‘Unicorn Balloon Stops Play’ In the second England v West Indies Test, the crowd reaction is pure gold. To attend

There have been many cases where a cricket match has been stopped due to bad weather, pitch invasion or untimely injury issues. However, a hilarious incident occurred during the recently concluded second Test between England and West Indies at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Midway through England’s second innings on day four, a unicorn-shaped balloon appeared in the outfield and the incident left the crowd divided. While the match was briefly paused, a ground crew member immediately rushed to the ground to remove the balloon.

The English fans told the funny side of the situation and applauded “ole” in unison.

Meanwhile, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Joe Root scored a century each for the hosts as England won the second Test against the West Indies at Trent Bridge by 241 runs.

The victory in Nottingham was also the first time England had surpassed 400 in both innings in the 147-year history of Test cricket.

Pope believes England could still score 600 runs in a single day of Test cricket in the right circumstances for Ben Stokes’ men.

Pope was one of four batsmen to score a hundred when England racked up 506-4 on the first day against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in December 2021, despite facing just 75 overs.

And the England vice-captain believes the team now has the ability to not only surpass that feat, but also adapt to more player-friendly conditions as it refines its aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach.

“I think when Baz (England coach Brendon McCullum) and Stokesy took over we were a batting unit, not lacking experience but lacking confidence at the time,” Pope said.

England, who previously defeated the West Indies by an innings and 114 runs at Lord’s, have now won a Test series for the first time since 2022 as they lead 2-0 ahead of this week’s final at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Drawn campaigns against New Zealand and Australia in 2023, and this year’s 4-1 defeat in India, have checked England’s progress up the World Test Championship standings.

Since then, they have undergone a significant squad shake-up, with England record-holder James Anderson, 100-cap veteran Jonny Bairstow, wicketkeeper Ben Foakes and experienced spinner Jack Leach making way for new talent.

All the newcomers made impressive starts, with fast bowler Gus Atkinson taking 12 wickets at Lord’s, off-spinner Shoaib Bashir taking a five-wicket haul at Trent Bridge and Jamie Smith shining as a wicketkeeper-batsman.

(With AFP inputs)