Ben Stokes has been given the green light to captain England’s Test tour of Pakistan next month, but he is still unlikely to bowl at the start of the series.
Stokes missed his side’s last three matches against Sri Lanka after tearing his hamstring while playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred competition.
The 33-year-old underwent a planned scan on the injury on Wednesday, with a statement from the ECB confirming he remains "on track" to feature in the three-match series.
However, it appears increasingly likely that he will operate as a specialist batter, with England unwilling to take any risks over the long-term health of their captain.
"I think that's you getting ahead of yourself. Obviously, I've been six-and-a-half weeks now of just walking and doing stuff in the gym," Stokes told Sky Sports.
"There's a lot more than just my hamstring that I need to get back firing and working up again in terms of bowling, because you use everything, so I need to get that all right to make sure I don't do any damage to other parts of my body."
Stokes oversaw a 3-0 clean sweep in Pakistan two years ago – his first overseas assignment after taking over from Joe Root – and his presence will be a major boost to England’s prospects.
It will, though, restrict the tourists' options in terms of balancing the team, with his inclusion likely forcing out one of their regular top order.
On his recovery, Stokes added: "I'm all good. I have my six-and-a-half week scan tomorrow and we'll know more from that, but I am feeling good.
"It was a hamstring tear which sneaked into my tendon. That's why it takes a week or two longer than a normal hammy.
"Rehab has gone really well, so hopefully everything tomorrow will get the all clear, and we will start pushing it a bit more."
Ben Duckett hailed Ollie Pope's resilience after the stand-in England captain shook off his poor form to hit his seventh Test century in the third Test versus Sri Lanka.
Bad light limited play on day one of the final test at The Oval on Friday, but Pope made good on the time allowed to smash 103 runs off as many deliveries.
Standing in to lead the team with Ben Stokes out injured, Pope had failed to make more than 17 runs in any of his first four innings in the series, being limited to single figures on three occasions.
Friday's ton, though, was his third in Tests this year, after knocks of 121 versus West Indies in July and 196 in India in January. Only eight England batters have accomplished that feat, and Pope is the first to do so since Gary Ballance in 2014.
He is also the first batter in history to hit his first seven Test tons against seven different opponents, in Sri Lanka, West Indies, India, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan.
Duckett, who himself fell short of his fourth red-ball century as he went for 86 runs off 79 balls, was delighted to see Pope quieten the doubters.
"Everyone is so happy for anyone's success in this dressing room, it's an incredible place to be," Duckett told Sky Sports.
"There was a lot of noise around Ollie. There shouldn't be but there has been and I know what it’s like at the top of the order and he's had a far better summer than I have.
"To block that out and score an incredible 100 was so good, you could see that from his emotions. We’re all extremely happy for him.
"People are paid to give their opinion, which is completely fair enough and I saw Pope say that last week.
"To go two games without a big score is not a long time and facing the new ball in England, I know how tricky it can be. For Pope to go out there and express himself at a ground that he loves, it's just credit to him."
Unbeaten on 103, Pope will return to the crease alongside Harry Brook (8) on Saturday, with England 221-3 as they chase a series whitewash.
Ollie Pope believes England's five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka showed they are not a "one-dimensional" team after battling through difficult conditions at Old Trafford.
England showed possible signs of a collapse after falling to 70-3 early on, only for a calm showing from Joe Root to steady the hosts' run chase.
Their 205-run pursuit was eventually completed in the 58th over, having at one stage scored just two runs an over, with Root finishing on an unbeaten 62.
England have been known for their aggressive approach during the Bazball era, but stand-in captain Pope insists the triumph has shown a different side to the team.
"On another day you might see us try to knock that off in 20 less overs," Pope told BBC Sport.
"It shows where we're coming on as a team overall, we're not just a one-dimensional team where we want to go out and score quickly.
"We want to keep reading situations slightly better and try to be as ruthless as we can.
"If we feel like that is a way to go, it's not all about trying to score as quickly as we can, it's about getting the job done."
Pope is serving as captain for the injured Ben Stokes, who has been with the squad throughout the first Test to offer guidance to the Surrey man.
He led England for the first time in Manchester despite only taking charge of one previous first-class match, and will remain in charge for the rest of the three-match series.
"It was different, more so in the field," said Pope. "There were some good lessons learned for me.
