Key events
Bad light stops play
Ah, annoying. It’s a little too dark now, and the players have been sent off. A few West Indies players are still waiting around on the outfield but England’s batters have disappeared from view.
19th over: England 88-1 (Crawley 38, Pope 42) Gorgeous from Holder, moving the ball away from Crawley to square up the right-hander. Crawley gets back at him, though, seizing upon a fuller delivery to drive behind point for four. West Indies then go upstairs, thinking they have Crawley leg-before … but the ball is shown to be going down the leg-side.
Susan Perry writes:
Steven Finn went to my school. Admittedly he is several years younger than me, but I have met him since and bored him senseless about it.
18th over: England 84-1 (Crawley 34, Pope 42) It’s quite dark at Lord’s now, with the lights on. Pope, channelling a bit of Springsteen, keeps on moving, guiding Shamar Joseph behind point on the off side for yet another four. Joseph gets one threatening the top of off as the right-hander leaves. He then sends in a pearler, moving the ball away from the outside edge.
17th over: England 79-1 (Crawley 33, Pope 38) Pope thrashes Holder through point for four – he’s refusing to relent despite that lbw reprieve. And then a fuller, swinging delivery from Holder, with the West Indies fielders going up in celebration, hoping they’ve got Pope’s faint outside edge. The finger doesn’t go up, and they don’t bother reviewing it.
Michael Duggan writes:
My Godmother was Muriel Lowe (https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/muriel-lowe-53806), who my father met playing golf or cricket in Winchester where she ran a travel agency. Apparently as well as the three tests she played, she was selected for a tour to Australia but couldn’t afford to go. Sadly, she died when I was only 5 so I never really knew her.
16th over: England 75-1 (Crawley 33, Pope 34) Crawley drives Shamar Joseph through the covers for three as Pope nearly drags one onto his stumps with a loose swing outside off.
15th over: England 71-1 (Crawley 30, Pope 33) Jason Holder gets the ball but Pope is into him quickly, delivering a flair on-drive for his seventh boundary of the innings. But then the finger goes up! It’s angled in at the pads, and Pope misses playing across the line. It looks plumb but Pope reviews … silly me, it’s projected to be going down the leg side! Time for yours truly to head to the opticians.
14th over: England 67-1 (Crawley 30, Pope 29) This is exciting: Shamar Joseph continues his fairytale story, taking the ball at the Pavilion End. And he gets Pope to play and miss outside off with his first ball, clocked at 83.6mph. Fourth ball, Joseph goes full, wide, with a bit of swing away from Pope, who throws the bat at it. The ball just about evades the cordon and runs away for four; Pope survives and moves to 28. Crawley closes the over with a back-foot punch through cover for four more.
13th over: England 58-1 (Crawley 26, Pope 24) Alzarri Joseph bangs in a bumper that Pope easily pulls away behind square on the leg side for four. England’s No 3 has had a rollicking start here. Crawley plays-and-misses with a cover drive and is struggling to rediscover the rhythm he had before the break.
12th over: England 52-1 (Crawley 26, Pope 19) Crawley finally moves off 24, where he was at tea, with an offside punch for two. He then fails to make contact with an attempted pull.
“In late 1980s Kolkata, my great-aunt taught high school chemistry to Dona Ganguly, Sourav Ganguly’s girlfriend (now wife),” writes Kishalay Banerjee.
“My uncles tell me Sourav used to sometimes come and pick her up from their house in the evenings. It was a bit of an occasion even then since he was already creating a sizeable reputation as a club cricketer at that point.”
11th over: England 49-1 (Crawley 24, Pope 18) Alzarri Joseph continues – I thought Brathwaite would have made a change by now – but the quick keeps Crawley quiet, delivering a maiden.
Richard O’Hagan is back: “To follow on from Gareth Owen, I once kept wicket in a game where my slip cordon was Dan Norcross and Aatif Nawaz. I have honestly not laughed as much on a cricket pitch before or since. It was well worth the eye infection (and resulting eye condition) that I ended up with that day (no blame on any TMS commentators for that).”
10th over: England 49-1 (Crawley 24, Pope 18) Pope’s authoritative start continues with a well-controlled pull off Seales for four more.
9th over: England 43-1 (Crawley 24, Pope 14) Pope is on the move, pressing forward to cut behind point for four before a fine off-drive gets him another boundary. Moments later, there’s a delicious cover drive – Pope moves to 13 off just six.
OK, keep the convoluted nonsense coming but let’s get back to the cricket, too. Pope is on strike as Alzarri Joseph continues from the Nursery End.
Gareth Owen writes in: “Not even a cricketer – but when I arrived as a first year undergraduate at St Johns, Oxford, the third-year President Of The Junior Common Room was a puckish Dan Norcross.”
Ben Sheppard has his: “My Dad – Francis Sheppard – claims he got Dickie Bird out in consecutive seasons when Dickie was the professional for a club side. ‘That’s my bunny!’ he’d yell when Dickie’s umpiring career put him on TV when I was a child.”
A belter. “When we were both teenagers, David Gower’s mum lived two doors down from my parents in Loughborough,” writes Adam Roberts. “My girlfriend told me he had pulled up in his car (fancy!) and asked her out. She said no because we had just started going out!”
