Ben Stokes hits brutal hundred and Matthew Fisher strikes early as England stay in command vs West Indies
Ben Stokes blistering in Barbados, hitting 114-ball hundred, including six sixes, as England declare on 507-9; Yorkshire seamer Matthew Fisher then strikes with second ball on debut before West Indies lose on 71-1 to trail by 436 after day two of second Test at Kensington Oval
Friday 18 March 2022 06:17, UK
Ben Stokes powered a pulsating 120 from 128 balls before Matthew Fisher picked up a wicket with his second ball on debut as England retained control of the second Test against West Indies on day two in Barbados.
Stokes' brutal hitting - which saw him to a first Test century since July 2020 and past 5,000 Test runs - overshadowed skipper Root, who made 153 from 316 deliveries in England's 507-9 declared having begun the day on 119.
Stokes thumped 89 of the 125 runs England scored in the opening session and 91 of the 129 he put on with Root in total - at one point crunching 64 from just 34 deliveries thanks to four sixes and eight fours as he took down West Indies seamer Alzarri Joseph and spinner Veerasammy Permaul.
The all-rounder, who smote six sixes and 11 fours all told in his 11th Test century, holed out in the second session and Root declared in the third before Yorkshire seamer Fisher had John Campbell (4) caught behind in the second over of West Indies' reply after being given the new ball.
West Indies subsequently closed on 71-1 to trail by 436 on a pitch starting to offer turn for the spinners - Shamarh Brooks is 31 not out while captain Kraigg Brathwaite is unbeaten on 28 having successfully overturned an lbw dismissal off Jack Leach when he was on 14.
Fisher thought he had Brooks caught by Zak Crawley at slip for 17 in his fifth over, only for the third umpire to stick with the soft signal of not out with the England fielder's fingers seemingly touching the turf.
Scorching Stokes joins exclusive club
It was a day of milestones at Kensington Oval with Stokes and Kemar Roach achieving notable feats.
Stokes became the fifth man - after Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Jacques Kallis - to the double of 5,000 runs and 150 wickets in Test, while Roach moved above Sobers' tally of 235 Test scalps, and up to seventh on West Indies' all-time list, when he pinned Root lbw on review.
Stokes - who also moved up to sixth on the list of all-time six hitters in Test cricket with his tally now standing at 89 - will be happier than Roach with the match situation at the moment, with England having piled on a formidable first-innings total in Bridgetown.
A West Indies side fatigued by 150.5 overs in the field must now respond in kind but have started solidly enough, with Brathwaite and Brooks' second-wicket stand up to an unbroken 57 from 156 deliveries.
England had built an excellent platform on day one with Root's 25th Test century, an obdurate 30 from 138 balls for opener Alex Lees and Dan Lawrence's luminous 91 steering the tourists to 244-3.
Lawrence had fallen to the final ball of the day and so Stokes, coming in cold, took his time getting in on the second morning - he moved off nought 10th ball and was on six from 24 deliveries and 23 from 55.
Stokes accelerates after sedate start
The 30-year-old's onslaught began in earnest with a reverse-swept four and then a six over the leg-side off Permaul and he just kept on going, to the delight of the England supporters, as he brought back memories of his blistering 258 from 198 balls against South Africa in Cape Town in 2016.
By the time Stokes ended a 20-run Joseph over with the six off one leg that took him past 5,000 Test runs, he had nailed six boundaries in his previous nine deliveries and rocketed to 87 from 89 balls.
Stokes' ton - emotional for him, being that it was his first for England since the death of his father Ged in December 2020 - came around 45 minutes after lunch with the left-hander having reined himself in upon the restart, perhaps due to the dismissal of Root in the second session.
Stokes' eyes lit up again when Brathwaite brought his slow off-spin into the fray, but after smoking the bowler for successive sixes, Stokes spooned to long-off - England 424-6 at that stage, with Jonny Bairstow (20) having departed an over earlier.
Woakes (41) and Ben Foakes (33) then added 75 from 115 balls in partnership to take England to the brink of 500, a landmark they passed when Woakes swiped Roach for four shortly after Foakes' dismissal.
Woakes, Foakes and Jack Leach (4) all departed in a frantic passage of play after tea, with Leach's exit triggering England's declaration.
Fisher then managed an early breakthrough on his Test bow but fellow debutant Saqib Mahmood could not follow suit, although his four overs have gone for only three runs, with two maidens among them.
Stokes: We tried to put pressure back on
England all-rounder Ben Stokes, speaking on BT Sport: "Credit had to go to Joe [Root] and Dan [Lawrence] yesterday, they set the innings up and allowed us in the middle order to free our arms.
"We tried to put pressure back on the West Indies bowlers and it worked out well. Winning the toss, batting first and putting 500 on the board is always a positive.
"The wicket is pretty good but it has changed a lot over the last session and a half. Our seamers felt like they were in the game."
West Indies and England will resume the second Test at 2pm UK time on Friday. Follow over-by-over text commentary from 1.45pm on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
