ENG vs WI, 2nd Test: Here are key player battles
Hosts England will take on the West Indies in the 2nd Test in Nottingham after winning by an innings at Lord's. The Englishmen beat WI by an innings and 114 runs in the 1st Test at Lord's. This marked the farewell of legend James Anderson. The impending Test at Trent Bridge offers quite a few intriguing player battles. Here are some of them.
Gus Atkinson vs WI batters
West Indies' entire top order would wary of England seamer Gus Atkinson, who entered the record books on his Test debut. Atkinson claimed the third-best match figures on debut for England. He took a seven-fer in the first innings, followed by a fifer in the second. Notably, Atkinson began his Test journey in style with a wicket-maiden. He dismissed West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite.
Ben Stokes vs Gudakesh Motie
Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie troubled Ben Stokes in England's only innings. Motie ended Stokes's 11-ball stay with a magnificent delivery that knocked the English captain over. Notably, Stokes has been dismissed 75 times by spinners across 148 innings in the longest format. The England captain has fallen to spinners as many as 115 times across formats.
Ben Duckett vs Jayden Seales
Opener Ben Duckett was England's only top-five batter to score in single figures at Lord's. He was caught behind for 3(13) after getting outclassed by seamer Jayden Seales, who returned a four-wicket haul. The Caribbean pacer prevailed in the only meeting between the two players. He would hope to trap Duckett at Trent Bridge as well.
2nd Test: Venue, pitch report, and conditions
The 2nd Test will be held at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Notably, the pitches here offer assistance to batters as they are able to play on the up. Seamers garner swing in the first hour. The average first-innings score at this venue is 323 in Test cricket. Meanwhile, the weather conditions will be overcast with some chances of rain on Day 5.
