense considering how little he bowls now compared to, oh I don’t know, Dawid Malan. Anyway, Kraigg’s not one to look a part-time bowler in the mouth and skips down the pitch to slap him over long on for six to take him to his sixth Test hundred! He’s been superb for all 189 of his balls faced, which has taken him close to five hours at the crease – 13 fours and two sixes to his name. A ball later, it’s TEA. West Indies trail by 52 with seven wickets remaining. Don’t adjust your sets...
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66th over: West Indies 197-3 (Brathwaite 96, Hope 82) Root has positioned himself right next to the nonstriker, at straight mid on. He watches on as Broad gets the ball to move away from Hope, take the edge and through a vacant third slip.
Root just laughing there as an edge off Broad goes through the gap in the slips. Absolutely tremendous from the skipper.
— Dave Tickner (@tickerscricket) August 26, 2017
Broad tries to go for the stumps and Hope pumps him firmly down the ground for four. Pinches the strike, too. Class, that.
65th over: West Indies 188-3 (Brathwaite 96, Hope 73) A poor ball from Moeen is slapped through point by Shai Hope to bring up the 152-run partnership. It’s taken 264 balls and seen the run-scoring shared evenly (KG 70, SH 72). Oooo is that a drop? Think it is. Mark Stoneman is under the lid and Hope rocks back and flicks hard off his hip, straight into the midrift of Stoneman. He’s done well to stay focussed on the ball, but the pace off the bat was just too much to gather.
64th over: West Indies 183-3 (Brathwaite 96, Hope 69) False alarm. Sorry. There’s no Malan. As you were. It’s Stuart Broad replacing Stokes. First ball, he squares Brathwaite right up. Unfortunately, that usually packed cordon now has just a wide first slip and a gully. The leading edge flies down to third man for two. Then another goes big, threatening off stump before swooping away from Brathwaite’s edge. Some over that, out of nowhere!
63rd over: West Indies 181-3 (Brathwaite 94, Hope 68) Now it’s Hope’s turn to drive Moeen through the covers for four. He looks like he’s getting a second when he sweeps hard to square leg but brilliant work from Alastair Cook, diving and palming the ball away from the sponge with both hands, saves three runs. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for Dawid Malan...
62nd over: West Indies 173-3 (Brathwaite 92, Hope 62) In trying to go across the right-handers from around the wicket, Stokes goes far too wide and Brathwaite can reach across – just – to knock it on the head behind the gully. Stokes pulls his length back the very next ball and this time Brathwatite pulls out a classic back-foot punch through extra cover. Brathwaite into the nineties...
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61st over: West Indies 165-3 (Brathwaite 84, Hope 62) “Are the Windies batsmen buckling down for long innings or is the bowling containing them?” A little bit of both, Andrea Ledward. England wasted the newer ball in the second part of the morning session and are paying for it now as these two look set for dinner and Sunday brunch. David Keech reckons it’s time for the leg spin of Dawid Malan: “He might give away a boat load of runs but with the ball spinning perhaps sharply away from the bat he could get that much needed breakthrough.” Moeen completes another over of, with three taken from it as Brathwaite finds two beyond bat-pad.
60th over: West Indies 162-3 (Brathwaite 81, Hope 62) The sting really has been taken out of England. Ben Stokes tries to get it back by coming around the wicket to Shai Hope. After moving men around at deep square leg, readying the field for a bounce, Hope has to dig out a yorker on leg stump. The next ball, he’s less diligent, flirting with one that goes across him.
That mention of Graham Onions in Over 58 has sent me down a YouTube wormhole. This is a lovely video on the great man talking through his maiden five-wicket haul, on debut against the West Indies. Get him in!
REVIEW... NOT OUT!
59th over: West Indies 162-3 (Brathwaite 81, Hope 62) England lose a review. It was called for in hope rather than expectation. Brathwaite presses forward against Moeen Ali: the ball passing between bat and pad and through to Stokes, via a deflection off the later. Stokes and Bairstow reckont the former, too. Ultra Edge says no...
58th over: West Indies 161-3 (Brathwaite 81, Hope 61) Another maiden for Stokes and another six played well by Brathwaite. Stokes’ natural action on the ball, jagging into the right-hander, causes Brathwaite to hop up when defending into the leg side, but he does so with a degree of calm that suggests he’s quite enjoying this.
