Joe Root impresses as England begin tour of the Caribbean in comfortable fashion against West Indies Board XI

Root on form in the Caribbean sun.
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Will Macpherson15 January 2019

England’s tour of the Caribbean began in quiet and comfortable fashion at Barbados’s idyllic Three Ws Ground.

There were few surprises – captain Joe Root was in terrific form making bright and breezy runs, Rory Burns and Ben Stokes grafted hard, and the tourists threw in an afternoon collapse of five for 31 for good measure.

For the hour, Keaton Jennings batted for a second time as so often happens in such knockabout tour matches. England’s game of morning football – the subject of much recent debate – was similarly competitive to the cricket.

They ended 317 for 10 (not all out); on Wednesday they will bowl all day, no matter how many wickets they take.

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Opening for the opposition will be new Test call-up John Campbell, while Alzarri Joseph – who, as one of six internationals in the side, was recalled for next Wednesday’s First Test – troubled England with good pace in a very serviceable pace attack. Chemar Holder impressed for his three wickets, but gentle Trinidadian off-spinner Bryan Charles was gifted more than half of his five.

England were put in and Jennings’ first innings ended when he was caught off bat and pad off Joseph, with the pitch as lively as it was all day and a desperately slow outfield.

Jonny Bairstow, bedding in at No3, struggled too, before swinging wildly at Raymon Reifer and departing for four. Root settled immediately, and had almost overtaken the stoic Burns as they reached stumps 87 for two.

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In the over after the break he struck three boundaries and soon had a run-a-ball half-century before Burns was given out lbw.

Stokes put a frantic start behind him to mix defence with the occasional attacking flourish, such as when he drilled Charles down the ground for a flat six. Root had struck two sixes off Charles but succumbed sweeping him, and departed looking as surprised as anyone. His Big Bash struggles looked an age, not a week, ago.

Moeen Ali never looked quite as comfortable, and his dismissal – trying to slog Charles for a third four – began the collapse. Stokes, having spent longer a the crease than Root, was also dismissed hitting out, before Ben Foakes and Sam Curran fell to Holder within three balls. Jack Leach edged Holder, who would eventually dismiss Broad to complete his five-fer.

He thought he had Jennings first ball of his second innings too, but he survived until stumps with Chris Woakes, at the end of a filthy final half-hour of part-time spin. Jennings ended the day 25 for one.

West Indies have named their 13-man squad for the First Test. Darren Bravo, who played the last of his 49 Tests in November 2016 before falling out with the board, is recalled, while two uncapped batsmen have also been selected, opener Campbell and middle order bat Shamarh Brooks.

While there are various part-timers, Jomel Warrican is the only frontline spinner, a selection England may take hints from. Joseph, as he works his way back to full fitness, is recalled to bowl fast, with the uncapped Oshane Thomas as cover.

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