"I think Stokesy was bored at times. He'd much rather be playing. He was great. Every now and again I'd pick his brain, more than he comes to me.
"He wanted to give me my own space to do it my own way, but I know there will be conversations with him and [McCullum] while we're on the pitch about potential plans for different batters, which is great to have when we come off for a break."
Ollie Pope believes Ben Stokes will let him "do his own thing" when he steps up as England captain in the all-rounder's absence.
Stokes suffered a hamstring injury playing in The Hundred earlier this month, ruling him out of their three-Test series against Sri Lanka.
England are looking to build on their 3-0 sweep of West Indies in July, in which Pope shone, scoring a sixth Test hundred and two half-centuries.
The 26-year-old, England's usual vice-captain, will still have Stokes' guidance if needed as he is due to be in the dressing room for the Tests despite his injury.
Pope admitted he had already turned to the 33-year-old for advice but is ready to step into the role for the first Test.
"It is still Stokesy's team and if I want to lean on him, I can, but I think he will let me do my own thing. He has said he is happy to do that," Pope said.
"He will be watching and chat with Baz [Test coach Brendon McCullum] so I can have those conversations in the intervals if I think something needs to change.
"I know how well he has managed our bowlers, especially, so I have picked his brains on it, but it will be a lot of the same messages with a different voice and in my own way.
"It's about not overcomplicating it for me. I think I read the game fairly well and Stokesy and I have often been of the same mindset. As the series goes on, it will let itself out for me.
"Brooky has a great cricket brain, [Joe Root] too, so there is plenty of experience out there to bounce a few ideas off.
"Everyone is pretty clear how they want to go about this week and the series in general."
England have won their last three Test series against Sri Lanka, one at home and two away, but were beaten by the tourists in 2014.
"We don't underestimate any of the teams that come over here," Pope added. "Our target is to win 3-0, but we realise Sri Lanka have got some good experienced guys who have played a lot of Test matches.
"The main focus is on ourselves. We will just play our best cricket and try and put on a good performance. Hopefully, the scoreboard at the end reflects that."
England’s first Test against Sri Lanka will begin on Wednesday at Old Trafford.
Ben Stokes has been ruled out of England's upcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka after tearing his left hamstring while playing in The Hundred on Sunday.
Stokes pulled up after running a single and was carried off the field before later being seen on crutches after appearing for the Northern Superchargers.
Originally thought to be a doubt for the first of England's Tests later this month, scans on Tuesday revealed the injury will keep him out for the remainder of the summer.
Ollie Pope will take over Stokes' role as captain during his absence, with the all-rounder aiming to return to fitness before their Test tour of Pakistan in October.
England will also be without opener Zak Crawley for the Sri Lanka series due to a finger injury he sustained against the West Indies at Edgbaston.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have appointed Ian Bell as their batting coach for the upcoming tour.
Bell, who played in 118 Tests for England between 2004 and 2015, will work under former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya.
"We appointed Ian to bring in a person with local knowledge to help the players with key insights on the conditions there," Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Ashley de Silva said.
"We believe his input will help our team in this crucial tour."
The first Test in the series will take place at Old Trafford in Manchester on August 21.
James Anderson is considering a U-turn on his international retirement just a month on from playing his final Test match against West Indies at Lord's.
Anderson, who took 704 wickets in 188 games for England, did not officially call time on his career and is now considering a return to the white-ball format.
He recently joined the England coaching staff as a fast-bowling mentor following his retirement, and is helping Ben Stokes and the side ahead of their Test series with Sri Lanka next week.
However, the 42-year-old is now pondering potential avenues for a return to the T20 Arena or even in next season's Hundred competition.
Anderson has dedicated the last 10 years to red-ball cricket, not featuring in a 20-over game since 2014, but feels "still fit enough" to prolong his illustrious career.
"I might be in a bit of denial because I'm well aware I won't play for England again, but I've still not made a decision on my actual cricket career," Anderson told the Press Association.
"There's definitely a bit of intrigue with the shorter formats because I've not played any franchise stuff before.
"Watching The Hundred this year, seeing the ball swing around, it makes me feel like I could do a job there.
"I know it's a while since I played it and my age will get brought up again but I really feel I'll be good enough to play that form of cricket."
Nicholas Pooran delivered a masterclass in power-hitting as he hammered an unbeaten 66 off just 33 balls to lead Northern Superchargers to a thrilling seven-wicket victory over Manchester Originals in The Hundred on Sunday.