“Enjoying your OBO – and lucky you getting to see what might be Jimmy’s final wicket,” writes Tom Paternoster-Howe. “If he’s a superstitious sort, he’ll be hoping you work your magic for him on Thursday/Friday.
“Regarding tangential connections to cricketers, my wife’s grandad was quite a figure on the Yorkshire cricket scene until the 1980s. He was good friends with Sir Len Hutton and they remained in correspondence for years after Hutton’s retirement.
“There may be closer or more interesting connections, but they won’t be to a better batter than Sir Len.”
Here’s mine: Phil Simmons, I’m pretty sure, was at my master’s graduation earlier this year.
Some terrific convoluted stuff coming in. Here’s Michael Griffin: “Graeme Swann’s Dad (an extremely decent cricketer himself) taught me GCSE maths. I got a A.”
John Tumbridge writes: “I was at school with Toby Roland-Jones uncle in the 1970’s.” Class.
Wisden.com’s Ben Gardner, sat next to me at Lord’s, tells me he went to uni with a guy who went to school with Nick Gubbins. Huge.
Richard O’Hagan writes: “I’m pretty sure that I am not actually related to any Test cricketers, but I went to school with Geoff Howarth’s stepson and used to work with HE ‘Tom’ Dollery’s daughter (who actually turned out for our work cricket team on one memorable occasion.”
TEA: England 30-1
8th over: England 30-1 (Crawley 24, Pope 1) Duckett wasn’t at his best out there, struggling to find room for that slash outside off that would get him up and running. Pope is the new man and he gets a single with his second ball. There’s an lbw shout off the last ball of the over, Seales to Crawley, but it’s probably too high.
WICKET! Duckett c Da Silva b Seales 3 (England 29-1)
Seales begins the over with a full delivery outside off, Duckett wants some of that … but gets a faint nick. Josh Da Silva tidies up behind the stumps and Seales is ecstatic.
7th over: England 29-0 (Crawley 24, Duckett 3) Crawley delivers a lovely back-foot punch through point for two to begin Alzarri Joseph’s fourth over. The right-hander whips through midwicket for a boundary as Joseph goes too straight – he’s on 24 and really looking the part now … and just as I type, the big man delivers a thoroughly wild play-and-miss outside off. He’s terrific fun to watch.
“While I don’t think I’ve ever met him, Gus Atkinson is my half-cousin once-removed (my mum’s half-sister’s grandson),” writes Barney Jeffries. “And Harry Brook’s mum used to cut my nieces’ hair. Yes, I am quite proud of both of these. What convoluted connections to cricketers do other OBOers have?”
Get stuck in, readers.
6th over: England 23-0 (Crawley 18, Duckett 3) Seales has a short midwicket in play as he meets Duckett, who’s had a rusty start here. The left-hander gets off strike with a single before Crawley shows some respect with a leave outside off.
“Interesting that Jimmy Anderson and Chris Woakes each took one wicket at exactly their test average,” writes Ronald Grover. “Looking forward to Gus keeping up with his!”
5th over: England 21-0 (Crawley 17, Duckett 2) Crawley drops the ball into the covers to sneak a well-judged single. Alzarri Joseph then has Duckett dropped at backward point! Duckett flashed at one outside off, it carried all the way and should have been taken by Mikyle Louis. Crawley pulls over mid-on for four and then drives through the covers for a couple to end the over.
4th over: England 11-0 (Crawley 10, Duckett 1) Crawley begins to tick. He sneaks a boundary to the third-man rope before driving Seales through the covers. Seales isn’t intimidated; he sticks to his tight line and doesn’t concede from the three remaining deliveries in the over.
3rd over: England 3-0 (Crawley 2, Duckett 1) Duckett gets off the mark with a leg glance for one, and the sun emerges at Lord’s, embracing much of the outfield. Alzarri Joseph, going around the wicket, nearly gets Duckett to drag on at the end of the over, the left-hander trying to cut a ball that was too straight.
“This young Windies team are a gutsy lot, as evidenced in Australia last winter,” writes Dean Kinsella. “I reckon they’ll bounce back from this. Besides this collapse wasn’t really their fault. That was just excellent bowling, fielding and captaincy from England. So wonderful to see our great captain bowling so freely again.”
2nd over: England 1-0 (Crawley 1, Duckett 0) Jayden Seales has the new ball from the other end. He’s not as quick as Alzarri Joseph but carries a strong, front-on action, bowling a tight line to Crawley, who can’t seem to find the middle at the moment. Maiden.
1st over: England 1-0 (Crawley 1, Duckett 0) Alzarri Joseph begins with pace, at 90mph, but sees his first ball scuttle to the keeper. His third ball is a terrific yorker that nearly does for Crawley, the ball squeaking to the slip cordon, and the batters try and steal a run off it … Crawley would’ve been done for had the throw hit the stumps as he turned back to return. England get away with it as Joseph shows off some serious, consistent speed.
Zak Crawley, towering over his bud at the other end, Ben Duckett, takes strike. Alzarri Joseph has the ball at the Nursery End. Let’s play!
