ENG v WI, 2nd Test Preview: England aim to inflict more pain on the wounded visitors

After taming the Caribbean men fair and square in the first Test, England aims to extend their dominance and take an unassailable 2-0 lead at Headingley. It was a walk in the park for the Englishmen, who were clinical and vicious in every aspect. Alastair Cook’s double ton and Joe Root’s terrific hundred helped them post a daunting total. The fast bowlers competed against themselves for picking wickets and it all pounded ruthlessly on the morale of the visitors.

Many experts suggested that this West Indian side is nowhere close to being on level terms with the hosts. The words took shape when the first Test started and added more weight to the argument that Windies cricket has degraded quite substantially. English lower order batters are showing more resilience than the Caribbean top order and their bowlers hit the right areas once in a blue moon.

Palpably, nothing is going right for the Windies, who have such a rich history behind them and all they can hope for is a miracle to happen and save them. As of now, it’s England’s game to lose going by the sides on paper and the fans would be hoping for some fight from the visitors which can make the game a bit more tantalizing.

Toss: England won the toss and elected to bat

Playing XI

England: Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, Tom Westley, Joe Root(c), Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow(w), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

Windies: Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope, Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich(w), Jason Holder(c), Devendra Bishoo, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel

Focus will be on

James Anderson (England)

Is this the game for James Anderson where he will finally reach the momentous milestone of 500 Test wickets? Well, that will depend on his bowling rhythm but going by how he coped with the pink ball in the first Test, claiming 8 more wickets inside these five days won’t be a difficult task for him. Without a shadow of a doubt, all eyes will be on Anderson as he looks to add more glory his legendary career.

Roston Chase (West Indies)

Roston Chase managed to pick some crucial wickets with his off-break bowling and his skipper will be hoping for more wickets from him. But by the time he started to settle in and trouble the batters, England had already surpassed the 400 mark and this time around, he needs to hit the bullseye right from the outset. He is more than capable of picking big wickets and a good spell coming from him will work wonders for Jason Holder’s side.

Playing combinations

England

Onsong Alastair Cook will open the batting alongside Mark Stoneman and Tom Westley will be taking the crucial number 3 position. England is banking heavily on their experienced middle-order to do the bulk of the scoring. With Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow, they can make a case for being the best middle-order in the world right now.

The ever reliable duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad have found a great companion in Toby Roland-Jones, who has been exceptional in his first few games. Whenever the premium fast bowlers failed to deliver, the all-rounders Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali have stepped up and picked crucial wickets for their side.

West Indies

Openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell will have a crucial task in hand to provide a solid first-wicket stand. The number 3 and 4 spots will be taken by Kyle Hope and Shai Hope respectively and the brothers will attempt to consolidate their position in the side. Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood and Shane Dorwich got starts in the first Test, but the side needs big scores from them to register a competent total on board.

The experienced campaigner Kemar Roach will be sharing the new ball with Alzari Joseph and they have other decent fast bowling options in Jason Holder and Miguel Cummins. Barring the off-spinner Chase, neither of these bowlers managed to find the right channels and paid a heavy price. They have no choice but to eradicate these weaknesses or else they’ll suffer a similar humiliation in the second Test.

StatAttack

195 – The aggregate of Test matches played by West Indies’ playing XI whilst Stuart Broad and James Anderson’s aggregate sums up to 234. This throws light on the inexperience of the visitors.

6 – Given James Anderson gets 8 or more wickets in the second Test, he will become the 6th cricketer in the history to register 500 or more Test wickets.

2 – Stuart Broad will enter the second Test as the second highest wicket taker in English Test cricket history. He surpassed Sir Ian Botham’s tally of 383 wickets in the second innings of the first Test.

1 – Roston Chase is the one solitary batsman in his side’s top 6 with an average in excess of 40.