England 29-1 at lunch after West Indies win toss in second test

16 July 2020 - 15:03 By Reuters
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West Indies' appeal for the wicket of England's Rory Burns (2R) lbw on the first day of the second Test cricket match between England and the West Indies at Old Trafford in Manchester, northwest England on July 16, 2020.
West Indies' appeal for the wicket of England's Rory Burns (2R) lbw on the first day of the second Test cricket match between England and the West Indies at Old Trafford in Manchester, northwest England on July 16, 2020.
Image: Jon Super / POOL / AFP

England lost opener Rory Burns on the stroke of lunch as they finished the first session at 29-1 against the West Indies in the second test in Manchester on Thursday.

After the start was delayed due to rain, West Indies won the toss and skipper Jason Holder chose to bowl first to take advantage of the overcast conditions, with the lights also switched on at Old Trafford.

Burns and Dom Sibley managed to see off 13 overs of the Windies' pace attack but Burns lost his wicket in the last over before lunch as spinner Roston Chase struck with his second delivery to trap the opener lbw for 15.

England are without Jofra Archer after the fast bowler breached the team's bio-secure protocols while top order batsman Joe Denly has been dropped to make way for captain Joe Root, who missed the first test to attend the birth of his child.

Mark Wood and James Anderson have also been rested with the trio of Stuart Broad, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes named in the playing 11.

"With both (Wood and Anderson) having come back from two very serious injuries, it seemed very high-risk to play them in this game," Root said.

"We're blessed with some fantastic players waiting in the wings. We've definitely got an attack that can take 20 wickets."

West Indies, who won the first test in Southampton by four wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, named an unchanged team.

The series is being played in a bio-secure bubble without spectators in attendance due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 


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