“Your mention of pith made me think trees and gardens,” starts Andrew Benton. “Whatever happened to Graham Onions? Surely the only cricket player ever with a vegetable surname.” Interesting case, Onions. He’s in the last year of his contract with Durham and didn’t play a single one of the Jets’ T20 Blast matches. He’s 34 but still keen to play on. Worth monitoring that one as the County Championship season goes into the home-straight.
57th over: West Indies 161-3 (Brathwaite 81, Hope 61) Brisk over from Moeen Ali and just one from it. The turn that is out there is manageable off the surface. Single to Brathwaite as he blocks around the corner.
56th over: West Indies 160-3 (Brathwaite 80, Hope 61) John Starbuck has a cunning plan. Hear him out: “Time for Root to bowl himself? He will wait much longer than usual because captains who aren’t regular bowlers see themselves as a last resort and therefore discouraging to team spirit. Also, I thought of contributing to the fishy stuff, but decided not to rise to the bait.” Not my plaice to tell you otherwise (sorry sorry sorry sorry). A maiden for Stokes as Shai Hope gets in behind a few.
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55th over: West Indies 160-3 (Brathwaite 80, Hope 61) Tidy from Kraigg Brathwaite as he leans into a full ball from Moeen, covers the spin and square-bat-drives through extra cover for four.
Remember, you can get int touch on email with the clunky vithushan.ehantharajah.casual@theguardian.com or contribute pithier contributions over Twitter – @Vitu_E.
54th over: West Indies 156-3 (Brathwaite 76, Hope 61) Afternoon all. Vish here to take you through the rest of day two. Very tempting to open with a head-patting “aren’t they doing well?” Instead, I’ll let Samuel Honywill open for me (he’s well worth a follow on Twitter):
The 'we need a competitive WI team' crowd are absolutely going to tear into England if they lose this game. It'll be glorious.
— Samuel Honywill (@SDHoneymonster) August 26, 2017
Surprised that Ben Stokes is only bowling his eighth over, especially as he charges in and conks Shai Hope on the head with his second ball. Stokes asks after the batsman, who gives him a thumbs up. That’s nice. Stokes follows up with another short ball. Two from the over.
53rd over: West Indies 154-3 (Brathwaite 75, Shai Hope 60) On comes Moeen, as Joe Root sees what David Lloyd and Ian Botham saw 20 minutes ago. He has a slip, a short leg and a short mid-on, but Brathwaite, unruffled, plays out a maiden. And that’s drinks. It’s the end of another hour that belonged to West Indies, and also the end of my stint. Vish will be with you shortly, bringing his multimedia spark and Bairstow-like energy. So long, and thanks for all the fish.
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52nd over: West Indies 154-3 (Brathwaite 75, Shai Hope 60) Stokes’s turn to mix up his lengths, but Hope keeps him out easily enough. England need to make something happen.
51st over: West Indies 153-3 (Brathwaite 74, Shai Hope 60) Anderson tries bowling inswingers from round the wicket to the right-hander, which is not his usual ploy: according to Ian Ward on Sky, only six of his 495 Test wickets have come that way. Brathwaite, staying watchful, tucks a single to square leg. The game is in danger of going to sleep.
“Hello Tim.” Hello Matthew Doherty. “I think that England need Robert George Dylan Willis!”
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50th over: West Indies 152-3 (Brathwaite 73, Shai Hope 60) A maiden from Stokes and another good stop from Bairstow, whose energy is exemplary. I wish England would pick Jos Buttler too though, when they have all these vacancies.
In other news, Man City seem to have squeaked a win at Bournemouth with a late goal from Raheem Sterling, of all people – although he’s been sent off in the process.
49th over: West Indies 152-3 (Brathwaite 73, Shai Hope 60) Anderson rolls back the years to bowl a bouncer, which Brathwaite ducks and Bairstow does well to stop, flinging himself to his left. Then there’s one off the pads that no keeper could stop going for four leg byes. The crowd are making those indeterminate nosies that express a certain restlessness. You can smell the beer.
48th over: West Indies 147-3 (Brathwaite 73, Shai Hope 59) Stokes returns, bowling outswingers – two of which are so big and harmless that they are called wides. His bowling has been a bit middling this summer. I wonder, should he become a specialist batsman, at no.5, and just an occasional partnership-breaker?
