Moeen Ali and Ben Foakes dragged England from the brink of another costly collapse to reach 172 for six on the first afternoon of the second Test against the West Indies.
Inserted on a lively pitch at Antigua’s Sir Vivian Richards Stadium England were reduced to 93 for six shortly after lunch, with balls intermittently leaping dangerously off a length.
But Moeen, fresh from a pair of ducks in Barbados and hit on the helmet early in his innings, led the fightback with 55 not out as Foakes’ unbeaten 32 offered solid support.
Jonny Bairstow had earlier outscored the rest of England’s top six combined with a counter-attacking 52, as the Windies’ pace quartet made hay in helpful conditions.
Having been dismissed for 77 in the first innings during their defeat in Barbados, England must have been fearing the worst when the home side began reaping the rewards of winning the toss on a green-tinged surface.
Debutant opener Joe Denly managed just six before falling to a horribly loose ball that was closer to being called wide than threatening the stumps, while there also were single figure scores for Rory Burns, Joe Root and Jos Buttler.
Root fell to a positively brutish Alzarri Joseph delivery, kicking and jagging off a length before thudding his top hand and being held after brilliant team-work from John Campbell and Shai Hope in the slips.
Nice work from Moeen/Foakes here halting the momentum. Positive v Chase and good running. — Rory Dollard (@thervd) January 31, 2019
Ben Stokes (14) also sustained a nasty blow on the glove from the rapid Shannon Gabriel as concerns about the pitch grew but Bairstow had shown that positivity was still possible with his pro-active 52.
Moeen and Foakes had the best of the conditions, the ball softening somewhat and Roston Chase taking a spell in the afternoon, but they ran aggressively, looked to keep the scoreboard ticking and successfully reclaimed some of the momentum with an accomplished stand on 79.
