Twitter Reactions: Stuart Broad's all-round show puts England in command at Manchester
Just when everything looked good for the Caribbean side a certain Stuart Broad came to the crease.
Day 2 began with England at 258/4. Ollie Pope was batting on 91 while Jos Buttler was on 56. The first session was one of two halves. The first was dominated by the West Indies as they put up an amazing bowling display. The second half was one where the Windies were caught with no answers to the English lower order.
Rahkeem Cornwall dropped a simple catch of Pope in the very first over. It was an amazing away swinger bowled by Shannon Gabriel which found the edge of the in-form batsman. However, it did not cause any damage as the West Indian had his man in his very next over. He also dismissed Buttler to have both the set men back in the pavilion.
Chirs Woakes and Jofra Archer were dismissed by Kemar Roach who once again displayed some fantastic bowling. The hosts were at 280/8 and it seemed like the visitors could bundle them up under 300. They had taken the last four English wickets conceding a mere 22 runs and were in line for the perfect comeback.
Stuart Broad frustrates the WI bowling line-up
Just when everything looked good for the Caribbean side a certain Stuart Broad came to the crease. He pulled off something which probably no one would’ve anticipated. The 34-year-old scored a superb 45-ball 61 which consisted of nine boundaries and a solitary six. He attacked from the word go and the West Indies bowlers were caught with no plan B. They set a widespread field that did not help the cause.
England were finally dismissed for 369 runs with Roach getting 4 wickets, Gabriel and Rostan Chase having two apiece, and captain Jason Holder getting just one wicket. The hosts required 370 to lead with England coming out with a strong bowling line-up.
James Anderson and Stuart Broad prove why they are among the best bowling combinations
A brilliant bowling effort by the legendary duo led to the WI batting line-up never getting a stable partnership. Their highest stand was of 37 runs for the sixth wicket. With all of the top six batsmen dismissed, the visitors are in a spot of bother. With the lower order having no form to show, the Caribbean side would need a terrific effort to reach the English score.
Broad and Anderson ended the day with two wickets each while Archer and Woakes contributed with a wicket to their names. West Indies ended the day at 137/6, still trailing by 232 runs. With the weather prediction not very good, England would be hoping to enforce follow on and dismiss the visitors as soon as they can. With the series at 1-1, no side can take even a session lightly and Day 3 promises to be an interesting one.
Here’s how Twitter reacted on Day 2
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