England v West Indies 1st Test report and scorecard: Jason Holder and West Indies dominate day two

Scorecard - England won the toss and elected to bat

England first innings: 204 (Stokes 43, Buttler 35; Holder 6-42, Gabriel 4-62)

West Indies first innings: 57-1 (Campbell 28, K Brathwaite 20*; Anderson 1-17)

With regular captain Joe Root watching from home with his new baby, Isabella, the home side were bowled out for 204 in tricky conditions that must have made Stokes question the wisdom of his decision to bat first at the Ageas Bowl.

While the heavy grey clouds and permanent floodlights did not help, Holder and Shannon Gabriel, who took four for 62, exploited them wonderfully before the tourists reached 57 for one when bad light stopped play.

Stokes top-scored with 43 but even that effort required two drops in the outfield. England are still in the game, but now boast a fragile lead of 147.

A rain-affected start to the series meant England resumed on 35 for one and they never managed to get their noses in front as their first innings was wrapped up in 67.3 overs.

Gabriel, who claimed the only success of day one, gave the Windies a perfect start with two more early breakthroughs in the morning session. His first was Joe Denly, who spent 27 minutes searching for his first runs of the day and was clean bowled between bat and pad from the very next ball.

His knock of 18 from 58 will do little to ease the scrutiny over his place, but his struggles were hardly out of place. Gabriel followed up by seeing off Rory Burns, who had looked solid for 30 before playing across a fast yorker that was destined for leg stump. Umpire Richard Kettleborough rejected the initial appeal but DRS settled the matter in Gabriel’s favour. It was the first of five decisions overturned by the West Indies.

From there on it was all about Holder, not just the world’s number one all-rounder ahead of Stokes but also the highest placed bowler on show at number three. He has been managing an ankle injury since arriving from the Caribbean but was fit enough to turn in his sixth five-for in the past 10 Tests.

He opened his account with Zak Crawley, effectively auditioning to replace Denly at number three when Root returns. As before Kettleborough rejected the lbw appeal and, as before, replays overruled him.

He sustained back-to-back boundaries off new man Ollie Pope but was quick to respond, drawing a loose prod in the channel and having the Surrey batsman caught for 12.

England’s lunch score of 106 for five would have been worse had Kemar Roach held a tough chance at fine leg off Stokes’ top-edge but the ball slipped loose. For a spell after lunch that looked to be a costly miss, as Stokes and Jos Buttler made a dashing stand of 67.

There was a second life for Stokes on 32 – put down horribly by Shamarh Brooks at short cover – but also a series of sweet strokes. Both launched Gabriel to the cover-point boundary in the first over of the session, the first of several to follow.

It was Holder whose guile and subtle movement ended the counter-attack, Stokes nicking behind after compulsively advancing down the pitch. Just seven balls later, Buttler (35) was brilliantly held one-handed by Dowrich.

He made it five when Jofra Archer was lbw for a duck, DRS to the rescue for the third time, and Wood was caught at gully to make it six. Dom Bess (31no) led a useful last-wicket stand of 30 before Gabriel sent James Anderson packing.

The West Indies’ post-tea response was split in two, a seven-over burst before bad light and a second lasting 12.3 overs.

There was an extended battle of wills between Anderson and John Campbell, with Richard Illingworth giving the left-hander lbw on 12, 24 and 28.

Only the latter decision stuck – Campbell successfully taking his side’s tally of successful reviews to five for the day – with Anderson finally ending a 47 run stand with Kraigg Brathwaite.

Mark Wood arrived at first change and topped 94mph in his first over, instantly giving him the top speed of the match. But Brathwaite and Shai, heroes at Headingley three summers ago, stayed together for stumps.

Reaction

West Indies captain Jason Holder insists he is not finished with England after dismantling them with the ball and wants to add a century to his efforts in the first #raisethebat Test.

Holder shrugged off concerns over an ankle injury to take a career-best haul of six for 42 as the hosts were rolled over for 204 at the Ageas Bowl.

The 6ft 7in paceman settled into a groove that England’s batsmen could not answer on day two – including his opposite number Ben Stokes for 43 – but wants to live up to his status as the world’s number-one all-rounder by doing similar damage with the bat.

“It’s a proud moment getting six wickets in England, anything to help this team, but my role is to contribute with bat and ball,” he said, with the visitors set to resume 147 behind on 57 for one.

“I think I’ve soaked it in already. I really want to make some runs now. I have done a good job so far in the first innings but my Test is far from over.

“I have a massive contribution to make with the bat. I’ve ticked one box so far, now it’s left to me to knuckle down and get a hundred.”

Shannon Gabriel turned in a highly impressive effort of his own, accounting for each of the top three and returning to end a frustrating final-wicket stand of 30, but Holder’s dismissal of Stokes was probably the decisive contribution.

He had been dropped twice and his partnership of 67 with Jos Buttler was just threatening to rebalance the scales. Stokes had been using his feet to try and disrupt the bowlers’ plans, but Holder stuck at it and had him caught behind advancing down the track. Buttler, who had looked good for 35, followed close behind.

“It was a pivotal moment then because they were starting to score,” he agreed.

“Stokesy was looking quite set. We put down two chances and he was looking to make us pay and the partnership with Jos was starting to blossom into something that could really hurt us.

“I was getting just enough movement to keep him at bay, keep him playing and eventually got the edge.”

England paceman Mark Wood, who approached 95mph in a rapid but wicketless spell in the evening, accepted that the tourists were in a strong position.

He has not given up hope of turning the tide though.

“They are on top. They’ve done really well today and showed us the way to go,” he said.

“We lost a few wickets quickly, so there’s plenty to put right in the morning. We would have liked 250-300, so we’re a little bit short. But we can’t change that now, we can only affect how it goes from here.”

England’s most similar bowler to Holder is arguably Stuart Broad, left out of a home Test for the first time in eight years here, but Wood believes he and Jofra Archer can find their own way to succeed.

“I was a little bit surprised I was playing… it was a great confidence boost and it’s for me to try and repay that faith over the game,” he said.

“Holder bowled very well – he tested our technique, made them play – but Gabriel got four wickets too and he bowls quick, so it doesn’t mean we’ve got to bowl slower.

“Me and Jofra have got our own assets, one of which is bowling fast, so we need to remember what we’re good at.”

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