- Debutant wicketkeeper Jamie Smith hit a half-century in his first innings
- Ben Stokes took two wickets on day two to reach a personal milestone
- England are on the verge of a dominant victory in the first Test match
England are on the verge of winning their first Test match of the summer against the West Indies after dominating again on day two at Lord’s.
The match continued with 189-3 and a lead of 68 runs after they had bowled out West Indies for 121 on the opening day. England extended their lead to 250 runs before being bowled out for 371 themselves.
Harry Brook, Joe Root and Jamie Smith all made half-centuries, while Jimmy Anderson finished his probably last innings as a better unbeaten player with 0 runs, without even touching a ball.
Anderson then took centre stage with the ball, bowling West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite before having Alize Athanaze caught behind Smith. Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson also took two wickets each, leaving West Indies reeling at 79-6, still 171 runs away from forcing England to bat again.
Mail Sport’s LAWRENCE BOOTH delivers top performance at Lord’s Test…
Jimmy Anderson (centre) took two wickets to leave England on the brink of victory
Gus Atkinson also took two wickets, taking his tally to nine for the match
Smith immediately feels at home
Jamie Smith became the third wicketkeeper to pass the 50 mark on his Test debut at Lord’s, after Jack Russell against Sri Lanka in 1988 and Matt Prior against the West Indies in 2007.
Jamie Smith hit a confident 70 while showing few signs of nerves in his debut innings
Anderson extends his own record
Jimmy Anderson faced no ball in his final innings, extending his world record for Test match not-outs to 114. Next, miles behind him, is West Indian Courtney Walsh, with 61. In 116 of Anderson’s 265 innings, he failed to score more than one run.
Stokes joins elite company
When Ben Stokes dismissed Kirk McKenzie, he became the third player – after Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis – to complete the Test double of 200 wickets and 6,000 runs.
Ben Stokes took his 200th Test wicket, joining an elite company of three players including himself, Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis