Pope, Buttler snatch initiative from West Indies

West Indies squandered the upper-hand they had in the deciding Test in Manchester after Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler snatched the momentum after Tea as England ended the opening day on a high. At 122 for 4, things could have slipped away from England, but the unbeaten 136-run stand between Pope and Buttler put them on top at the end of Day 1 on Friday (July 24), with bad light stopping play eventually.

Runs came a sluggish pace for England in the opening two sessions as West Indies chipped away with timely wickets, keeping the batsmen in check. But England's fifth-wicket pair fought back with resilience, en route respective half-centuries taking England to 258 for 4 at Stumps after being asked to bat.

West Indies were in control for most of the day, sending back the big guns, but gifted away the advantage in a wicketless final session, allowing both Pope and Buttler to get away as the pair not just built on the partnership, but did so in quick time. They found the boundaries at will as batting got easier as the day progressed.

Pope, who struggled in his first few overs at the crease, once settled was impossible to dislodge. His front-foot play and drives were imperious, milking the covers for most of his runs, along with the third-man region. Buttler was cautious at start, but found the ropes gradually with ease when the opportunity presented itself. As many as 15 fours and two sixes were hit after Tea as England scored at a rate of four, much in contrast to the first two sessions.

Rahkeem Cornwall deceived the batsmen with his varying lengths but was not rewarded for it in the wickets column, being the most expensive bowler on the day. Buttler and Pope took full advantage of the West Indies bowlers being loose and flat after Tea as they made the most of the freebies. Pope even got lucky when Chase couldn't get to the ball when it was launched into the air and ended the day nine runs short of a century, while Buttler was unbeaten on 56.

Rory Burns led England's fightback early on, converting his resolute start to a half-century in the second session. West Indies, though, were the happier side when Tea was taken having not just sent back Burns, but also the dangerous Ben Stokes. Burns, who was tested in the morning by Cornwall's bounce and turn, made amends as the batting was seemingly comfortable after lunch. Runs trickled in steadily and the batsmen found the boundaries too. West Indies' pacers were able to get some swing, eventually resorting to the short ball, which even required the England physio to run in twice in the session to check on the batsmen for possible concussions, after they were struck by Kemar Roach's bouncers. First Stokes, then Pope. It was also what eventually brought Stokes's downfall. Roach set up Stokes beautifully - two bouncers into the helmet, followed by the fuller one. Lack of footwork from Stokes had him tentatively pushing away from his body only for the ball to sneak in and knock offstump out for Roach's 199th wicket.

West Indies called on Chase and like he has done a number of times this series, he delivered, accounting for Burns for the third time in the series. It wasn't as short as Burns hoped to cut away. He instead ended up edging to slip where Cornwall took a brilliant catch to send him back for 57. Against Chase this series, Burns has faced 27 balls and has scored just 9 runs for three dismissals. West Indies could've also had Pope before the break had Chase picked up the ball cleanly to have a shy at the stumps.

West Indies had a dream start after opting to bowl on an overcast morning as Roach struck in the opening over to have Dom Sibley dismissed for a duck. Root, who had to come in at No. 3 rather than his usual No. 4, with England opting for an extra bowler, had quite an unpleasant stay in the middle, playing and missing quite a few early on. He had as many as 13 false shots in 33 balls. Just when it looked like he was settling down and finding his groove, a direct hit from Chase at backward point caught him well short of his crease.

Roach got early movement, as did Jason Holder, who was as miserly as ever in the first hour. The pair bowled the right lengths and lines to keep the batsmen in check. They posed regular questions to Root, who eventually was batting a little outside his crease to negate the impact of swing or seam movement. Gabriel, who struggled with his lines, left the field after bowling just 3.2 overs with a calf issue. Gabriel seemed to be struggling since the first Test, even having left the field on a couple of occasions in the second. Yet, he was picked ahead of Alzarri Joseph, who had to make way for the inclusion of Cornwall. He, however, returned to bowl later in the session, finding some pace and bounce after the earlier jolt, but remained wicketless.

Brief scores: England 258/4 (Ollie Pope 91*, Jos Buttler 56, Rory Burns 57; Kemar Roach 2-56) vs West Indies.