Gloucestershire's unheralded James Bracey nudged himself into the Test reckoning with a high-class 85 as English cricket sniffed the south-coast air and decided it was finally safe to come out to play. James Bracey's 85 nudged the Gloucestershire opener into reckoning for the first TestWith Dan Lawrence, Essex's 22-year-old Test hopeful, contributing a fluent 58 before chipping Jimmy Anderson to midwicket, this was a day when the future of English cricket came into sharper focus. His opposite number Ben Stokes, who will lead England in the first Test, enjoyed a less fruitful day. He has reached double figures in 22 of his 26 Test innings, but not passed 35 in 15 of them. Jack Leach's 15 overs cost 57, and when Moeen Ali - hopeful of returning to Test cricket - came on after tea, he leaked 32 in seven.

Source: Daily Mail July 01, 2020 18:23 UTC