West Indies vs England, 3rd Test Day 1 at Barbados: Alastair Cook’s ton and other highlights

England ended Day One of the third Test at Barbados at 240 for the loss of seven wickets.

England finished Day One at 240 for the loss of 7 in the third and final Test against West Indies at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. While the West Indian bowlers made merry for the most part, it was Alastair Cook’s hard-fought century that took the cake. Amit Banerjee presents to you the top-five moments from the day’s play.

Jonathan Trott‘s misery continues: Jonathan Trott, who has been having a terrible series so far, continued his barren streak when he was dismissed for a three-ball duck, with England losing their first wicket in 1.3 overs. Registering his third duck in the series with an innings possibly left, Trott soon might be facing the axe. England finish on 240/7 at stumps on Day 1 in 3rd Test vs WI at Barbados

England in deep trouble: The visitors, who gained a 1-0 series lead with a crushing nine-wicket win during the second Test at Grenada, were in for some early trouble. Gary Ballance added 38 runs for the second wicket with Cook, before getting bowled by Jason Holder. Ian Bell lasted only five balls without scoring a run as he was caught and bowled by Holder. At 38 for three, England seemed to be heading towards an embarrassing collapse. Joe Root ‘ideal’ to captain England, believes Martyn Moxon

Captain Cook rallies with the middle-order: As the wickets kept tumbling around him, Cook kept a calm head as he played with a lot of patience. He added 53 runs for the fourth wicket with Joe Root, who had been enjoying a purple patch with the bat so far in the series. Following Root’s dismissal for 33, Cook added 98 for the fifth wicket with Moeen Ali, who brought up his second 50-plus score in the process. England seemed to have recovered well at this stage of the game. Graeme Swann believes giving Joe Root Test captaincy now would be a disaster

Cook ends Test century-drought: With the day drawing towards a close, everybody’s eyes were fixed on one man — Alastair Cook. Cook had not scored a Test century since his knock of 130 against New Zealand at Headingley in 2013. After many a nervous moment, Cook finally managed to land a slap on the face of his critics in style as he patted Shannon Gabriel through mid-wicket for a four, punching the air with joy after bringing up the milestone. A round of handshakes and a standing ovation followed for the batsman who was recently-axed from the One-Day International (ODI) squad ahead of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. West Indies need to find consistency, says coach Phil Simmons

Two quick dismissals puts West Indies in command again: At the end of the day’s play, Jos Buttler was yet to get off the mark despite playing nine deliveries. West Indies had managed to send the big fish Alastair Cook back to the pavilion off the last ball of the day to ensure that they hold advantage at the start of the second day, and wipe the tail out as quickly as possible. Denesh Ramdin should lead West Indies more aggressively: Viv Richards

(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)

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