Uncapped opener Alex Lees posted an assured half-century on his first outing as an England player, tuning up for next week’s first Test against the West Indies with a sturdy warm-up performance in Antigua.
The Durham left-hander is the latest county cricket graduate to get his chance at the head of the innings, with Dom Sibley, Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed all recently dropped from the vexed position, and made a strong first impression.
Lining up against a Cricket West Indies President’s XI at the Coolidge Cricket Ground – renamed and renovated after its doomed association with the American fraudster Allen Stanford – he top-scored with 65 as the tourists posted 251 for four on the first day.
Channelling traditional opening methods of caution and application, he occupied the crease for five hours and faced 214 deliveries in a hard-working knock.
He was not as fluent as his new partner Zak Crawley, who made a lively 62 in less than half the time, and not as smooth as captain Joe Root in his well-oiled 54 but the 28-year-old did the job he was asked to and will make his Test debut at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium better for the experience.
Lees was largely untroubled in his lengthy stay, Raymon Reifer summoning the best of three lbw appeals when he was on 43, and hit the ropes on six occasions when the bowlers strayed. Surprisingly, given his careful approach, he allowed himself one real flourish when he swung hard at spinner Bryan Charles and plonked him for six over long-on.
Charles took his time exacting revenge but eventually removed the Yorkshireman midway through the final session, bowling him round his legs on the sweep.
Lees faced up first and dutifully saw off a new-ball burst from Shermon Lewis and left-armer Preston McSween with a well-rehearsed defence. Neither are considered good enough to be challenging for a place in the Windies first XI as it stands, but Lewis has played Test cricket twice and counts Virat Kohli among his scalps while McSween is a canny left-armer.
Between them they restricted Lees to one dashed single in the first half-hour, but Crawley was on hand to move the scoreboard along with a series of assertive drives.
Lees finally freed his arms when Colin Archibald offered him some width, punching the ball in front of point for four after 37 deliveries of watching and waiting, and picked up another before settling for an unbeaten 11 at lunch.
It was Crawley who took the game forward, easing into his new status as the side’s senior opener. He pierced the infield eight times on his way to a fluent half-century, and three more before ambition got the better of him.
Throwing his hands at Charles he left too big a gap to cope with a hint of turn that saw him bowled.
Root will have been relieved not to come in too early having stepped back into the number three slot and was soon building a typically busy innings.
Lees scored just 22 off his first hundred balls and when he did swing for six it did not herald an acceleration. Instead he kept digging deep, and finally got the chance to raise his bat in recognition when Archibald tossed one short and wide outside off stump.
Lewis returned to bag the prize scalp of Root, clean bowled after previously looking fully secure, before Charles dislodged Lees’ bails as he stooped into a mis-timed sweep.
Charles continued polishing his figures when Ben Stokes nicked a booming drive to slip for 11, the only real failure of the day, but Dan Lawrence made the most of his opportunity in the closing session.
He reached 46 not out with three fours and a six and will resume on the second day alongside Jonny Bairstow.
