England vs West Indies Trent Bridge Test, 2nd Match Preview, Prediction and Live Streaming

If the West Indies team thought things would become easier for them to grasp after they were done and over with goodbyes for Anderson, they were not exactly wrong. That was until Mark Wood was not called back into the squad once and then announced as a part of the playing XI. Chris Woakes and Mark Wood can fuse to form a creature more lethal than Anderson at his peak. And to back them England has Gus Atkinson. The debutant from the previous game, who demolished the Windies batters by taking 12 wickets. Add another worrying factor for the visitors. The English conditions nowadays are adjusted precisely for pacers to live their best life. West Indies also have a very minuscule margin of error. But it’s the team’s chance to shine and be the saviors of the format by denying England of turning the third game into a dead rubber.

Team Overview:

England have express delivered Mark Wood in place of another pacer who announced his retirement after the opening match. Matthew Potts and Dillon Pennington were overlooked to include the last-minute added Wood since no one in the world currently is as near matching the ball speed to the speed of light as him. Wood, Woakes, and Atkinson will be England’s main men, not only for this game but for the foreseeable future. While Anderson and Broad’s absence might require a little getting used to, this three-headed pace unit has both the opportunity and skill required to catalyze the moving on process. Shoaib Bashir will once again be sailing the spin-ship alone but given the conditions and brilliance of the pacers, his job would (again) be just watching the big boys do the magic.

West Indies’ road has come to a fork. There is no middle way now. Win and get back in the hunt. Lose and start praying to avoid a whitewash. Either way, everything comes down to how the batters fare in this Test game. The bowling lineup of the visitors was never, even for a second, under the shadow of doubt. It’s the batting line that can turn the tables in England’s favor anytime. Going from 88 for 3 to 121 all-out points at only one thing; some serious remedial work needs to be done. And what better time to do that than when series defeat is looming over your head like a vulture over a carcass?

Head-to-head Matches:

England and the West Indies have played 164 Test matches against each other. Interestingly, West Indies are dominating the matchup with 59-54. Let’s see how long till the English catch-up.

Weather and Pitch Report:

The weather is forecasted to remain pleasant and sunny, for the first three days at least. After that rain will start paying visits but nothing threatening is to be expected.

Trent Bridge offers a little too much for the Pacers. Swing, seam, and bounce–the deck has everything that makes a fast bowler’s dreams. With rain expected to show up mid-way through the Test, the pacers need not be worried about the deck drying up. The batsmen can cash on the true bounce the top offers but the grass is likely to be there to welcome the players on the opening day.