Pooran's explosive innings, highlighted by eight towering sixes, turned the tide in a match that seemed to be slipping away from the Superchargers at various points.
The Superchargers, chasing 153 for victory, found themselves in a precarious position at 29 for 2, needing over 100 runs with more than half the innings gone. The situation was made even more daunting by a suspected hamstring injury to Ben Stokes which forced him to leave the field.
Despite the early setbacks, Pooran, who has been in scintillating form throughout the tournament, stepped up to the challenge. He walked in with everything to do and proceeded to unleash a brutal assault on the Originals' bowlers. Alongside Harry Brook, who contributed a crucial 43, and Adam Hose, Pooran methodically dismantled the opposition's attack, ensuring that the Superchargers stayed alive in the competition.
The Originals, led by Phil Salt's blistering 61, had earlier posted 152 for 7, riding on the momentum of the highest-ever Powerplay score in the competition. However, the Superchargers' spinners, led by Mitchell Santner with figures of 3 for 24, pulled things back, restricting the Originals to a manageable total.
The chase, though steep, was made to look routine by Pooran's brilliance. The West Indian powerhouse demonstrated his ability to take the game away from the opposition with clean hitting and smart rotation of strike. Brook and Hose provided valuable support, ensuring that the Superchargers crossed the line with 62 balls to spare.
Reflecting on his match-winning knock, Pooran said, "It's definitely one of my better innings, knowing the situation of the game. Walking into bat with 100+ runs to get, and in this format, it creeps up on you very fast, but I was really happy that I could contribute and be there to the end."
He added, "You don't win tournaments with just one person contributing. It's really good when your teammates can contribute, and hopefully, we can go to our game on Tuesday and fight. If we lost the game today, we'd be out of the tournament. I'm happy that I could be there to the end, contribute, get the win for the team, and hopefully, the result will be the same again on Tuesday."
The victory keeps the Superchargers' hopes alive as they prepare to face London Spirit in a must-win game at Headingley on Tuesday.
West Indies seamer Jayden Seales and batsman Kavem Hodge have been rewarded for their standout performances in the recently-concluded Test series against England, as both achieved career-best moves up the latest ICC Men’s Test bowling and batting rankings on Wednesday.
Though West Indies suffered a 3-0 whitewash in that ICC World Test Championship series, Seales emerged as a standout performer, as he earned the player of the series award for his 13 wickets snared across all three games.
That performance saw the 22-year-old Trinidadian move seven places up to a career-best 26th position, joining teammate Jason Holder, who held firm in that position.
Veteran seamer Kemar Roach remains the top-ranked West Indies bowler at 17th, with Alzarri following Seales and Holder as the next best-ranked player at 31st. Kyle Mayers (37th), Shannon Gabriel (43rd), Gudakesh Motie (52nd), Roston Chase (59th), Shamar Joseph (64th), Jomel Warrican (66th), and Rahkeem Cornwall (82nd) are the other Caribbean bowlers in the top 100.
On the batting chart, Hodge inched up three places to 72nd, following a credible display in the three-match series. The 31-year-old Dominican tallied 216 runs, including a maiden Test century.
Captain Kraigg Brathwaite remains the highest-ranked West Indies batsman at 41st, with out-of-favor Jermaine Blackwood slipping to 52nd. Wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua da Silva (62nd), Holder (70th), Mayer (76th), Tagenarine Chanderpaul (86th), and Roston Chase (92nd) are also in the top 100.
Meanwhile, England batter Joe Root reclaimed the number one Test batting position after scoring 87 in the first innings of the third and final match against West Indies in Birmingham, which his side won by 10 wickets.
This is Root’s ninth stint as number one. His first tenure at the top of the rankings commenced in August 2015, and he was last at the top in June last year after a fine performance in the opening match of the Ashes series, also in Birmingham.
While Root overtook Kane Williamson to take the top spot, Babar Azam, Daryl Mitchell, Steve Smith, and Rohit Sharma have all gained a spot each as Harry Brook slipped to seventh position after attaining a career-best third position last week.
In the weekly update to the rankings that also takes into consideration performances in the Ireland versus Zimbabwe Test in Belfast, England captain Ben Stokes, who struck 54 in the first innings in Birmingham and a quickfire 57 not out off 28 balls in the second, has moved up four positions to 30th in the batting rankings.
Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams has re-entered the rankings in 33rd position after scores of 35 and 40, while England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith’s knock of 95 has lifted him 31 places to 64th position.
England fast bowler Mark Wood’s Player of the Match performance of two for 52 and five for 40 has lifted him into the top 20 of the bowling rankings for the first time in his career.
Gus Atkinson of England (up four places to 46th), Blessing Muzarabani of Zimbabwe (re-entered in 50th position), and Mark Adair of Ireland (up three places to 63rd) are other notable gainers in the bowling rankings.
Jamie Smith led the way as England took control on day two of their third Test against West Indies at Edgbaston.
The wicket-keeper-batter hit an impressive 95 off 109 balls, falling just shy of his maiden century in only his third Test.
Chasing the Windies' first-innings total of 282, England made a nervy start with the early wickets of Ollie Pope (10) and Harry Brook (two) leaving them at 54-5.
Joe Root (87) and Ben Stokes (54) settled the hosts down with a 115-run stand, while Smith's near-century and 62 from Chris Woakes helped them to a total of 376, a 94-run advantage.
West Indies' response was immediately halted as Woakes claimed skipper Kraigg Braithwaite for a duck in the first over.
Kirk McKenzie (eight) then fell to Gus Atkinson, while opener Mikyle Louis was fortunate to see Stokes drop a simple catch as the visitors reached stumps on 33-2.
Louis, on 18, and Alick Athanaze, on five, will resume batting on Sunday's third day with the Caribbean side 61 runs behind, and eight wickets intact to possibly make a fight of it.
Data Debrief: Root roars past Lara
Root delivered another impressive batting display for England. Although he was fortunate not to be dismissed in the second over, as replays showed he would have been given out had the Windies reviewed an lbw appeal.
Nevertheless, he fully capitalised with his 87 taking him past 12,000 Test runs, making him only the second England player to do so after Alastair Cook.
Although a 33rd Test century narrowly eluded him, Root did leapfrog Brian Lara into seventh place on the all-time leading Test run-scorers list.
Ben Stokes would much rather play alongside Mark Wood than face his England team-mate as he backed the fast bowler to break 100mph soon.
The Durham quick clocked 97.1mph – the fastest delivery of his Test career – on the speed gun in the second red-ball encounter against the West Indies at Trent Bridge.
Indeed, none of the 34-year-old's balls registered lower than 90mph during an electrifying opening spell before Wood removed Kevin Sinclair with a vicious delivery on Sunday.
Sinclair could only fend into the air for a simple dismissal, with the Windies' off-spinner ruled out of the third Test at Edgbaston after that blow fractured his left forearm.
England captain Stokes believes there is more to come from Wood, which is a worrying warning to the visitors.
"He's got it in the tank," said Stokes. "He's been close a couple of times. Maybe one day."
Shoaib Akthar and Shaun Tait are the only Test bowlers to register a delivery at 100mph, with Wood's speed expected to be key for The Ashes in Australia across the end of next year and start of 2026.
"He seems to be getting closer and closer to that," Stokes added. "But I'm happy with what he's doing right now to be honest.
"Being able to sustain that pace is quite phenomenal. Look at his average speeds every time he plays a Test match – it's always above 90mph. That says a lot about his fitness.
"It's all fine and well trying to bowl one spell above 90. But every spell he bowls for England, he's clocking over 90mph, and that's a great thing to have as a captain.
"I don't know if he's actually too bothered about it. One day, everything might click, or the speed gun might be wrong.
"We probably wouldn't hear the end of it. Who knows, maybe one day."
Wood will be expected to unleash his pace once more after Stokes named an unchanged XI for the third and final Test at Edgbaston, where play starts on Friday.
Ben Stokes has expressed confidence that opportunities for England's fast bowlers will emerge naturally ahead of their final Test against West Indies on Friday.
Stokes chose to name an unchanged team that beat West Indies by 241 runs last week ahead of their encounter at Edgbaston.
Despite having already secured the series with a 2-0 lead, England have chosen not to include both Durham's Matthew Potts or hand a debut to Dillon Pennington.
"At the moment we have stuck with the same team because we don't feel it's necessary to change," said Stokes.
England's sole adjustment this summer came when James Anderson, who retired after the first Test at Lord's, was replaced by Mark Wood.
