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 (30 off 138) digs in before Dan Lawrence (91) dazzles on day Saqib Mahmood and Matthew Fisher are handed Test debuts
Thursday 17 March 2022 08:58, UK
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) - who fell to Jason Holder in the final over of the day - after earlier adding a patient 76 from 251 balls with opener Alex Lees (30 off 138).
England skipper Root enjoyed slices of fortune on 23 and 34, firstly when West Indies failed to go for the review after he inside-edged Holder behind and then when wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva spilled a chance diving down the leg-side, off the bowling of Kemar Roach.
But Root played superbly after that, notably when sweeping spinner Veerasammy Permaul and driving the pace bowlers, as he clinched his eighth ton in 19 Tests since the start of 2021 from 199 balls.
The free-scoring Lawrence - dropped on 72 by Alzarri Joseph at slip - dazzled at No 4, moving nine runs away from a maiden Test century with successive boundaries off Holder, only to then chip the same bowler's next ball to cover from what proved the last delivery of the day.
Lees played his part with a gritty, go-slow knock in just his second Test, rebuilding patiently with Root after the early exit of Zak Crawley for a seven-ball duck as England went along at below two runs an over in Bridgetown - the first 45 overs yielding only 80 runs.
But the tempo changed once Lawrence came to the crease, with the Essex batter racing to the fastest of his four Test fifties to date, from just 62 balls, as West Indies' bowlers tired on another largely unresponsive pitch.
The Kensington Oval deck has a shade more pace and bounce than the lifeless surface in the first Test at North Sound but taking wickets again looks like it will be a challenge for bowlers, meaning the let-offs Root was awarded could prove costly for the home side.
Lancashire quick Saqib Mahmood and Yorkshire paceman Matt Fisher are part of England's attack having been handed Test debuts in the absence of Mark Wood (right elbow) and Craig Overton (illness) - Fisher's inclusion confirmed shortly before play with Overton having fallen unwell overnight.
Mahmood and Fisher, given their caps by vice-captain Ben Stokes and skipper Root respectively, are the first seamers to make their England debuts in the same Test since Tim Bresnan and Graham Onions appeared against West Indies at Lord's in 2009.
The England new boys began the game in the pavilion after Root elected to bat first and they were soon joined by Crawley, who fell in the fourth over.
The Kent man was unable to back-up his second-innings 121 in Antigua, caught in two minds about whether to play or leave and snicking Jayden Seales through to Da Silva to leave England 4-1.
Lees, though, rebounded from two single-figure scores on debut last time out, dropping anchor, taking the shine off the ball and looking composed as he batted with a more open stance.
Lees poked his bat at one delivery from Roach outside off stump but had few other scares - save for being hit on the head by a Seales bouncer that stayed lower than he expected - with West Indies largely ignoring targeting his stumps, surprising considering he had twice fallen lbw to Roach in the first Test at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
The Durham man's innings, which contained just the three boundaries, ended midway through the second session when he was pinned lbw playing back to Permaul - Lees finishing his knock with a strike rate of 21.74.
Lees batted with stubbornness but Lawrence was swashbuckling when he came in, striking successive four off Holder before smoking a six off Permaul as his fifty partnership with Root took only 69 balls to complete. It had taken Root and Lees 197 deliveries to nail their half-century stand.
Lawrence and Root propelled their partnership into three figures from just 134 balls, with England rattling along at close to six an over for a 10-over stretch at the start of the final session.
England batting coach, Marcus Trescothick, speaking to BT Sport: "We had a great platform with the combination of Root and Lawrence to put the West Indies bowlers under pressure.
"[It was] a great day, a really positive one for us - although I'm really disappointed for Dan to get out given how positively he played. Overall we're very happy where we are.
"Joe has the discipline and sets the example to everyone in English cricket with his hunger and desire."
West Indies and England will resume the second Test at 2pm UK time on Thursday. Follow over-by-over text commentary from 1.45pm on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
