Chase removes Burns at stroke of lunch

Manchester: England openers Rory Burns and Dominic Sibley got off to a cautious start but Roston Chase provided West Indies with a crucial breakthrough at the stroke of lunch. With rain playing spoilsport, the first session saw only one hour of play on the opening day of the second Test of #raisethebat series at Old Trafford on Thursday.

England, who are gunning to level the series here in Manchester, were put to bat by visiting skipper Jason Holder after he won the toss, which was delayed by more than an hour because of rain.

The run-up to the Test was marred by controversy surrounding fast-bowler Jofra Archer, who was ousted from the team for breaking the bio-secure protocol. But England openers put the distraction behind them and put up a cautious performance in the first session of the day.

Things went well for the hosts till the last over of the session as on the second ball of the 14th over, Chase trapped Burns in front of the wicket and he was adjudged LBW for 15. He went for the review but three reds meant he had to head back into the hut. With that, Lunch was taken by the umpires.

Holder will be the happier man going into the break as his decision to hand Chase the last over before the break resulted in a crucial breakthrough. In total, five bowlers were used by the visitors during the short session.

Brief Scores: England: 29/1 (Burns 15; Chase 1/1) vs West Indies.

Meanwhile, Former England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan sympathised with fast-bowler Jofra Archer after the latter was axed from the team for the second Test against West Indies at the Old Trafford.

Archer, who scalped three wickets in the Southampton Test which England lost by four wickets, breached the bio-secure bubble and was subsequently omitted from the squad to face West Indies in the crucial second Test of the ongoing three-match series.

"It was a big shock. The bio-secure environment has to stay, otherwise players can be infected and everything that has been put in place gets thrown into turmoil," Hussain told Sky Sports.

"We don't know if it was just naivety from Jofra or something more serious. He's apologised, it's a very unusual situation that we find ourselves in and he's made a mistake and apologised for it. "His team-mates and captain will be disappointed. He's a fabulous bowler and bowled really well in Southampton," he further added.

Archer will now commence five days of isolation and will undergo two COVID-19 tests in this period, which have to test negative before his self-isolation period is lifted, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in an official statement.

'It's a blow for the England side,Jofra Archer is a wonderful cricketer. It's going to make it so much more difficult for England to get back into the series," Vaughan told BBC Radio 5.

The ECB, meanwhile, said they have informed the visitors regarding the issue and the latter are satisfied with the measures that have been imposed.