Since Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum assumed leadership of the England team two years ago, they have aimed to minimise the rotation of their bowlers.
Wood took a wicket in each inning of the test at Trent Bridge, as Shoaib Bashir starred with figures of 5-41 to claim his third Test five-wicket haul.
Stokes emphasised that it is not difficult to continue to play their strongest team to allow bowlers an opportunity to shine.
"When you look at the guys we've got playing at the moment, with Woody being the standout because of how he bowls, it's very unlikely we'll get the remaining Tests out of him because of how hard it is on his body," said Stokes.
"Even though we've got a decent break to the next series, fast bowling is very hard so naturally we may see a change in the bowling line-up. It's not required yet.
"It's tough to not play, but for Pottsy and Dillon it's great for them to be in the squad."
The West Indies have been forced into one change, with Gudakesh Motie replacing Kevin Sinclair who suffered a fracture after taking a blow from Mark Wood.
Akeem Jordan, uncapped at Test level, has also been added to the squad as a precaution with Shamar Joseph currently suffering with flu.
"It's all about fighting," said West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite. "If we continue to create that sort of attitude around this team, there will be growth. That's what we're after."
Following the conclusion of the final Test at Edgbaston, England will enjoy an almost month-long break before another three-Test series against Sri Lanka on home soil.
Jofra Archer says he wants to play in the 2025-26 Ashes series in Australia as he outlined his intentions for a return to Test cricket with England.
Archer has not been part of England's Test side since February 2021, with the paceman having struggled with numerous injuries over the last few years.
He performed well in the 2019 Ashes, taking 22 wickets at an average of 20.27, and his full involvement in England's recent T20 World Cup campaign hints at a return to the longer format.
His pace would be ideal on Australia's bouncy pitches and a real asset to captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum as they aim to win an Ashes series down under for the first time in 14 years.
Nevertheless, Archer's fitness is being carefully monitored by the management team and he will not play any red-ball cricket in 2024.
When asked about the possibility of being involved in the Ashes, Archer said: "I am going to use the rest of the year to make sure this is at least a possibility.
"I'm tired of going on Instagram and seeing posts saying 'He's going to be on the physio's bed in the next two weeks' and stuff like that.
"I want to spend the rest of the year proving some people wrong and hopefully play in another Ashes."
Archer himself also said that he would be keen to play first-class cricket for Sussex early next summer.
Speaking as part of BBC Sport's coverage for the opening match of the Hundred, the 29-year-old said: "I will manage myself as best as possible and get myself through until at least maybe the start of the Championship next year.
"I'll probably play a few of those games and keep building up and getting that workload ready for Test cricket."
He will make his debut in the 100-ball competition on Wednesday for Southern Brave against London Spirit at the Utilita Bowl.
Ollie Pope believes England could shatter records by making 600 runs in a single day as they target a series whitewash over West Indies at Edgbaston.
England sealed a series victory over the Windies in last week's second Test at Trent Bridge, scoring over 400 in both innings of a Test match for the first time as they made totals of 416 and 425.
Vice-captain Pope managed a superb first-innings knock of 121 before Joe Root (122) and Harry Brook (109) brought up their centuries in the second innings.
England have become renowned for their all-out batting style – dubbed 'Bazball' – under head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.
Pope believes that approach suits England's batters and feels they could make history by breaking the record for most runs made by a team in a single day of Test cricket – Sri Lanka's 509-9 versus Bangladesh in July 2002.
"I got asked on day one, 'do you get told to play like that?' No, we don't. It's just our natural game and the way we go about it," Pope said.
"Sometimes we might score 280 to 300 in a day, but that's okay and probably because we're reading situations.
"There might also be a day where we go and get 500 to 600 at some point in the future as well, and that's a cool thing to have."
England came within three runs of that record Sri Lanka total on their 2022 tour of Pakistan, and Pope believes their success is down to the ruthlessness of the batting order.
"There's a real hunger – there always is a hunger – but now there's an extra bit in that batting line-up," Pope added.
"We want to be as ruthless as we can as a batting unit, but still play the way we do because that's our natural game.
"Obviously being ruthless is being part of Test cricket as well."
England took control of the second Test against West Indies as the hosts established a 207-run lead at the close of play on Saturday's third day at Trent Bridge.
