England captain Root reprieved on 23 and 34, by non-review and dropped catch respectively, as he steers England to 244-3 on day one of second Test in Barbados; Alex Lees digs in before Dan Lawrence accelerates scoring on the day Saqib Mahmood and Matthew Fisher are handed Test debuts
Last Updated: 16/03/22 9:22pm
Captain Joe Root made the most of two reprieves to score his 25th Test century and second in as many games as England ended day one of the second Test against West Indies on 244-3.
Root followed his 109 in the drawn series opener in Antigua with 119 not out in Barbados, putting on a brisk 164 from 271 deliveries with the fluent Dan Lawrence (91 off 150) – who was out to the final ball of the day – after a gritty stand of 76 from 251 balls with opener Alex Lees (30 off 138).
Skipper Root enjoyed slices of fortune on 23 and 34, firstly when West Indies failed to go for the review after he inside-edged Jason Holder behind and then when wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva spilled a chance diving down the leg-side, off the bowling of Kemar Roach.
Since Joe Root debuted in Test cricket, 46 players have managed to score 1000+ runs against spin.
Of those players, only four (Kane Williamson, Younis Khan, Kumar Sangakkara, and Cheteshwar Pujara) average more than him against spin.#WIvENG
But Root played superbly after that, notably when sweeping spinner Veerasammy Permaul, as he clinched his eighth Test ton since the start of 2021 from 199 balls in the evening session.
Lancashire quick Saqib Mahmood and Yorkshire paceman Matt Fisher were earlier handed their Test debuts in the absence of Mark Wood (right elbow) and Craig Overton (illness) – Fisher’s bow confirmed shortly before play with Overton having fallen unwell overnight in Bridgetown.
More to follow.