West Indies, not long ago, were 88 for three. And then came Gus. Stokes, Woakes and Anderson took one apiece, and Shoaib Bashir didn’t even get a bowl. The good news for the visitors? It’s the bowling attack that’s their strong point. Very excited to see Shamar Joseph thunder in.
West Indies 121 all out – Gus Atkinson takes seven for 45
It’s Anderson’s week but Atkinson’s day. He walks off with seven for 45, the second-best innings figures by an England men’s Test debutant. What a spectacular arrival for the Surrey tearaway.
WICKET! Seales lbw Anderson 2 (West Indies 121 all out)
Taha Hashim
Afternoon, all. Anderson continues his search for No. 701, having a leg-before shout turned down before nipping one down the slope to beat the bat and the stumps.
And there it is, the nip-backer hitting the left-handed Seales on the back pad. There’s a review, but also three reds. West Indies’ collapse is complete and Anderson gets to join the party.
Adam Collins
41st over: West Indies 121-9 (Motie 14, Seales 2) Shot! Motie takes a ball from well wide of the off stump out to deep backward point for four. Atkinson adjusts his length back, whacks him on the thigh; the left-hander looks determined guts this out. He has one last ball here to finish it off… and is cut away for four. Nicely played. Trott’s 8/43 record from 1895 lives on with Atkinson now up to 7/45. But what an hour of play. And that’s me done too. Over to Taha Hashim for all that comes next. See you on Saturday, provided the Test Match is still going then. Nice to share a few hours with you all!
40th over: West Indies 112-9 (Motie 5, Seales 2). Anderson doesn’t get the wicket he’s craving, conceding a boundary to third man in the process. He looks a bit flat; everyone else cashing in but him – it’s a relatable experience. But back to Gus, who gets another chance at the best ever figures on Test debut – that’d be very cool.
39th over: West Indies 107-9 (Motie 1, Seales 1). Ohhhh! Three balls at No11 and his first, to Seales, is on target but finds an inside edge. Six runs to play with, one wicket to get. And it doesn’t happen. JJ Ferris’ 7/37 is now the equal best for England.
And they’re bringing Jimmy back for a go at Seales from the Nursery End.
WICKET! S Joseph c Pope b Atkinson 0 (West Indies 106-9)
Caught at third man! Wild stuff. But the real story is Atkinson, he has 7/36!
The best ever figures on debut are 8/43 and he has three balls left in this over!!!
WICKET! Joseph c Woakes b Atkinson 17 (West Indies 106-8)
Six-fa for Atkinson! Joseph tries to pop him on the moon and does a decent job of it in terms of height, but it only lands as far as Woakes at mid-on.
38th over: West Indies 106-7 (Joseph 17, Motie 1). Woakes to Motie, different story – survival, leaving alone, not feeding the four slips. But he is of the mark with a shovel into the onside, Joseph then taking one of his own to keep the strike for Gus. Good!
37th over: West Indies 104-7 (Joseph 16, Motie 0). Counter attack! After a triple-wicket maiden, Atkinson sees the ball whistling to the rope four times in five balls! Two flicks over midwicket to get into the groove, a straight smash past the bowlers’ boots then a glorious lofted cover drive. In the process, the 100 is up for the Windies. And that all came after the 4/0 in the previous couple of overs. It’s all happening. Also, shots of Viv Richards on his feet cheering the boundaries with gusto – you love to see it.
The bonkers Pope catch for you now.
36th over: West Indies 88-3 (Joseph 0, Motie 0). Wicket maiden. As I catch up and gather my thoughts (and your emails), here’s the Atkinson three-in-four.
A five-wicket haul on Test match debut for Gus Atkinson 👏
Alick Athanaze, Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva fall in the space of FOUR balls 🤯 pic.twitter.com/PGGICbTgmS
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 10, 2024
WICKET! Hodge c Pope b Woakes 24 (West Indies 88-7)
Stunning! Pope at short point, that’s a staggering catch! Hodge has middled his cut shot, properly creamed, and the vice-captain has somehow snaffled it. Chris Woakes has 150 Test wickets. The West Indies have lost 4/0 in eight balls. Carnage at Lord’s.
35th over: West Indies 88-6 (Hodge 24, Joseph 0). Yuk! Joseph has one ball to deal with and he’s hit by Atkinson, ducking into a short ball. He’s okay but they will have to go through the concussion protocols. A triple-wicket maiden. Blimey.
Can I hear more from facebook posters (believe me, you don’t want to be in these groups) insisting that Atkinson was only picked because he plays for Surrey?
WICKET! Da Silva c Smith b Atkinson 0 (West Indies 88-6)
Not a hat-trick but Da Silva is caught behind second ball! Atkinson has three in four balls, a five-wicket bag and one ball left in this over. Stunning stuff! Also a first catch for Jamie Smith… how often will we see that combination into the future?
WICKET! Holder c Brook b Atkinson 0 (West Indies 88-5)
Atkinson is on a hat-trick on debut! He squares up Holder first ball, the edge straight to Brook at third slip! Hat-tricks on debut, drink it in for a moment.