First Test: Joe Root, Alastair Cook score centuries, England 348/3 vs WI

Englands captain Joe Root walks back to the pavilion after losing his wicket for 136 during play on the first day of the first Test cricket match between England and the West Indies at Edgbaston in Birmingham central England on August 17 2017 PicAFPJoe Root and Alastair Cook marked Englands first foray into daynight test cricket with centuries leading the home team to 3483 against the West Indies on Day 1 of the seriesopenerThe captain and former captain eased Englands concerns over how they would deal with the challenge of batting against the pink ball with a 248run partnership for the third wicketRoot made 136 and Cook was not out on 153 at stumps yesterday which were called just after 930 pm local time at a floodlit EdgbastonTheir stand overcame some trying early times in the first daynight test in England and first involving England which was 392 in the eighth over when the pair came togetherEnglands Alastair Cook celebrates reaching 150 under lights on the first day of the first Test cricket match between England and the West Indies at Edgbaston in Birmingham central England on August 17 2017 PicAFPBut helped by some wayward bowling by the West Indian attack Root and Cook negotiated the pink ball with ease Root hit 22 fours collecting 88 of his runs in boundaries Cook was equally adept at dispatching the regular flow of bad balls to the boundary with 92 of his runs coming from 23 foursOn his way to his 13th test century Root also became only the sixth man to score a halfcentury in 11 consecutive tests AB de Villiers holds the outright record with halfcenturies in 12 straight testsA sweep for four off a legside delivery from spinner Roston Chase took Root past 100 and saw him start his second series as captain as he did his first series with a hundredHe clenched his right fist and gave a low punch of delightCooks century was his 31st his first since losing the captaincy to Root and first since November last year It was his 10th score of 150 or more equalling an England recordThe current and former skipper embraced when Root got his century and Root then celebrated for his teammate arms waving in the air as he ran through for the single that took Cook to three figuresEngland faced a testing few overs when the game got underway in the afternoon with opener Mark Stoneman Cooks 12th opening partner since Andrew Strauss retirement in 2012 out for 8 on his debut No 3 Tom Westley was also dismissed for 8 in his third testStoneman was bowled by Kemar Roach 272 in the third over with a super delivery that seamed away to smash into Stonemans off stump Westley was lbw to Miguel Cummins after a successful decision review by West IndiesAlthough England still has problems to solve in its top order finding another effective opener and a solid No 3 and the newcomers arent cutting it yet there are no doubts over the lasting value of Cook and RootBy the lunch break which came at 4 oclock in the afternoon they had taken England to 1082 and the recovery was well on its way By tea or rather supper time England was 2152Root fell in the tricky period when the daylight was fading and the floodlights taking over bowled by Roach with a delivery that cut in and went between bat and pad But England didnt lose anyone else in the dreaded twilight zone with Dawid Malan 28 not out with Cook at the closeWest Indies has more daynight test experience than England having played one against Pakistan in Dubai last yearBut Roach sent the second ball of this test so wide of the stumps that it went to second slip and that set the tone for the West Indian bowling performance rather than his good deliveries to beat Stoneman and RootDaynight tests are an attempt to revitalise crickets fiveday format and give fans who hold down weekday jobs a chance to see at least some of the action live The match at Edgbaston is the fifth daynight test to be played with the first in Australia in November 2015