In James Anderson's farewell international match, Atkinson showed commendable bowling skills and kept the Windies batsmen at bay. The 26-year-old pacer was amazed with his performance and he said that it was beyond what he could dream of.
"I don't think it's sunk in yet. I was looking at the scoreboard, looking at my numbers and thinking, 'Wow'. Very special day," Atkinson reflected after the day's game. "I was a little nervous this morning. I woke up and all I could think about was the day ahead. I was a little excited this morning and then having my family there for my cap presentation; if they had "I was able to ask what I wanted." From my time, which was pretty close to the top, it was great to just get a five for is incredible, more than I could have dreamed of.
On a slow Day 1 pitch, Atkinson was called into the assault after West Indies appeared to have sailed past the early rough waters, reaching 34 without loss. Visiting captain Kraigg Brathwaite edged Atkinson's second delivery to leg-stump. He had bowled three overs and taken two wickets before conceding his first run.
Atkinson admitted to being nervous during his first visit and remembered his father's advice to "relax."
"I was trying to stay as level as possible. My dad was like, 'It's the most important day of your life.' I was like, 'Relax! Relax, try not to think like that.' At first I was a little nervous, but once Once I bowled the first overs I was quite calm," he reflected.
Atkinson relied on his ability to make quick throws between the seams. He combined this by exploiting the Lord's Slope to good effect, as seen left-handers Kirk McKenzie and Alick Athanaze getting thick edges on the slip cordon.
"My original ball is that scrambled seam, I feel like today, bowling with the slope, bowling from the Pavilion End, that was my most dangerous ball," Atkinson said.
"I was aiming for fourth stump and trying to run down the hill and with the left-handers, I was trying to push it through them with the odd inside swinger. I felt that was the best way to get the wickets. The seam was probably a a little more scramble than I'd like, but that's something I can work on. I feel like I can throw faster and hit the pitch harder when playing the scramble seam and it's worked pretty well for me in the past."
Antinkon's second spell produced more fireworks as he took three wickets in four balls in his ninth over, dismantling the West Indies middle order. In the process, he also joined a growing list of England players, including Tom Hartley, Josh Tongue, Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks, who picked up five points on their Test debut under the captaincy of Ben Stokes.
Atkinson continued his impressive run by taking two more wickets in his eleventh over to conclude his Test debut with seven scalps.
"The focus was on Jimmy, so it was nice to lay low a little bit and focus on performing as well as I could," Atkinson said. "Being there with Jimmy at his final test was incredible, being in the Long Room, Jimmy leading us on the field was a pretty surreal moment.
"I've played a few white ball games here. It was special, I always felt like I would play pretty well here with the red ball to be able to go out and have a chance in the first test of the summer. It's great and luckily everything went well," the pacer added. .
"I don't think it's sunk in yet. I was looking at the scoreboard, looking at my numbers and thinking, 'Wow'. Very special day," Atkinson reflected after the day's game. "I was a little nervous this morning. I woke up and all I could think about was the day ahead. I was a little excited this morning and then having my family there for my cap presentation; if they had "I was able to ask what I wanted." From my time, which was pretty close to the top, it was great to just get a five for is incredible, more than I could have dreamed of.
On a slow Day 1 pitch, Atkinson was called into the assault after West Indies appeared to have sailed past the early rough waters, reaching 34 without loss. Visiting captain Kraigg Brathwaite edged Atkinson's second delivery to leg-stump. He had bowled three overs and taken two wickets before conceding his first run.
Atkinson admitted to being nervous during his first visit and remembered his father's advice to "relax."
"I was trying to stay as level as possible. My dad was like, 'It's the most important day of your life.' I was like, 'Relax! Relax, try not to think like that.' At first I was a little nervous, but once Once I bowled the first overs I was quite calm," he reflected.
Atkinson relied on his ability to make quick throws between the seams. He combined this by exploiting the Lord's Slope to good effect, as seen left-handers Kirk McKenzie and Alick Athanaze getting thick edges on the slip cordon.
"My original ball is that scrambled seam, I feel like today, bowling with the slope, bowling from the Pavilion End, that was my most dangerous ball," Atkinson said.
"I was aiming for fourth stump and trying to run down the hill and with the left-handers, I was trying to push it through them with the odd inside swinger. I felt that was the best way to get the wickets. The seam was probably a a little more scramble than I'd like, but that's something I can work on. I feel like I can throw faster and hit the pitch harder when playing the scramble seam and it's worked pretty well for me in the past."
Antinkon's second spell produced more fireworks as he took three wickets in four balls in his ninth over, dismantling the West Indies middle order. In the process, he also joined a growing list of England players, including Tom Hartley, Josh Tongue, Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks, who picked up five points on their Test debut under the captaincy of Ben Stokes.
Atkinson continued his impressive run by taking two more wickets in his eleventh over to conclude his Test debut with seven scalps.
"The focus was on Jimmy, so it was nice to lay low a little bit and focus on performing as well as I could," Atkinson said. "Being there with Jimmy at his final test was incredible, being in the Long Room, Jimmy leading us on the field was a pretty surreal moment.
"I've played a few white ball games here. It was special, I always felt like I would play pretty well here with the red ball to be able to go out and have a chance in the first test of the summer. It's great and luckily everything went well," the pacer added. .