47th over: West Indies 145-3 (Brathwaite 73, Shai Hope 59) Hope stabs Anderson into the covers for two, then drops his hands on one for two more, past gully. Anderson is still moving it both ways, but the edges have dried up. Tim Bresnan, of Yorkshire and England, has been telling the Sky commentators that England have bowled too short. My less informed opinion is that it’s a mistake to have Anderson and Woakes on together, as (with Woakes still not back to full throttle) they’re bowling at much the same pace, 79-80mph.
46th over: West Indies 141-3 (Brathwaite 73, Shai Hope 55) Woakes continues, and bowls one bad ball, a very wide one which Brathwaite slaps for four. “Time for Moeen Ali, I think,” says David Lloyd, and Ian Botham agrees. But I’m wondering if Joe Root is secretly wishing he still had Toby Roland-Jones to summon from fine leg.
45th over: West Indies 137-3 (Brathwaite 69, Shai Hope 55) Hope plays a neat on-block for four off Anderson, and that’s the hundred partnership off only 23.2 overs. Well played those men. Anderson now has 0-14 in this spell, which is like anyone else going for 40.
44th over: West Indies 133-3 (Brathwaite 69, Shai Hope 51) Woakes varies his lengths cannily – two bouncers, one yorker – but Brathwaite’s eye is well in now. He plays what seems to be a back-foot defensive shot, gives it a flick of the wrist, and gets four through cover. The batters get a lot of value for money square of the wicket at Headingley.
43rd over: West Indies 129-3 (Brathwaite 65, Shai Hope 51) Anderson continues, and he’s still asking all the right questions. He gets one to jag back and lift viciously at Hope, and finds the edge with another – saved by soft hands, yet again. In the crowd, some people start playing with a beach football.
42nd over: West Indies 128-3 (Brathwaite 64, Shai Hope 51) Woakes over-pitches and Hope says thanks very much with a crunching off drive to bring up a fine, busy fifty. He came in at 35-3 and turned a crisis into a chance to make his name.
And Mac Millings is back for more. “I think your readership has missed a couple. Please allow me to present my All-time Fish XI:
Salmon Robson
Murali AnchoVijay
Sachin TendulCarp
Mahi-mahila Jayawardene
Snapper Hussain
Shark Waugh
Sardine Jones
Codfrey Evans
Marlin Samuels
Tino Bass
Spratrick Patterson”
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41st over: West Indies 124-3 (Brathwaite 64, Shai Hope 47) Heeeeere’s Jimmy, and Hope drives his loosener for four, on the up – classy. He adds a guide, perhaps an edge, for four more. Why are Test captains so averse to having a third man?
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40th over: West Indies 115-3 (Brathwaite 64, Shai Hope 38) Root goes back to Woakes, who comes bouncing in with that lovely spring-heeled gait of his. But the sun is out now and Hope helps himself to a two and a three, with a cover push and a back-foot prod to backward point. “I know he’s not faced Jimmy yet,” says Brian Withington, “but might we be watching the early stages of the unlikely triumph of Hope over experience? Not sure where faith and charity come in just yet though.”
In the meantime, Joe Jacob has found a short history of Italian cricket over on the ICC website. “The game of cricket in Italy dates back to 1793 when Admiral Horatio Nelson organised the first-ever recorded game in Naples. Exactly 100 years later, Sir James Edward Spensley founded the Genoa Cricket & Football Club to be followed shortly afterwards by similar entities in Milan and Turin. The advent of Fascism, however, saw the disappearance of the game, which only resurfaced after World War II. The transformation from expatriate to integrated activity started in 1980 with the foundation of the Associazione Italiana Cricket. Recognised by the ICC in 1984 as the first Affiliate Member, the Associazione acquired Associate status in 1995 and, following government recognition, on 1st March 1997 became the Federazione Cricket Italiana.”
More fishing. “Can I just point out that today’s fishy theme is nothing new on the OBO?” You may, Edmund King. “We’ve been here before, specifically during day 1 of the third test against Pakistan, almost exactly 7 years ago. That particular deep dive through the first-class and minor counties players’ listings resulted in the selection of the John Ashdown Where’s My Fish Pie? XI (scroll down to over 13 in Pakistan’s first innings): https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/aug/18/england-pakistan-live-cricket
A moment of OBO (and indeed cricketing) infamy, surely?”
And a statgasm, as he would call it, from the master, Rob Smyth. “Since the start of last summer, Anderson has 58 wickets in 12 home Tests at an average of 13.72. Obviously there are concerns about him in Aus, but he’ll surely be around for India next summer.”
