Twitter Reactions: Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler make it England's day with an unbeaten century stand

Kemar Roach was the only bowler who looked threatening and got a couple of wickets.

By Tanvir Sahni

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Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler
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Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images for ECB)

The third Test match in Machester began with the West Indies winning the toss and opting to bowl once again. England had two changes with James Anderson and Jofra Archer coming in place of Sam Curran and Zack Crawley. The visitors had one change with Rahkeem Cornwall replacing Alzarri Joseph. With the series standing at 1-1, both teams tried to put up their best elevens for the game.

The Caribbean side went in with an additional spinner while the hosts had to get in a bowler as Ben Stokes wasn’t fit to bowl. For a change, rain did not play spoilsport this time and the match could begin on time. Rory Burns and Dominic Sibley walked out to open the innings while Kemar Roach took the new ball.

The visitors make early inroads

Roach got Sibley LBW in the very first over. After not getting his line right in the initial few deliveries, he bowled a peach to dismiss the man in form. Captain Joe Root was the next man in. After getting to 17 runs he was dismissed through an amazing direct hit by Roston Chase. England were 27/2 and their savior, Stokes was at the crease. He along with Burns took the hosts to 92 runs.

Stokes got bowled courtesy an inswinging delivery by Roach. The visitors had got the wicket that they were looking for. England’s star performer was heading back to the pavilion. Burns was soon dismissed on 57 and the hosts were lingering at 122-4.

WI had no answers to Jos Buttler and Ollie Pope

Once Stokes was dismissed, the Holder-led side would have expected things to get easier. However, this was not the case. With a 136-run partnership, Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler have helped the hosts reach 258/4 at the end of Day 1. Pope played brilliantly and has scored 91 runs at a strike rate of 64.08. At the other end, the wicket-keeper-batsman, who started off slowly, accelerated midway to reach 56 runs in 120 deliveries with a couple of sixes.

Kemar Roach was the only bowler who looked threatening and got a couple of wickets by the end of the day’s play. Chase dismissed Burns as Cornwall completed a good catch at slips. Captain Holder too looked off-color and could not create any chances for his team. With Shannon Gabriel struggling with his fitness, it would be interesting to see what strategy the Caribbean side comes out with on Day 2.

Here’s how Twitter reacted on Day 1

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