| Second Test, Kensington Oval, Barbados (day one): |
| England 244-3: Root 119*, Lawrence 91 |
| West Indies Yet to bat |
| Scorecard |
Joe Root punished West Indies with yet another century as England took command of the second Test on day one in Barbados.
Root could have been given caught behind on 23 and was dropped on 34 but ended 119 not out – his 25th Test ton and second in as many innings as the tourists closed on 244-3.
England’s ascendancy was checked slightly by the loss of Dan Lawrence to end the day, after he compiled a dazzling 91.
Lawrence had looked on course for his maiden Test ton after combining with Root for a brilliant, aggressive stand of 164, but chipped Jason Holder to extra cover in the final over.
Root had laid a platform with Alex Lees, who made 30 from 138 balls, after opener Zak Crawley was caught behind for a duck in the fourth over.
The late wicket boosted West Indies who had otherwise been wasteful on another flat pitch.
The tourists earlier handed debuts to Saqib Mahmood and fellow seamer Matt Fisher – the latter a late replacement for Craig Overton who was ruled out with illness.
Late wicket takes shine off England’s day
Until Lawrence was dismissed, England were heading towards a near-perfect day.
Their captain had scored another stunning century and Lawrence, one of the young batters given a chance in this series after the Ashes humiliation, had played his best Test knock to date.
But the 24-year-old, perhaps with three figures on his mind and having cracked the two previous deliveries for four, went hard at a ball from Holder outside off and offered a catch. It would have been the penultimate ball of the day.
Holder celebrated wildly as West Indies, who had been average for the majority of the day, hit back.
Lawrence, in contrast, had to drag himself from the field as the thousands of England fans he had earlier roused applauded.
England are still well in control but the nature of the pitch means a score close to 400 will likely be par.
West Indies, having limited the scoring in the first part of the day, will now hope to keep England below that.
Root delivers again
Root’s latest ton is his eighth in 19 Tests since the start of 2021, a stunning run of form in which he has fought almost single-handedly to keep his side’s batting line-up afloat.
Having come in at 4-1, he looked supreme from the outset, cracking a pull shot for four from his ninth ball and driving perfectly through the covers soon after.
His second-innings 109 in the Antigua draw was chanceless. In Barbados, on a similarly flat pitch, he did offer two chances, but errors saw him reprieved.
First he appeared to inside edge onto his pad and into the gloves of wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva but umpire Nigel Duguid was unmoved following a half-hearted West Indies appeal.
The fact the hosts had wasted an optimistic lbw review moments earlier will have influenced their decision not to challenge the decision.
His second life came soon after lunch when he tickled Kemar Roach down the leg-side. Da Silva got one glove to the ball but could not hold on.
From there Root did not look back. Spurred on by Lawrence, he became increasingly fluent, scoring in his trademark areas – off his pads and through the covers.
Importantly, he has played another captain’s innings as his side make their quiet steps on the road to recovery following their Ashes defeat.
Lawrence dazzles after Lees digs in
If Root’s runs have become commonplace, England fans witnessed what could become part of their new era in the batting of Lees and Lawrence.
Lees made four and six on debut in Antigua, out lbw to Roach on both occasions, but here hinted at why England have chosen him as their latest Test opener.
The Durham left-hander was stubborn in a gritty knock that did not catch the eye but did serve a purpose in seeing off the new ball.
Lees and Root scored 80 runs in the first 45 overs before Lees fell lbw to Veerasammy Permaul when playing off the back foot. Root and Lawrence added 164 in the next 44.5 overs, at least in part because of the platform provided.
In comparison, Lawrence was imposing throughout, the highlight a wristy, flicked six off Permaul.
He cantered to his fifty from 62 balls and had slowed towards the close, only for the rush of blood to be his undoing.
‘We are in a commanding position’ – reaction
England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick: “A very good day. To win the toss and take full advantage of winning it we are very pleased with where we are. We are in a commanding position. Hopefully we can come back tomorrow and pile on more runs
“The two of them together, the partnership was really nice. It was great to watch. Joe was his disciplined self and Dan gave it a little bit of flair. He deserved a hundred.”
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew: “The partnership between Joe Root and Dan Lawrence is the best England have seen this winter.
“Root will grab the headlines, but Lawrence was just as eye-catching until his late dismissal. Lawrence played beautifully, he deserved a hundred.”
