England played their way to a dominating position in the second test against West Indies in Barbados on Wednesday, with Joe Root scoring his second consecutive century, an unbeaten 119.
Despite the fact that Dan Lawrence was dismissed for 91 on the final ball of the first day, England won the toss and reached 244 for three at stumps on a flat Kensington Oval wicket in Bridgetown.
Many hoped for a livelier strip after a draw on a slow track in Antigua last week, but Root had no complaints after making his 25th test century on a ground where none of the previous seven tests had been drawn.
“His discipline and commitment to his business is a real lesson to everyone else in our team and in English cricket about how to go about playing test cricket,” Trescothick added.
“It’s fascinating to observe the hunger and desire to keep coming back after getting a hundred last week to do it all over again. It’s great to see him doing so well in the locker room.”
Joe Root was dropped by the keeper when he was on 34, not long after he appeared to receive an edge on a Jason Holder delivery that West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite chose not to review.
AN EASY CATCH
The blunder left bowler Jayden Seales fuming, but the home team’s spirits lifted when Lawrence spooned a straightforward catch to cover off Holder to bring an end to a 164-run partnership with Joe Root.
Joe Root has amassed nearly 2,000 runs and eight hundreds since the start of 2021, roughly double the next greatest total, with his lone blemish coming in a lost Ashes series in Australia.
Seales had earlier given West Indies a bright start by dismissing first-test centurion Zak Crawley for a seven-ball duck, bowling the 24-year-old with an outswinger that was caught behind.
After two failures in Antigua, fellow opener Alex Lees was determined not to lose his wicket cheaply, and he played with appropriate caution.
He made 30 before being bowled lbw by spinner Veerasammy Permaul after 138 balls, contributing to the dulling of the new ball.
England made two changes from the first test, with fast bowlers Matt Fisher and Saqib Mahmood replacing Craig Overton and Mark Wood, respectively.
The West Indies remained unaffected.
In the Caribbean, the teams are playing a three-test series.