Some lunchtime correspondence. The tireless John Starbuck is coming right back at Mac Millings (38th over). “Thanks to Mac Millings for his concern and for the amount of time he must have devoted to his Fancy Dress XI.” Ooooh. “My concern about T-shirts was the design of just one of them, and I didn’t actually pay for any as they were gifts. Also, I don’t have any mental health issues at present, even if following cricket is a strong inducement.”
And Garry Sharp is responding to Dave Bradshaw (39th over). “I used to be a member of the MCC – the Milan Cricket Club. We used to play up near Lake Maggiore, just glorious. There were a few Italian players but many more bemused spectators.”
39th over: West Indies 109-3 (Brathwaite 63, Shai Hope 33) Moeen finds the outside edge of Hope’s bat with the last delivery, but again the hands are soft and the ball drops short of slip. And that’s lunch, with West Indies coming back strongly after a wobbly start. They’ve only lost one recognised batsman, Kyle Hope, and since then his brother has joined Kraigg Brathwaite in a proper Test-match partnership – keeping out the good ones, walloping the bad, and picking their reviews superbly. They’ve added 74 in 18 overs, which is great going in the circumstances. The target I set West Indies, of 300-6, was looking fanciful an hour ago, but it’s just about feasible if Brathwaite can get the hundred he deserves.
“Buongiorno Tim!” This is turning into quite the modern-language class. “Dave Bradshaw here in Tuscany at our agriturismo Mezzano in Chianti... Do you know if the Italiana play cricket?” Pocissimo, I’m told. “They have the weather and the charisma! I’d like to see an Italian lbw shout!!!” Me too.
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38th over: West Indies 108-3 (Brathwaite 62, Shai Hope 33) Stokes, who has been mostly swinging the ball in, gets one to go the other way. Brathwaite flashes at it, hard enough to evade Root’s waving hand at second slip and pick up his eighth four.
“Dearest Tim.” Steady on, Mac Millings. “I’m worried about the 20th over’s John Starbuck, what with his sadness about the current state of cricketer-themed fancy dress, and then wandering into rambling distress about t-shirts he himself paid for. Therefore, to cheer him up (or send him deeper into madness), here is my All-time Fancy Dress XI:
Ian Wardrobe
Rilee Trousseau
Ball Gownton
Ian ‘Disguise the Gorilla’ Botham
Joel Garment
Rodney Toggs
Dandy Caddick
Tino “Sunday” Best
Regaliam Dawson
Costumesh Yadav
Raiment Illingworth”
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37th over: West Indies 103-3 (Brathwaite 57, Shai Hope 33) Moeen, so improved this summer under Saqlain’s tutelage, still bowls the odd amateurish delivery. This one is a full toss outside off, which Hope gratefully cover-drives for four, to bring up the Windies’ hundred.
36th over: West Indies 99-3 (Brathwaite 57, Shai Hope 29) No alarms this time against Stokes, and Hope picks up a cheap three with a tuck to leg. The lights are on. Summertime in Yorkshire.
“In response to Mr Benton (29th over),” says Ben Parker, “I have just trawlered my way through the 600-odd English test players and found four more:
Laurie Fishlock
Winston Place
Doug Insole
Steven Finn”
35th over: West Indies 94-3 (Brathwaite 56, Shai Hope 25) Brathwaite, facing Moeen, again mixes watchful defence with the odd big hit – this time, a smack over mid-on that goes like a drop-kick. He can begin to dream of an excellent hundred.
An email comes in from another Wisden luminary, Dileep Premachandran. “When I was a teenager, it was English/Australian/Indian supporters who savoured the rare good session against mighty West Indies. Now, we look desperately to a four-wicket haul or a gutsy 40 as signs of a Caribbean revival that may never come.
We’ve seen some sporting dynasties crumble in the last three decades - Liverpool, the Chicago Bulls and the San Francisco 49ers, to name just three - but no decline has been quite as heartbreaking as that of West Indies cricket.”
34th over: West Indies 90-3 (Brathwaite 52, Shai Hope 25) Stokes has two appeals against Hope, but England don’t quite review. The partnership is now 55 – shrewd and plucky stuff. “Brathwaite and Hope have played really well,” says Mike Atherton, who knows a bit about being the boy on the burning deck.
