LEEDS – England’s Ben Stokes made the most of being dropped twice to score a hundred that took the shine off an improved bowling display by the West Indies on the first day of the second Test at Headingley on Friday.
Stokes’s score of exactly 100 was the cornerstone of England’s modest 258 all out.
Yet a good day for the West Indies, 19/1 at stumps, could have been so much better.
Both Stokes and England captain Joe Root, who made 59 after winning the toss, were dropped in the slips in single figures.
Stokes was missed again on 98, with the three errors effectively costing the West Indies some 142 runs.
Recalled fast bowler Shannon Gabriel led the attack with 4/51 in 17 overs and new-ball partner Kemar Roach took 4/71 in 19.5.
This was still an encouraging display by the West Indies given their utterly inept performance in the field during an innings and 209-run defeat inside three days in the inaugural day/night Test in Britain at Edgbaston last week that saw them go 1-0 down in this three-match series.
“We might be a little disappointed with 260-odd,” Stokes told Sky Sports. “We won’t know if it’s a good score until the end of the West Indies innings.
“I had a brain fade on 98. It was one of those moments, where I thought ‘what am I doing?’.”
He added: “I was annoyed at myself for getting out too. Maybe I switched off a little bit, so hopefully I can use that feeling of frustration when I next get into that position.”
Meanwhile Roach, the bowler who suffered the most from West Indies’ catching lapses, said: “We had a big meeting about discipline, we weren’t good enough in the first Test and we came out and were much better here.
“Stokes batted really well – it didn’t go our way with those catches. Today was not a good day at the office.”