Instead of James Anderson, they ended up with Gus Atkinson. The first Test of the summer season at Lord’s was supposed to be a goodbye for England’s best seam bowler ever, but instead the West Indies batsmen turned the tables on a debutant, falling from 88 for 3 to 121 all out, with Atkinson taking an impressive 7 for 45.
On the first morning, Atkinson claimed two wickets in his opening 14 deliveries, but it was his second stint that completely unravelled the West Indies. He destroyed the middle order of the West Indies by taking three wickets in four balls in his ninth over. In his eleventh over, he claimed two wickets in three balls. With the exception of Dominic Cork, his stats were the best of any England bowler making their Test debut.
Playing in his 188th and final Test match, James Anderson bowled nine overs without picking up a wicket before lunch.
He was then sent back to grab the last wicket of the innings, trapping Jayden Seales leg before wicket to a raucous cheer from the Lord’s crowd. Midway through an incredible first day of Test cricket, Atkinson, the fast bowler from Surrey, led England off the pitch.
View this post on Instagram
He was the fastest bowler for England on display on a slow wicket, reaching speeds of over 90 mph (145 kph) on multiple occasions and averaging about 86 mph (138 kph). He moved the ball both ways off the surface by making little modifications to his grip, but he usually employed a scrambled seam.
The main reason for England’s overnight lead was Zak Crawley’s rapid 76. During his innings, he rode his luck at times but was rewarded for his attacking attitude, scoring a lot of runs either side of point and forcing the West Indies to drop a ball at midwicket and square leg. With a yorker that inswinged back, Seales knocked his leg stump back, preventing him from reaching his fifth Test hundred.
The first breakthrough for the West Indies came from Seales, who swung one past Ben Duckett, who narrowly missed Joshua Da Silva. Following a terrible light interruption, Crawley and Pope combined to score at a rate of over five runs per over. Although Joe Root and Harry Brook did not lose, both men were eliminated before the finish line.
Following his debut for Surrey in the white-ball competition last year, Atkinson was one of two players, along with Jamie Smith, to be presented with their England Test caps on opening morning. With the second delivery of his opening spell, Atkinson got the breakthrough when Kraigg Brathwaite tried a leaden-footed slap through the off side and ended up chopping onto his own stumps.
During his third over, he struck once more, angling a full ball across left-hander Kirk McKenzie, whose thick outside edge flew quickly to second slip Zak Crawley. He was 2 for 2 with four maidens and one scoring shot following his opening five-over stint.
The Dominican bats, Alick Athanaze and Kavem Hodge, put up 44 runs together during the midday break. Nevertheless, a dramatic collapse began when Athanaze drove a low catch to Root at first slip. Jason Holder, playing in his first Test match in a year, was squared up first-ball and caught in the slips, and Da Silva’s inside edge resulted in Smith’s first Test dismissal.
Standing at the non-striker’s end, Hodge saw three wickets fall in four balls and decided it was his responsibility to lead the West Indies to a respectable score. He took a cut when Chris Woakes offered him some width. As the ball soared straight off of his bat, Ollie Pope made a breathtaking diving catch in tight at point. Hodge flung back his head, stunned.
Alzarri Joseph momentarily damaged Atkinson’s stature with four boundaries in five balls: two deft wristspins through square leg, a perfect straight drive, and an exquisite lofted extra-cover drive that had Vivian Richards, another Antiguan, standing to applause from the hospitality boxes.
But two balls later, Shamar Joseph was hilariously caught by Pope point, losing his footing while trying to pull him through the leg side. He then chipped one up in the air to mid-on, giving Atkinson a sixth. Seales was hit squarely in the face by Anderson’s inswinger to end the inning.
While he occasionally beat the bat, Anderson’s bowling was a little too short, especially in his first spell. His daughters, Ruby and Lola, rang the five-minute bell on the pavilion balcony, and he was greeted with cheers from the Lord’s throng as he led England out for the national anthem.
Ben Stokes was able to bowl eight overs under cloud cover, having declared himself fully fit after missing the T20 World Cup to continue his recovery from a knee injury. Mikyle Louis, who had made a promising debut, was removed by him because of a superb diving grab made by Brook at second slip.
Richards gave Louis his cap, making him the first St. Kitts native to play Test cricket for the West Indies. Despite it being only his eighth first-class appearance, Louis played with a confidence that surprised everyone. With two successive boundaries in Anderson’s opening over (costing nine runs), he became the highest-scoring player in the West Indies with 27.
When the players were removed by the umpires during the evening session due to poor light, Crawley and Pope had already overtaken him. Holder believed he had them both bowled out, but the DRS spared them both: Pope was declared out, but the inswinger was predicted to miss leg, and Holder persuaded Brathwaite to reconsider a Crawley not-out ruling that was upheld.
Soon after England had edged ahead, he did eventually catch an over-balancing Pope in front for 57, ending a second-wicket partnership worth 94 runs. Pope’s fifty-plus score in a Test match was just his second this English summer against a red ball, and it was his first since he scored 196 against India in Hyderabad.
Also Read: ‘Picking non-first-choice county players’ England’s selection style disappoints Michael Vaughan
Playing in his first-class encounter since leading the West Indies to their historic victory at the Gabba, Shamar Joseph bowled nine overs without conceding a wicket but was troubled by cramps. Alzarri, who bears his name and has also played T20 for the past six months, lacked rhythm and consistency as he conceded 6.6 runs per over and bowled three no-balls.
India
