England levelled the three-Test series against West Indies after bowling the tourists out for 198 in the second innings to win by 113 runs in the final session of the second Test with Ben Stokes in inspired form at Old Trafford on Monday. England had declared their second innings at 129-3 in the first session in Manchester after sizzling all-rounder Stokes smashed 78 off 57 deliveries, setting West Indies a target of 312 with 85 overs left in the day.
A grafting century from Dom Sibley and an increasingly belligerent one by Ben Stokes put England in control on day two of the second Test against West Indies in Manchester on Friday. Opener Sibley completed his second Test century shortly before lunch, eventually falling for 120, while Stokes cut loose after it before going for 176 as England declared on 469-9.
After a 117-day absence, international cricket returned in familiar fashion on Wednesday as rain and bad light restricted the first Test between England and West Indies to 17.4 overs and the hosts closed a frustrating day on 35-1.
England openers Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott made a solid start in reply to West Indies' total of 299 by reaching 74 without loss on the second day of the second Test on Wednesday.
Young England batsman Zak Crawley believes Ben Stokes will have no trouble filling the captain's shoe in the absence if Joe Root as the all-rounder is already a "big leader" of the team. Root will miss the Test series opener against West Indies, which starts on Wednesday at the Ageas Bowl to attend the birth of his second child, handing over the captaincy duties to England's World Cup hero Stokes.
Mark Wood picked up his first five-wicket haul to bowl England into a commanding position on the second day of the third test against West Indies on Sunday.
Shannon Gabriel had copped a four-match ban for throwing 'personal abuse' at Joe Root in February 2019 during the St Lucia Test match, though his comments were never made public.
James Anderson tore through West Indies' middle order in a devastating late spell, while Ben Stokes chimed in to claim tailender Kemar Roach for a duck with the final ball of the day at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown.
The West Indies are currently lying seventh in the 10-team standings with just three points in their kitty and they can't afford any further loss to stay in the mix for a semifinal spot.
Still recovering from a hamstring injury, swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle was on Wednesday left out of the West Indies' 15-member squad for the One-Day International series against India next month.
Opener Mayank Agarwal is of the view that India is in a "great position" after posting 264 for five in challenging conditions on the first day of the second Test against the West Indies, in Kingston, Jamaica, on Friday.
Since Dhawan is not part of the Test squad, the Delhi left-hander would like to finish the Caribbean assignment on a high.
The flamboyant Chris Gayle is unlikely to get a farewell Test match against India after being overlooked in the 13-strong West Indies squad for the two-Test series, starting August 22 at North Sound, in Antigua.
Gayle has been named in West Indies' 14-man squad for the three One-day International series (ODIs) against India.
Images from the third One-Day International between India and the West Indies, in Ahmedabad, on Friday.
Sri Lanka need to win their final two games, and hope for favourable outcomes in England and Pakistan's next fixtures.
An old-fashioned green-top pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound was certainly a mitigating factor in England's performance, especially early on when West Indies' four-pronged pace attack exploited the favourable conditions.
IMAGES from the first Test between England and West Indies played at the Rose Bowl Cricket Stadium, Southampton on Thursday
Root said England could not afford to lower their guard against an attack which featured three bowlers -- Jason Holder, Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel -- who are among the top 20 in official Test rankings.
West Indies number 11 Jason Holder smashed 14 runs off the final over to earn his side a dramatic tie with Pakistan in the third one-day international at Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia on Friday.
India have a chance to become the sole No 1 team, a position currently shared with South Africa, in the ICC ODI rankings if the hosts blank West Indies 5-0 in the series starting October 8 in Kochi.
England battled back into contention on the third day of the second Test against West Indies as Mark Stoneman's first half century and captain Joe Root's unbeaten 45 helped wipe out a sizeable first-innings deficit on Sunday.
West Indies refuse to divulge details about Holder's injury
Teenage batting prospect Prithvi Shaw struck a breezy century on debut to put hosts India on course for a big first innings total in the opening Test against the West Indies at Rajkot on Thursday.
England out for lowest score in Barbados, WI in strong position
Bravo, 29, has not played a Test for West Indies since 2016, when his contract was suspended for a social media post criticising board president Dave Cameron.
The talented Shreyas Iyer will be auditioning for the vacant number four slot when India take on West Indies in Sunday's second ODI of the three-match series.
The off-spinner dismissed Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews with the final ball of his eighth over and returned to send back Nuwan Kulasekara and Tharindu Kaushal with the first two deliveries of his next to achieve the milestone in the first quarter-final of the World Cup.
Captain Virat Kohli's vote of confidence ahead of the England game means that Rishabh Pant will have to wait to get his first game at the World Cup.
West Indies head into World Cup with little or no expectations of success.
'We always back him. He has won us so many games'
England pace bowler James Anderson took a career best of seven for 42 on Saturday to destroy the West Indies' batting on the third day of the third Test at Lord's and set up his team for a 2-1 series victory.
Chris Gayle accused the West Indies Cricket Board of victimisation after key all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard were left out of the country's World Cup squad.
Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers from cricket World Cups held between 1975 to 2015.
Bolstered by their dramatic come-from-behind win in the last game, India will look to keep the winning momentum going when they clash against West Indies in the fourth One-Day International in Dharamsala on Friday, on what is expected to be a pacy track.
Ravindra Jadeja is glad that he could repay skipper Virat Kohli's faith in him with a gritty half-century in the first Test against the West Indies, in Antigua, on Friday.
International cricket will gingerly ease out of a 117-day shutdown in Southampton next week but the scars of the COVID-19 pandemic will be clearly evident at the Ageas Bowl. An encounter between the fourth and eighth ranked teams in Test cricket is hardly a pinnacle but England's series against West Indies could offer a glimpse into a future where the game plods on under the shadow of the new coronavirus.
The World Cup disappointment will continue to linger but Kohli will fancy his team's chances in the series, notwithstanding the return of the swashbuckling Chris Gayle.
Chris Woakes took 5 for 19 as England claimed a comfortable nine-wicket victory in their first official World Cup warm-up match after dismissing a hapless West Indies for 122 in 29.3 overs on Monday.
Australia's David Warner breathed life into the rain-ruined final Test with a pulsating ton as the match meandered to a draw against the West Indies on Thursday. Warner, determined to finish an undistinguished series on a high, reached his 16th Test century off 82 balls before a small Sydney crowd. The buccaneering opener had a highest score of 64 in the two previous Tests as team-mates helped themselves to six centuries against the tourists' innocuous bowling attack.
