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Dowrich keeps WI on top despite Stokes’ four wickets

  • July 11, 2020

SOUTHAMPTON: Shane Dowrich steered the West Indies into a first-innings lead of over a hundred runs against England on the third day of the first Test on Friday.

Dowrich made 61 after opener Kraigg Brathwaite had top-scored with 65 in a total of 318 all out. Stand-in captain Ben Stokes led England’s attack with 4-49 to follow his top score of 43 in the hosts’ 204.

But that still left West Indies 114 runs ahead in a match that marks international cricket’s return from lockdown.

Stokes’ haul included the wicket of West Indies captain Jason Holder for just five, with the England talisman having fallen to his rival all-rounder during the towering paceman’s Test-best 6-42 on Thursday.

And when Stokes bowled tailender Alzarri Joseph, he had his 150th Test wicket.

But Dowrich, who made 116 and shared a huge stand of 295 with Holder when his fellow Bajan made an unbeaten 202 during the West Indies’ 381-run win over England at their Kensington Oval home ground last year, completed a fine fifty.

The wicketkeeper held firm for 115 balls until he was caught down the legside by opposing gloveman Jos Buttler off Stokes.

England dropped veteran paceman Stuart Broad to play express quicks Jofra Archer and Mark Wood together for the first time in a Test. But Archer and Wood struggled to make an impression on a placid pitch.

They took just one wicket between them in a combined 44 overs — and that was only when Wood bowled last man Shannon Gabriel to end the innings.

West Indies resumed behind closed doors on 57-1, with the first sunny blue skies of the match providing ideal conditions for batting.

Barbados-born Archer nearly had Shai Hope lbw for 16 but a West Indies review revealed a no-ball.

Hope, however, was still on 16 when he edged off-spinner Dom Bess to first slip where Stokes, captaining England in the absence of Joe Root, held a sharp catch.

It was an encouraging moment for Stokes, who could have been forgiven for second-guessing himself after deciding to bat first on winning the toss.

But, as he has so often done before, Stokes made a vital breakthrough when he trapped Brathwaite in front of the stumps.

Shamarh Brooks made a promising 39 before he was caught behind off James Anderson, with England’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker returning innings figures of 3-62.

Jermaine Blackwood gave his wicket away by driving Bess (2-51) straight to Anderson at mid-off.

Dowrich, however, drove Bess for two fours in three balls before, on 25, he hammered a drive the Somerset bowler could only parry.

Roston Chase drove the first delivery with the new ball, from Wood, for four before he was lbw to Anderson for a painstaking 47 off 142 balls.

Following his bowling heroics on Thursday, Holder said he wanted to score a Test hundred in England as well.

But he fell in single figures when, undone by a surprise bouncer, he hooked Stokes straight to Archer at long leg.

Score Board

England won toss

England 1st innings (all out, 67.3 overs) …. 204

West Indies 1st innings

KC Braithwaite lbw b Stokes 65

JD Campbell lbw b Anderson 28

SD Hope c Stokes b Bess 16

SSJ Brooks c Buttler b Anderson 39

RL Chase lbw b Anderson 47

J Blackwood c Anderson b Bess 12

SO Dowrich c Buttler b Stokes 61

JO Holder c Archer b Stokes 5

AS Joseph b Stokes 18

KAJ Roach not out 1

ST Gabriel b Wood 4

Extras (lb 21, nb 1) 22

Total (all out, 102 overs) 318

Fall: 1-43, 2-102, 3-140, 4-173, 5-186, 6-267, 7-281, 8-306, 9-313, 10-318.

Bowling: Anderson 25-11-62-3; Archer 22-3-62-0; Wood 22-2-74-1; Stokes 14-5-49-4; Bess 19-5-51-2.

England 2nd innings

RJ Burns not out 10

DP Sibley not out 5

Total (10 overs) 15

Bowling: KAJ Roach 5-3-6-0; ST Gabriel 3-1-5-0; JO Holder 2-1-4-0.

Umpires: Richard Kettleborough and Richard Illingworth. TV Umpire: Michael Gough




Article source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/685193-dowrich-keeps-wi-on-top-despite-stokes-four-wickets

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