Southampton, Jul 11 (UNI) The opening pair of Rory Burns and Dom Sibley gave England a solid start and helped their team reach 79/1 at Lunch on Day 4 of the first Test against West Indies at The Ageas Bowl on Saturday.
The duo put on a 72-run opening partnership in their second innings as hosts England trailed West Indies (318) by 35 runs till Lunch.
Resuming proceedings from overnight score of 15/0, the openers Burns and Sibley got off to a steady start as they both smashed some boundaries off the Windies bowling attack to keep the scoreboard ticking.
After leaking 57 runs in the first hour of session, West Indies bowlers controlled the run-flow in the next hour. Roston Chase gave West Indies a much-needed breakthrough as he scalped Rory Burns (42 off 104 balls) few overs before Lunch.
Sibley then joined hands with Joe Denly and the duo ensured England went into the break without losing any wickets further.
The match remains evenly poised and the second session will be crucial for both the teams, given the invariable bounce of the pitch.
Brief Scores:
England 204 all-out and 79/1 (Burns 42, Sibley 31*; Chase 1/17) ; West Indies 318 all-out (Brathwaite 65, Dowrich 61, Stokes 4/49)
UNI AVK SB 1849