Atkinson steals spotlight in Anderson's farewell test with 2 wickets in 1st session vs. West Indies

LONDON (AP) — England debutant Gus Atkinson picked up the baton on the first morning of James Anderson’s farewell test, striking twice as the West Indies reached 61-3 in the opening session at Lord’s.

The occasion was dedicated almost entirely to England’s retiring record wicket-taker, with Anderson’s daughters Ruby and Lola ringing the five-minute bell, montages of his best moments beamed out on the big screen before play and commemorative merchandise celebrating his 22-year career for sale in the club shop.

Captain Ben Stokes played his part by winning the toss and bowling first under cloudy skies, but Anderson was unable to give a sell-out crowd the breakthrough they wanted to celebrate.

Instead, it fell to newcomer Atkinson to give a glimpse of England’s future. Coming on after 10 wicketless overs from Anderson and Chris Woakes, the Surrey seamer struck with his second delivery in test cricket, Kraigg Brathwaite chopping a routine delivery into his own stumps.

The 26-year-old Atkinson quickly had a second success to his name. This time it was a classical dismissal, duping Kirk McKenzie into a drive and seeing a thick edge sail through to Zak Crawley at slip.

He finally conceded his first run at the start of his fourth over, but by then he had already made an eye-catching first impression and left the field with figures of 5-4-2-2.

Stokes joined the action at the Nursery End, finally ready to resume his role as fourth seamer after corrective knee surgery over the winter, and the skipper soon opened his account.

Opener Mikyle Louis had lasted 58 balls on his maiden test innings, collecting four fours on his way to 27, but played and missed several times against Stokes before eventually nicking one. Harry Brook dived to pluck an outstanding one-handed catch an inch above the turf.

Anderson returned for a second spell before lunch but could not land the wicket he craved, coming closest when Kavem Hodge squirted an inside edge past leg stump as he departed with figures of nought for 20.

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FILE - England's James Anderson gestures to the crowd after taking his 700th wicket on the third day of the fifth and final test match between England and India in Dharamshala, India, Saturday, March 9, 2024. James Anderson has “made peace” with his impending England retirement — even if the evergreen seamer believes he is bowling as well as he ever has done. (AP Photo /Ashwini Bhatia, File)

West Indies' Kraigg Brathwaite is bowled out by England's Gus Atkinson, not in picture, on day one of the first Rothesay Men's Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)

England's Gus Atkinson and Zak Crawley celebrate with team mates following the wicket of West Indies' Kirk Mckenzie, not in picture, on day one of the first Rothesay Men's Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)

England's James Anderson bowling on day one of the first Rothesay Men's Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)

England's James Anderson, left, walks on day one of the first Rothesay Men's Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)

England's James Anderson on day one of the first Rothesay Men's Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)

POTSDAM, Germany (AP) — The avenues, monuments and gardens in the park surrounding Sanssouci Palace, a sprawling green oasis in the heart of the German city of Potsdam and a UNESCO world heritage site, look as magnificent as ever.

But a closer look shows that all is not well with the park's trees, which increasingly are struggling with the effects of climate change. Among the signs are beech trees with thinning crowns, big branches that have crashed to the ground and trunks with much of their bark peeled off.

“I've been watching this garden for over 30 years, and I see very serious changes,” says Sven Kerschek, a former chief gardener for part of the park. “Since 2017 or 2018, we have had a very, very serious increase in trees and shrubs dying; and not just dying, the health of the trees is changing.”

The region experienced a particularly hot and dry summer in 2018, followed by several more years with little rain. Comparatively wet summers last year and this year haven't made up for their effects.

Heat and a lack of rain aren't the only problems, Kerschek says: “Climate change is more complex.” Well-watered trees standing on the banks of streams and lakes also show signs of stress. Constant harsh sunlight, a lack of atmospheric humidity, storms, increasing fungal infections and the spread of insect species that didn't previously occur in the area are among other factors that play a part.

From 2002 until 2015, the park lost between 18 and 87 trees every year. The number hasn't dropped below 100 since; it reached 315 in 2020 before falling back somewhat.

The Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation, which oversees Sanssouci Park and many other sites in Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg, is telling the story of the trees' struggle with climate change in an open-air exhibition this summer, titled “Re:Generation.” At points around the park, visitors can see examples of the problems and ideas for how they might be tackled.

“Perhaps the exhibition will help point out that we have such problems here; that extreme examples of climate change are already visible not just where people live in a river valleys and have to experience a flood, but also in idyllic Sanssouci Park," says Katrin Schröder, a curator of gardens at the foundation.

Visitors are pointed to trees suffering from “sunburn,” with drying and peeling bark making them vulnerable to fungi and animals. They can see that ground water receded drastically at times in recent years, making life difficult for older trees in particular. But there are also more heartening examples, “survival artists” that have defied the difficulties.

Those trees give the gardeners reason to hope. Kerschek, who helped design the exhibition, says they want to “try to continue working with the genetic material we have here in the garden."

The oldest trees in Sanssouci Park are about 300 years old. The hope is that robust older trees which have already been through variations in climate are better placed to adapt — and that even if they don't look particularly healthy themselves, they can pass on that capability in their seeds. One idea is to collect those seeds and grow young trees in a special nursery mirroring the difficult conditions of the park, Kerschek says.

Sanssouci Palace itself was the summer residence of Prussian King Frederick II, better known as Frederick the Great. It was completed in 1747 with opulent vineyard terraces, a royal retreat with a name that translates from French as “carefree.”

The garden was later expanded substantially, growing into a 19th-century landscaped park that covers nearly 300 hectares (740 acres) and measures more than 2 kilometers (1 1/4 miles) from east to west. It has nearly 60 gardeners and has been part of UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1990.

While almost all the native tree species in the park have struggled with the effects of climate change, the solution is not to move to exotic species.

Schröder notes that Potsdam still has a central European climate with sometimes long and very late frosts, so “we can't do anything here with Mediterranean vegetation.”

But one approach may be to look at whether it could use varieties of linden trees, oaks, beeches or others from areas such as southeastern Europe that have very hot summers but also late frosts, she says — on condition that they look similar to the trees already at Sanssouci.

“We don't want to change the park in such a way that it it has a completely changed mixture of trees,” Schröder says.

AP video journalist Pietro De Cristofaro contributed to this report.

Signs explaining the trees were put up in the park of the Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany, Thursday, July 25, 2024. Germany's Sanssouci Park seeks solutions as its trees struggle with climate change. (AP Photo/Geir Moulson)

People walk in the park of the Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany, Thursday, July 25, 2024. Germany's Sanssouci Park seeks solutions as its trees struggle with climate change. (AP Photo/Geir Moulson)

A fountain sprays water at the bottom of the Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany, Thursday, July 25, 2024. Germany's Sanssouci Park seeks solutions as its trees struggle with climate change. (AP Photo/Geir Moulson)

People walk in the park of the Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany, Thursday, July 25, 2024. Germany's Sanssouci Park seeks solutions as its trees struggle with climate change. (AP Photo/Geir Moulson)