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33rd over: West Indies 90-3 (Brathwaite 52, Shai Hope 25) So Root took Broad off, rightly, and brought on Moeen Ali, who almost gets a wicket, but goes for a few. Well played Mr Brathwaite – and well reviewed.
On Twitter, my colleague Stephen Moss is back for more. “Will be funny if Windies win Test after Aggers & Co banging on about their ‘demise’. They are useless, but the England VIII no great shakes.” Love those Roman numerals, though only some of this VIII would be any use in a boat.
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Six!
Brathwaite celebrates his reprieve with a glorious six, dancing down the track to Moeen, and that’s his fifty off 89 balls – a fine knock in a tough situation.
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Not out!
It was hitting, but the impact was outside the line, so Brathwaite survives again, and that’s two excellent reviews from him.
Review! Brathwaite lbw Moeen?
Given out, and it looks it.
32nd over: West Indies 80-3 (Brathwaite 43, Shai Hope 24) Root turns not to Anderson, yet, but to Stokes, who is fresh from making a curious hundred – two parts savage authority, one part sheer hamminess. His bowling is more straightforward.
“Hola otra vez Tim.” You’re spoiling us now, Geoff Wignall. “Returning to the Ashes as this test drifts aimlessly towards a final-over cliffhanger, agreed Hales is more of a 5 or 6; but so are Bairstow and Stokes, so why not try Hales at 3 as Root clearly wants to and should be kept at 4? He’d only need to survive 90 minutes to do some serious damage to the bowlers’ morale and enhance the gaiety of nations. We keep hearing about test cricket’s need to entertain in order to retain its audience. At worst he’d be out cheaply but that keeps happening anyway. At best he’s a match-winner. There’d still be plenty of batting below him.” True.
31st over: West Indies 79-3 (Brathwaite 42, Shai Hope 24) Broad continues, and so do the runs. Hope, playing nice and late, waits for the inswing and then helps the ball to the very-fine-leg boundary. Root may want to think about having a long stop. Or bringing back Anderson.
30th over: West Indies 74-3 (Brathwaite 41, Shai Hope 20) A rare bad ball from Woakes, which Hope smacks to the point boundary. He’s been positive – 20 off 29 balls – in sharp contrast to Bishoo, first thing. And now the batsmen are even rotating the strike.
29th over: West Indies 68-3 (Brathwaite 40, Shai Hope 15) Broad strays down the leg side and concedes four byes.
Fishy OBO today, says Andrew Benton. “After the flounder-ers, and Peter Salmon’s email, I discovered one Laudrup Withington (cf. Brian, 19th over) of Harvard University was the initiator of a goldfish swallowing craze in the late 1930s - 1939: The year of goldfish gulping. And long may it stay there. C.B. Fry and Arthur Dolphin seem to be the only England test cricketers with fishy names.” Does this count as clickbait?
28th over: West Indies 62-3 (Brathwaite 39, Shai Hope 14) Hope plays a big air-drive at Woakes, then edges for four, then plays and misses again. Woakes is already back to the form of last summer, finding lavish swing and maintaining an exacting line. It was tough on Toby Roland-Jones, who might have three-for here, but the decision to give Woakes some Test overs does make sense. And West Indies have saved the follow-on, which is progress.
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27th over: West Indies 58-3 (Brathwaite 39, Shai Hope 10) So Brathwaite survives, and he then cashes in by cutting a low-flying long hop for four. He’s done well at picking off the bad ball, usually from Broad.
Not out!
There was indeed an inside edge. Bad news for Broad, good news for the contest.
Review! Brathwaite lbw Broad?
Given out. It’s plumb, but is there an inside edge?
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26th over: West Indies 54-3 (Brathwaite 35, Shai Hope 10) Another edge from Hope, another four, because he made sure his hands were soft. Woakes responds with a beauty and a big appeal for caught behind, not given – rightly, as the bat clipped the pad. It was a huge outswinger, too good to take a wicket. And that’s drinks, with a spot of rain in the air. This has been Anderson’s morning – Anderson’s summer, in fact.
Up pops another familiar name, Phil Sawyer. “Morning Tim. John Starbuck [20th over] isn’t trying hard enough. Large moustaches for David Boon and Merv Hughes, a blond wig for Shane Warne, a large false square jaw and a squint for Steve Waugh... ah, I’ve just realised that to pull off the cricketers’ fancy dress you’d have to go as the Aussies. As you were.”
