After the surprising loss that England suffered at the hands of the West Indies, they will want to make a strong comeback. The first Test match post the restart of cricket, England vs West Indies, did not go in favour of the 2019 World Cup winners. They would have been surprised by the way that the visitors played and all credit goes to the Windies, who were just the better side in the game.
However, keeping that in mind, the English cricket team will now want to get back to winning ways in this fixture. Ben Stokes and co. could not do much in the first match. Despite that, they will want to impress, as they look to draw the series at 1-1.
There will be some boosts to the squad, including the potential return of skipper Joe Root.
When is the match?
The game will start on the 16th of July (Thursday) at 3.30 PM IST. It will be played from 16th-20th July.
Predicted XI
England-
Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root (C), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (WK), Dom Bess, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad.
West Indies-
Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich (WK), Jason Holder (C), Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel.
Captain Picks
Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Shannon Gabriel, Jermaine Blackwood.
Five players to pick in your fantasy team from England vs West Indies
Ben Stokes-
One of the best all-rounders in the world, Stokes had decent contributions in both the innings of the first match. He was the captain in that match and really tried to put up a fight. Unfortunately, he did not get too much support from his team-mates. With Root coming in and Stokes looking in form, he might be a great choice to have in any fantasy team.
Joe Root
The experienced English skipper will bring a lot of positivity back to the side. He has been a consistent performer with the bat for England. The team will look to him for more guidance and if he can score as well, they will do well. He is also a good fielder and can get some catches under his belt too. It will be interesting to see how he performs on his return to cricket.
Shannon Gabriel
The West Indian pacer was the Man Of The Match in the first Test. He took a tally of nine wickets for his side. This helped the West Indian team secure a surprising win over their rivals. If Shannon Gabriel can continue to perform like this, he will surely be right up there with the best. He is another quality player that all Fantasy Cricket players will want to include in their team.
Jermaine Blackwood
An emphatic 95 in the second innings of the match by Jermaine Blackwood, saw the West Indies beat England by four wickets. It was a good inning under pressure and the expectations will now be higher from Blackwood. The West Indies have always been known for a great bowling attack. However, they have had problems with their batting in recent times. If Blackwood can deliver once again, things will be better for the visitors.
Jofra Archer
Though Jofra Archer actually performed better on Twitter against Tino Best, his second innings spell got him three wickets. With not enough runs on the board, England lost the game at the end. However, if Archer is in better form, he can surely turn any game on its head.
On the other hand, there are a lot of talented batsmen to pick from. However, with respect to bowlers, Archer is one of the obvious choices for most Fantasy Cricket players.