The hosts ended the day on 248-3, aided by two century partnerships from Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett, and Joe Root and Harry Brook. Both Brook, on 71, and Root, on 37, will resume batting on Sunday.
Despite Chris Woakes claiming the wickets of Alzarri Joseph (10) and Jayden Seales (duck) in successive balls, a final-wicket stand of 71 from Shamar Joseph (33) and Joshua da Silva, who was left unbeaten on 82, saw West Indies, who resumed at 351-5, reach 457.
Scores: England 416 & 248-3 (Duckett 76, Brook 71*, Pope 51, A Joseph 2-58) lead West Indies 457 (Hodge 120, Da Silva 82*, Woakes 4-84) by 207 runs
England's second innings, which they began 41 runs adrift, got off to a nervy start as opener Zak Crawley (three) was run out by Jayden Seales at the non-striker's end.
However, much like they did in the first innings, Duckett (76) and Pope (51) settled the hosts down with a 119-run second-wicket stand, before Alzarri Joseph claimed both in the space of eight deliveries.
Still, Brook and Root also produced an important, unbroken 108-run partnership that placed Ben Stokes' side in command heading into day four.
Data Debrief: Successive century partnerships for Duckett and Pope
With a strong finish to their opening innings, the Windies reached 457 - their highest total on English soil since 1995.
England's response was led by Duckett and Pope's impressive stand of 119, their second three-figure partnership of the series.
They became only the ninth pair to make two century stands for England in a men's Test, and first since Joe Root and Alistair Cook achieved the feat against Pakistan eight years ago.
Spirited efforts from Kavem Hodge and Alick Athanaze led an excellent West Indian batting performance on day two of the second Test against England at Trent Bridge on Friday.
Replying to England’s 416 all out on day one, the West Indians reached 351-5 off 84 overs at stumps on day two, trailing their English counterparts by just 65 runs.
Openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis got proceedings off to a good start for the West Indies with a 53-run opening partnership despite a testing spell of bowling from Mark Wood which saw him record a delivery at 97.1 miles per hour.
That partnership ended in the 15th over when Louis went caught off the bowling of off-spinner Shoaib Bashir for 21.
The skipper and new batsman Kirk McKenzie put on a further 25 before Brathwaite was next to go in the 22nd over, caught at short leg by Ollie Pope off the bowling of first Test hero Gus Atkinson for a well-played 48, his highest score since a 75 in July 2023 against India in Port-of-Spain.
Then, on the stroke of lunch, McKenzie played an ill-advised shot off the bowling of Bashir to fall for 11 and leave the tourists 84-3 in the 25th over.
The post-lunch session then saw the Dominican pair of Hodge and Athanaze brilliantly navigating some probing bowling from the hosts.
Hodge did have one reprieve when he was dropped by Joe Root off the bowling of Wood in the 42nd over.
The pair carried on to put on 175 for the fourth wicket before Athanaze unfortunately fell 18 runs shy of a well-deserved maiden Test hundred off the bowling of England captain Ben Stokes in the 62nd over.
Hodge went on to bring up an excellent maiden Test ton of his own with a brilliant straight drive for four off Wood.
His hundred came off 143 balls and included 17 fours. He was eventually dismissed by Chris Woakes in the 75th over for 120 off 171 balls.
"It was important we put our heads down and took some info from the England first innings," Hodge told Sky Sports at the end of the day.
"We made use of a good batting track. It feels amazing [to make a century], it is always good to contribute to the team, especially coming off the first Test when we didn't do so well as a batting unit.
On the partnership with Athanaze, he added: "Facing [Mark] Wood, it is not every day you face a guy who bowls every single ball over 90 miles per hour. It was really important we got through that period as it would have been really difficult for a new batter to start against that."
The not out batsmen at the crease at stumps were Joshua Da Silva on 32* and Jason Holder on 23*. The pair have, so far, put on 46 for the sixth wicket.
Shoaib Bashir was England’s most successful bowler on the day with 2-100 from 23 overs.
Full Scores:
England 416 all out off 88.3 overs (Ollie Pope 121, Ben Duckett 71, Ben Stokes 69, Alzarri Joseph 3-98, Kavem Hodge 2-44, Kevin Sinclair 2-73, Jayden Seales 2-90)
West Indies 351-5 off 84 overs (Kavem Hodge 120, Alick Athanaze 82, Kraigg Brathwaite 48, Shoaib Bashir 2-100)
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