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25th over: West Indies 50-3 (Brathwaite 35, Shai Hope 6) Root TAKES ANDERSON OFF, which is actually a good sign, showing that he’s not in awe of his elders. Broad returns, and Brathwaite celebrates with a cut for four and a glance for four more. That’s the fifty up.
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24th over: West Indies 42-3 (Brathwaite 26, Shai Hope 6) Hope, learning from Brathwaite, pushes at Woakes with soft hands and gets four.
“Bon dia Tim.” Bon dia Geoff Wignall. “Surely the Ashes conundrum is actually quite straightforward: bring in Hameed and Hales at 2 and 3 along with an extra bowler (Crane?). 6, 7, 8, and 9 from this match all move up a place - into their rightful positions. It’s never difficult to be a hammock-chair selector.” Ha. Yes, Hameed is looking very much the best bet for no.2. But Hales is more of a 5 or 6 than a 3, isn’t he?
23rd over: West Indies 36-3 (Brathwaite 26, Shai Hope 1) Before play began, Sky had a seam-bowling masterclass from Darren Gough. Now they are showing one from Anderson, who continues to make the ball talk. His figures are magisterial: 12-6-10-3. Shai Hope does well to manage a single to fine leg.
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22nd over: West Indies 35-3 (Brathwaite 26, Shai Hope 0) Woakes bowls a maiden at Brathwaite, who is now playing the role of the boy stood on the burning deck. Sky flash up the all-time Test wicket-taking list, showing that only two fast bowlers have more than Anderson: Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh. Formidable company.
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21st over: West Indies 35-3 (Brathwaite 26, Shai Hope 0) After dispatching one Hope, Anderson greets the other with an inswinging yorker, as if he suddenly feels like being Waqar Younis. Hope does well to stab the bat down on it. Anderson has 2-4 this morning, and 495 Test wickets in all.
OBO tradition states that wherever Starbuck goes, Copestake will go too. “I still expect England to grab a hefty lead. Will enjoy watching Blackwood though, as he looked untroubled until Broad got under his skin in the fateful debacle under lights.”
Wicket! Kyle Hope c Root b Anderson 3 (West Indies 35-3)
Anderson finds the edge, as he was bound to do, and Root takes a sizzling catch, low to his left at second slip. The collapse is on, alas: Anderson must fancy reaching 500 today.
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20th over: West Indies 32-2 (Brathwaite 25, Kyle Hope 1) Joe Root risks the wrath of Broad by replacing him with Chris Woakes, who immediately serves up some immaculate outswing and beats Hope twice.
The OBO wouldn’t be the OBO without an early email from John Starbuck, who picks up on the Liverpool fancy-dress team (16th over). “It’s an odd thing, but you couldn’t have a whole team of cricketers past as a fancy-dress crowd, because the kit has hardly changed. Apart from anonymous umpires, you could have a few in civvies - Boycott in his hat and jacket, Benaud the same plus wig - but that’s about it, unless anyone can come up with others?
“Also, I’ve yet to see a crowd in cricket-themed T-shirts; apart from my OBO version (‘Is it cowardly ...’) and a black job showing the Trent Bridge 2015 Aussie collapse, I’ve got one showing all the fielding positions, but on a dark green background. Why not a grass-green colour?”
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19th over: West Indies 32-2 (Brathwaite 25, Kyle Hope 1) Somehow these two keep out Anderson, who gets one ball to go like a leg-break. Wicket no. 495 may be with us any minute now.
“Morning Tim.” Morning Brian Withington. “It’s looking like an imminent apocalypse over Headingley - brilliant sunshine and a menacing filthy dark sky. Set up for Jimmy’s 500th or something out of a gothic novel? Start cranking up the Wagner on the gramophone.”
18th over: West Indies 31-2 (Brathwaite 25, Kyle Hope 1) Brathwaite edges Broad again, but his hands are soft enough to keep the ball down.
And an email arrives from Pete Salmon. “I was supposed to spend today working in the garden, but fortunately I’ve fractured my sternum and been sent to bed for a week. I intend spending a lot of that time speculating about the English team for the Ashes. Here’s my funky opener – given the score is always 2/30, why not pick Hales to open and Roy at 3, and have them swinging from the backside from ball one, so things either end up at 2/30 in six overs, or 2/212 at lunch, with Cook 28 not out? Just a thought.” I like it, but something tells me it’s not going to happen.
