England 416 (Pope 121, Duckett 71, Stokes 69, A Joseph 3-98) vs West Indies
Ollie Pope's century, supported by fifties from Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes, placed England in a commanding position on the first day of the second Test against the West Indies at Trent Bridge. Missed chances haunted the visitors as England capitalised on their errors.
Duckett set the tone with a brisk 71 off 59 balls, establishing a 105-run partnership with Pope for the second wicket after Zak Crawley fell to Alzarri Joseph in the third ball of the match. Pope then scored 121 from 167 balls, marking his sixth Test century and second of the year, following his 196 against India in January. Stokes contributed 69 before being caught by deep midwicket off Kavem Hodge's 14th delivery, leaving England at 342 for 6. Hodge, introduced in the 68th over, finished with 2 for 44 and played a part in two more dismissals, catching Pope and Gus Atkinson in the slips.
Despite losing three wickets for 28 runs over 7.2 overs, England managed to post 416 by the end of the day. Some soft dismissals towards the end took some gloss off their innings.
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite, after opting to bowl on a favourable batting surface under clear skies, sought more discipline from his bowlers following their heavy defeat in the first Test at Lord's. Though they occasionally pressured England's batters, the West Indies squandered several opportunities.
Pope was dropped twice before lunch, first on 46 by Alick Athanaze off Jayden Seales and then on 54 by Jason Holder at second slip off Shamar Joseph. Harry Brook capitalised on some loose deliveries from Alzarri Joseph, hitting three consecutive fours before being dropped at gully on 24.
Brook arrived at the crease with England at 142 for 3, following Joe Root's dismissal shortly after lunch, where his mistimed pull landed straight to mid-on. Seales nearly lost his wicket as Alzarri Joseph juggled the ball twice before securing the catch.
Brook and Pope added 10 more fours in the first hour of the afternoon session before Brook attempted to paddle Kevin Sinclair, resulting in a catch by Kirk McKenzie at midwicket.
Pope brought up his century with a four off Seales over square leg. However, Shamar Joseph left the field clutching his cramping left leg during his 12th over, the last before tea. Pope was eventually dismissed, driving at Alzarri Joseph with the ball ballooning to Hodge.
Jamie Smith and Stokes added 61 runs together, with Smith hitting Hodge for six beyond deep midwicket before being caught by Holder while attempting a similar shot. This continued the trend of England's soft dismissals.
Mark Wood, surviving a missed stumping, was later dropped by Mikyle Louis at point off Sinclair, adding to the West Indies' fielding woes.
West Indies took the second new ball after 86 overs, with Seales and Alzarri Joseph dismissing Chris Woakes for 37 and Shoaib Bashir for 5, respectively.
Duckett remained focused despite the imminent arrival of his first child, hitting four consecutive boundaries off Seales in the second over and reaching England's fifty in just 26 balls, the fastest in Test history. He continued his aggressive play, bringing up his fifty off just 32 balls before being caught by Holder at second slip off Shamar Joseph.
The combined efforts of Pope, Duckett, and Stokes placed England in a strong position, despite West Indies' attempts to regain control with some late wickets.