England vice-captain Ollie Pope joked about keeping England captain Ben Stokes off the field as West Indies crumbled under pressure on Day 4 of the second Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Chasing a massive target of 385 runs, West Indies were bundled out for 143 runs handing England a massive win by 241 runs.
As a result, England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series and held the Richards-Botham Trophy for the first time since its inception in 2022. Commenting on his team’s clinical win, Player of the Match Ollie Pope spoke about how Ben Stokes’ absence from the field resulted in a few wickets for England and stated that he was happy to keep him off.
Pope was the top scorer for England in the first innings with his brilliant century scoring 121 (167) and later scored 51 in the second innings
“Stokes snuck off and we got a couple of wickets. I was keen to keep him out a little longer then. (On changing conditions) We saw it last night, it nipped a bit and Brook and Root did brilliantly in the evening. And then they came out attacking today morning again. That’s how it is in Test matches, we need to make the most of the situation. Feel really good about where my game is at the moment,” said Stokes in the post-match presentation.
Shoaib Bashir stars with the ball for England
Stokes left the field for a few overs towards the final stages of the innings as England managed to get some quick scalps to push the game towards the result on Day 4 itself. Shoaib Bashir was the star for England in the fourth innings as he picked up 5/41 in 11.1 overs. The 20-year-old became the youngest spinner to take a five-wicket haul for England at home.
Apart from him, Harry Brook and Joe Root also helped the hosts to extend their lead beyond 380 in the second innings with their respective centuries. Meanwhile, having won the first two Tests, England will hope to complete a whitewash as they once again face West Indies in the final Test of the series from Friday, July 26 at Edgbaston, Birmingham.