ENG vs WI: Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler steer England to 258/4 on Day 1

At stumps, which was declared early on Day 1 due to bad light, England were 258/4 following an unbeaten 136-run partnership from Jos Buttler (57*) and Ollie Pope (91*)

Manchester: Middle-order batsman Ollie Pope and out of form Jos Buttler staged a counter-attack against disciplined Wes Indies bowlers by putting an unbeaten stand of 136 runs to rebuild England's innings against the visitors on the First Day of the third Test at Old Trafford on Friday.

Brief scores

At stumps, which was declared early on Day 1 due to bad light, England were 258/4 following an unbeaten 136-run partnership from Jos Buttler (57*) and Ollie Pope (91*)

The pair started the final session with England reeling at 131/4 with Buttler on 2 and Pope on 24. Fatigue of a long day of running down a damp Old Trafford track and an ageing ball seemed to catch up with the West Indies fast bowlers as they looked tired and sore throughout the third session.

Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler

Buttler and Pope took advantage of the situation as they scored at a brisk rate. The 100-run partnership between the two came off just 175 balls. The West Indies took the second new ball, but the umpires had to call the players off just after three overs due to bad light.

Earlier, West Indies won the toss and elected to field first. The visitors got off to a solid start with Kemar Roach dismissing Dominic Sibley in the very first over.

Kemar Roach

Roston Chase provided the second breakthrough when he hit the stumps from backward point to run out England skipper Joe Root on 17 runs.

Rory Burns, along with Ben Stokes stitched a brief 45-run stand before Roach provided the breakthrough by bowling Stokes with England at 92/3.

Burns too departed after scoring a half-century with England reeling at 122/4. Pope and Jos Buttler then played cautiously to consolidate the home side's innings.

Pope also scored a half-century after hitting a cover drive for four. Meanwhile, Buttler smashed two sixes off Rahkeem Cornwall to take England past 200. The right-handed batsman got to his first Test half-century since last year's Ashes.

Pope and Buttler will resume their innings from 91 and 56 runs, respectively on day two.

The three-Test series is currently level at 1-1.

Brief scores: England 258/4 (Ollie Pope 91 not out, Rory Burns 57; Roach 2/56)