Eng vs WI: Joe Root goes as England collapse to 57-4 at lunch

NORTH SOUND: The West Indies pacers reduced England to 57 for four at lunch on the first day of the three-match series in Antigua on Tuesday, exposing the visitors’ frail top-order batting once more.

England skipper Joe Root was made to repent his decision to bat first after winning the toss at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, as he was the second wicket for Kemar Roach at the interval.

When play continues in the afternoon session, fellow opening bowler Jayden Seales and former captain Jason Holder each took a wicket, leaving Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow with the difficult job of repairing the early damage.

After Roach had taken rookie opener Alex Lees via a leg-before judgement in the third over of the encounter, Root became the third wicket to fall.

In the next over, Seales dismissed the other opening batsmen, Zak Crawley, with a stunning diving catch by wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva, who reacted with supreme athleticism to a sharp inside-edge from an attempted forcing off-side hit.

When Root was dropped by Jermaine Blackwood at third slip off Roach, the ball raced to the third man boundary, England thought to have finally struck gold.

The skipper and top batsman, though, chose not to offer a shot off the next delivery, and the ball angled into the right-hander just enough to clip the top of the off-stump.

Ben Stokes joined Dan Lawrence after Root was dismissed for 13 and the tourists were struggling at 27 for three. The pair appeared to be coping well enough to make it to lunch.

Holder, who had earlier bowled five straight maiden overs, baited Lawrence into a forward prod, allowing Blackwood to make amends in the slips and dismiss Lawrence for 20.

West Indies chose left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul, who is playing his first home test in seven years, to complement the four-man seam attack on a field that is predicted to aid the slow bowlers as the match progresses.

Kyle Mayers, a batsman, and Anderson Phillip, an uncapped bowler, were left out of their 13-man team.

As expected, England chose specialist spinner Jack Leach over seamer Saqib Mahmood in their final eleven from the 12-man squad named two days earlier.

It’s a lineup that’s changed six times since the final match of their dreadful Ashes series in Australia, which culminated in a heavy defeat under lights in Hobart less than two months ago.

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