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17th over: West Indies 31-2 (Brathwaite 25, Kyle Hope 1) So there it is, wicket no. 494. Bishoo did his job as nightwatchman but was strangely inert this morning, ending up with 1 off 33 balls.
Wicket! Bishoo c Bairstow b Anderson 1 (West Indies 31-2)
Anderson’s worst ball of the morning – short, wide, but fatally tempting, as Bishoo plays a wafty cut.
16th over: West Indies 31-1 (Brathwaite 25, Bishoo 1) Brathwaite tickles Broad for four to fine leg and glides him for four more through the slips, quite safely. In the crowd, the early running is made by a gang who’ve come as the entire Liverpool team from their heyday, complete with Kevin Keegan afros, Terry McDermott moustaches and an uncanny facsimile of Bruce Grobbelaar.
15th over: West Indies 23-1 (Brathwaite 17, Bishoo 1) Anderson’s first over was too short, Nasser Hussain reckoned. This one is fuller, and he gets more swing. Another maiden: his 494th wicket is surely just round the corner.
14th over: West Indies 23-1 (Brathwaite 17, Bishoo 1) Stuart Broad targets the stumps and elicits an edge from Kraigg Brathwaite, which squirts away for four. This innings feels like it could so easily crumble, but it hasn’t done so yet.
“Morning Tim.” Morning Robin Hazlehurst. “A great analogy for this test match just unfolded in a test match on the other side of the world. Last week the All Blacks battered the Wallabies in one of the most one-sided rugby matches you’ll see, and all the predictions for today’s rematch between them were of an even more uneven contest. But in fact it was a cracker that went down to the last minute and could have gone either way.
“If this match follows suit then we’ll see last week’s embarrassingly uneven contest followed by a game decided in the last over of day five, and the side written off by everyone with questions asked about their continued existence emerge with a lot of pride and with heads held high.”
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13th over: West Indies 19-1 (Brathwaite 13, Bishoo 1) Jimmy Anderson opens up to Devendra Bishoo, the nightwatchman, who lives up to his job title by blinking at the sunshine. This being the north of England in summer, there are plenty of dark clouds too. Anderson’s line is testing and has Bishoo flirting outside off stump. That’s a maiden.
On Twitter, Andrew Benton has an answer to my question about all the top-order vacancies. “Only three extra @MoeenAli can fill the spaces left by the @englandcricket flounder-ers. We need sharks & rays, not flat-fish!”
A good question from Stephen Moss, who is one of the Guardian’s classiest writers and also the editor of a big fat Wisden Anthology. I did a tweet just now, trumpeting the fact that the Windies had remembered how to bowl. “But do they have anyone who can bat?” retorted Moss. “With Gayle, Pollard, Samuels, Chanderpaul, Bravo they’d be pretty competitive against the England VIII.” Two excellent points there: West Indies are fielding a virtual Second XI. And England are somehow winning Tests with an eight-man team.
The three fringe batsmen, Stoneman, Westley and Malan, all floundered again yesterday. England’s runs, such as they were, were all made by Joe Root and Ben Stokes, who are, bizarrely, both the leaders of this team and its youngest members. As things stand, the three passengers can hardly go to the Ashes. But who should take their places?
PREAMBLE
Morning. We have a Test that’s not a mismatch! West Indies only need another 40 to avoid the follow-on! They may even win!
England 258 all out (after choosing to bat first), West Indies 19-1: this, kids, is what life was like in 1984. Except that in those days, the Windies held their catches. If they had done that yesterday, they would have been in the lead by now.
Even with all those farcical fumbles, they attained some self-respect – nearly all of it thanks to their opening bowlers, Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel, who took 8-122 between them, and performed as if personally insulted by events at Edgbaston.
Today, the Windies batsmen just have to hang in there, refrain from collapsing, and wait for Headingley to make one of its abrupt switches to a flat wicket, bursting with boundaries. They need to reach the close on something like 300-6, and go to bed tonight dreaming of a series victory that would be the biggest upset since Usain Bolt came third.
The task for England’s bowlers is to bail out their batsmen. If they can skittle West Indies for under 170, on a Saturday, for the third time in two weeks, that total of 258 will begin to look perfectly adequate. But in the interests of the game, it would be better if that didn’t happen. One more good day for the Windies, and it’s series on.
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