England captain Joe Root ensured his side enjoyed an excellent start to the second Test against the West Indies as he scored a brilliant hundred in Barbados.
Root enjoyed an excellent 164-run partnership with Dan Lawrence to put England in charge, after opener Alex Lees showed some promise with a patient 30. After once again winning the toss and opting to bat first, England opener Zak Crawley was unable to build on his brilliant hundred in Antigua, falling for a seven-ball duck in his very next innings as he was caught behind off Jayden Seales.
Captain Root, following on from his excellent century in the first Test, then shared a good partnership with Alex Lees. With Root looking much more fluent and continuing where he left off in Antigua, Lees battled hard after getting dismissed for single figure scores on his debut.
The pair saw England safely through to lunch on 47-1 and went on to share a 76-run partnership after the break. Root was afforded two lifelines by the hosts and cashed in, ultimately going on to reach his 25th Test match century.
However, the following ball Lees was pinned on the back foot by spinner Veerasammy Permaul and given out lbw for 30. It was a disappointing end to his innings for the 28-year-old, who had battled hard for more than 100 balls but failed to kick on.
Following Lees' dismissal, Dan Lawrence injected some more intent into England's innings, smashing Permaul over deep midwicket for six. Alongside Root, he looked to take advantage of the platform Lees had helped set.
In the 68th over both batters reached important milestones, with Lawrence first reaching his half-century and Root then bringing up his hundred off the following delivery. The pair ultimately shared a brilliant 164-run partnership, before Lawrence chipped a simple catch to cover off the final ball of the day, getting out for 91.
Here are five talking points from the day's play.
Fisher makes debut as Overton sidelined with illness
After it was confirmed on Tuesday that Saqib Mahmood would be handed his Test debut with Mark Wood out of action with an elbow injury, England were forced into a second change right on the eve of the match starting when Craig Overton came down with an illness.
With Ollie Robinson also not yet fully fit after missing the first Test with back spasms, Matthew Fisher was handed his international debut in Overton's place. And not only will Fisher's debut be an immensely proud moment for the 24-year-old and his family, it also means his mum and brothers can cash in a bet they placed ten years ago.
When Fisher was just 14, the family made a £100 bet that he would one day represent England at odds of 50-1. With the Yorkshire star now making his England debut by virtue of Overton's illness, his family stand to collect a £5,000 windfall.
Crawley comes crashing down after brilliant hundred
Hot off the heels of scoring a magnificent 121 in the second innings in Antigua, Crawley came crashing back down to earth as he was out for a duck in the first innings in Barbados. The 24-year-old was caught behind off Seales, suffering the fourth duck of his Test career.
Crawley is clearly a hugely talented batter but remains a work in progress, with his latest dismissal proof of that. The opener was not decisive enough over whether to play or leave the ball and by the time he had decided to shoulder arms it was too late.
Crawley ended up getting a faint edge on the ball, which was comfortably taken by Da Silva. "That was a disappointingly soft dismissal for Zak Crawley who was looking to leave the ball," was the verdict of former England international Jonathan Agnew.
Root cashes in after two lifelines
The England captain is certainly not the kind of player you want to give lifelines too, but he was afforded two by the West Indies at the start of his innings. First, the hosts opted not to review a caught behind shout when he was on 23.
Replays ultimately showed that Root appeared to get an inside edge on the ball before flicking his pad. Da Silva then dropped a tough catch down the leg side when Root was on 34, much to the disappointment of Roach.
And Root took advantage of the missed opportunities, going on to score his 25th Test century and his second in back-to-back innings. "Joe Root looked in great nick from the moment he came in," former England international Jonathan Agnew told the BBC. "He's just carrying on his form from the last year."
Lees shows promise with stoic 30
After a disappointing England debut in the first Test which saw him dismissed for single-figure scores in both innings, Lees enjoyed a much better time in the second Test. The Durham star was very patient and watchful early in his innings, rarely playing a false shot.
Off his first 100 balls Lees made just 18 runs, marking just the second time since 1998 that an England opener has scored less than 20 of that number of deliveries. His innings was also the second-longest in terms of balls faced by an England opener this winter, with his 30 off 138 only surpassed by Crawley's hundred in the previous Test.
Lees ultimately fell lbw to Permaul, but his innings was an illustration of what he can bring to this England side, blunting the new ball and allowing the more aggressive middle-order to cash in later on. "He looks organised, he looks quite composed & his judgement is good so these are good signs for a batsman going forward," former England international Roland Butcher said on talkSPORT. "England may have found an opening batsman, something they've been looking for for a little while."
Lawrence stars with Test best
After being overlooked for the entirety of the Ashes despite England's struggles with the bat, Lawrence has certainly looked to make the most of his opportunities in the Caribbean. A cameo of 37 off 36 balls in the second innings in Antigua was very impressive as England pushed for a declaration and he followed it up with a half-century in Barbados.
And again it was Lawrence's intent which was the hallmark of his innings. It took the Essex star ten balls to get off the mark, before he brought up his fifty off just 62 balls, before getting out just nine runs short of a maiden Test century.
BT Sport pundits David Gower and Carlos Brathwaite were particularly impressed with Lawrence, with Gower saying: "I like Dan Lawrence because he is bristling when he gets to the crease. The six he hits is technique but it is also intent. What you need in a game like this is the ability to push on. In the middle order if you have Lawrence at four that acceleration is important."
Brathwaite added: "You always love to see players coming in trying to exert some pressure on the bowlers. There wasn't much momentum in the game at all but Dan Lawrence has tried to spice it up."
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