The start was good but the end was just amazing! On the first day of England’s second Test against the West Indies, Ollie Pope’s undefeated century helped them reach 259 for 4. Ollie Pope tried his luck at many crucial times to build on Ben Duckett’s scorching start. Pope blasted the boundary on his way to 71 from 59 balls in the morning session. After Zak Crawley went to Alzarri Joseph’s third ball of the match, Alick Athanaze and Ollie Pope scored a huge partnership. That pair shared a 105-run stand for the second wicket.
Ollie Pope went on to score 115* not out at the break. And Ben Stokes was 15 at that stage. West Indies missed too many opportunities on the field and with the ball. Firstly, the bowlers did not catch Ollie Pope on 46 in the final over. Athanaze failed to hold on to the long shot. They offered him another chance on 54 when he sliced Shamar Joseph to second slip, Jason Holder being the offender this time.
Ollie Pope’s Amazing Century
In that thrilling clash, Harry Brook punished Alzarri Joseph’s erratic line and length with three consecutive fours. And Ollie Pope smashed back-to-back boundaries off Seales to reach the seventies. When Brook was 24, Joseph saw another challenging opportunity pass him by at Gully. He had reached 142 for 3. Whereas, Joe Root fell shortly after lunch to a fluffed pull that went straight to Joseph at mid-on. It left Seales in awe as the fielder juggled the ball twice before catching it for good. Brook advanced to 30 with an easy six over deep point off Joseph.
And by then, he and Ollie Pope had added 10 fours to their total within the first hour of the session. Brook gave his wicket when he was at 36. He attempted to paddle-sweep Kevin Sinclair. But only managed to throw a toe-end high to midwicket, where Kirk McKenzie caught the catch. Ollie Pope completed his century with four off Seales over square leg. And it made the situation more difficult for West Indies. Both teams made one change, with the West Indies replacing Gudakesh Motie with Sinclair. Sachin awoke on match day feeling sick. On the other hand, England replaced retiring James Anderson with Mark Wood.
England’s Fastest 50 in Tests
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Despite the impending delivery of his first child, Duckett remained supremely concentrated on his game. In the second over, he hit the boundary four times in a row against Seales. It included two magnificent extra cover drives, a cut in front of the point. As well as a clip to midwicket. He added two more in Seales‘ next over, and another. This time off Alzarri Joseph, brought England to 50 in just 26 balls, the fastest by any side in Tests. Holder gave just one run when he came on in the sixth over. From that time England had reached 56 for one. But he was quickly dispatched over extra cover by Duckett, who then drove down the ground for two fours.
Duckett reached fifty off just 32 balls. It led the path for Holder for four through deep third. After the first drinks break, Joseph regained control of the West Indies. Yet, Duckett threatened to break free when he sprinted forward to swipe a full delivery from Sinclair for four. When England hit a total of 100, then penalized a wide one from Joseph through the covers. Joseph was praised when he pulled an outside edge from Duckett, which Holder held onto at second slip.
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