Deadline: July 8, 2020, at 3:30 PM IST
Venue: The Rose Bowl, Southampton
Pitch report
In the previous Test at The Rose Bowl, Cheteshwar Pujara carried his bat on 132*. There was, as is the case in England, enough movement for the bowlers. Pujara, against all odds, proved the fact right that if you know where the off-stump is and choose your shots wisely, runs will come gradually.
To put things into perspective, the conditions will test batsmen’s resilience, and it is what Test cricket is all about.
Weather report
The precipitation reads 50% on the opening day of the Test. Expect the rain to interrupt the play throughout Wednesday. However, the weather is expected to get better as the match progresses. Both captains will look to bowl first and exploit the conditions.
Fantasy team
We have opted for a fantasy team on the basis of players’ impact, recent performances, and credit points.
You can also check players’ performances in the last 5 matches. Tap on the players’ images to get the data while making your fantasy team.
Wicketkeeper: Shai Hope, Jos Buttler
Batsmen: Kraigg Brathwaite, Rory Burns, Joe Denly
All-rounders: Ben Stokes, Jason Holder (wc)
Bowlers: James Anderson (c), Stuart Broad, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel
Power players
Jason Holder has been in a spectacular form with both bat and ball since 2018: in 11 matches, he has scored 680 runs including a double-hundred against England at home and sniped up 53 wickets including as many as 5 five-wicket hauls.
What Ben Stokes did in 2019 across formats is difficult to put into words, be it his heroic efforts in the final of the World Cup or the breathtaking innings of 135* at Leeds in The Ashes. He may not run through the opposition with the ball, but he has a knack of picking crucial wickets.
There’s a reason Holder and Stokes are at Nos. 1 and 2 respectively in the ICC Rankings for all-rounders.
Kemar Roach was awarded the Player of the Series when England toured West Indies in 2019: he took 18 wickets at a whopping average of 13.8. When West Indies toured England in 2017, he was the second-highest wicket-taker — only behind James Anderson.
James Anderson has a phenomenal record against the West Indies, pocketing 82 wickets in 20 matches. He looked as lethal as ever in the warm-up match last week, hardly missing the corridor of uncertainty.
Value picks
By his standards, Shai Hope does not have a great record in Tests. However, he does seem to enjoy batting in English conditions. On his previous tour here, he managed 375 runs including two hundreds and a fifty.
Dom Sibley scored the bulk of the runs for England when they toured South Africa earlier this year. He had scores of 4, 29, 34, 133*, 36, 44, and 44. He is a typical Test player, not willing to give away his wicket easily.
The onus of holding the innings together will be on Kraigg Brathwaite. He has two hundreds in 9 matches against England — one which helped West Indies achieve their only win in England since 2000.
Probable XIs
England: Rory Burns, Zack Crawly, Dominic Sibley, Joe Denly, Ben Stokes (c), Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer, James Anderson, Mark Wood/Chris Woakes
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Shai Hope (wk), Shamarh Brooks, Jermaine Blackwood, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich (wk), Jason Holder, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel, Alzarri Joseph
