England’s search for wickets – look ahead to day three of the second Test

England will look to convert scoreboard pressure into West Indian wickets on day three of the second Test in Barbados, with centuries from Joe Root and Ben Stokes paving the way.

The tourists have bought themselves precious time on a flat surface at the Kensington Oval, racking up their best score in over a year on the back of Root’s classy 153 and Stokes’ merciless 120.

After declaring on 507 for nine they made a brilliant start to the reply, debutant seamer Matthew Fisher removing John Campbell with his second ball in international cricket.

But there was no further joy as the home side reached 71 for one in 27 hard-fought overs.

Ben is back

At the start of this tour Stokes gave a critical assessment of his efforts during the winter’s Ashes defeat, saying he had let his team-mates down after returning from a mental health break. But there is surely no doubt that the all-rounder’s star quality and magnetism is shining through once more. He has bowled with quality, skill and guts in the Caribbean and by reeling off a thrilling century – his first in 20 months – he showed the other side of his game is back on song too. Welcome back.

Player to watch – Saqib Mahmood

Fisher will never forget his first Test wicket and now his fellow debutant will want a piece of the action too. He knows what it feels like to celebrate in an England shirt, with 21 limited-overs scalps under his belt, but a red-ball victim will be top of his shopping list on Sunday. The 25-year-old looked the part four overs late on, allowing just three runs and hitting a nice pace off the pitch. When he next gets ball in hand, Saqib will be on a mission to open his account.

Pitch talk

There has been plenty of debate about the staid nature of the pitches both