|| Desk Report ||

Dom Sibley and Ben stokes put England in a commanding position on an attritional first day of the second test at Manchester  Old Trafford

Sibley was not on 86 runs from 253 balls adding an unbeaten 126  runs partnership with Stokes, who batted beautifully for his unbeaten 59.

In closing on 207-3, England recovered from being reduced to 29-2 by off-spinner Roston Chase removing Rory Burns and Zak Crawley with successive balls either side of lunch.

England captain Joe root also got a start before he was out for 23 runs  as his opposite  captain Jason Holder caught him in the second slip by the bowling of Alzarri Joseph
Not only that, but the home side dealt with the disruption of dropping Jofra Archer for a breach of the bio-secure protocols.

Pace bowler Archer was left out after traveling to his Brighton home in between the first Test in Southampton and this game at Emirates Old Trafford.

Without him, England fielded an entirely different pace attack to the one that lost the series opener, but it was their batsmen who were thrust into the action when West Indies won the toss on a murky day in Manchester.

2nd Test: England  207/3 (Sibley 86*, Stokes 59*)