Twitter Reactions: Jason Holder holds the fort as West Indies dominate England on Day 2
Holder was ably supported by Gabriel, whose accuracy and pace hurried the batsmen.
The West Indies batsmen survived a tricky evening session to reach 57/1 at the close of play on Day 2. The visitors played out 19.3 overs and now trail the home side by just 147 runs. Even though the English pacers, led by Anderson bowled probing lines, the visitors were up to the challenge.
Earlier in the day, West Indian skipper Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel ripped through the England batting line up to skittle out the hosts for just 204 runs. While Holder finished with career-best figures of 6/42, Gabriel took 4 wickets as the English batsmen struggled under overcast conditions at Southampton.
In fact, none of the English batsmen could even score a half-century, with as many as 7 batsmen dismissed below 20 runs. Apart from a good partnership between skipper Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler and a quick 31 by Dom Bess, the England batsmen put up a disappointing performance on Day 2.
Jason Holder used his height to good effect to extract bounce from the surface and also bowled a tight line to tie down the England batsman. He was ably supported by Gabriel, whose accuracy and pace hurried the batsmen.
West Indies on top at stumps
On the other hand, the Windies openers provided a decent start, putting on 43 runs for the first wicket. John Campbell was confident in his 36 ball stay, stroking 3 boundaries before he was trapped in front by James Anderson for 28. Brathwaite and Shai Hope consolidated the rest of the day to prevent any further damage before rain forced an early close of play on the second day.
WI were also excellent with their reviews, with as many as 5 decisions turning out in their favor in the day. In fact, off the bowling of Holder alone, there were 3 LBW decisions that were overturned in the favor of the West Indies.
There is a forecast of better weather on Day 3, and the players and the fans will be hoping that rain stays away for the rest of the Test match. Caribbeans definitely have their nose ahead at the end of Day 2.
Here are some of the reactions from Twitter:
Download Our App