Brathwaite offers resistance with unbeaten 44 as Leach, Stokes make inroads
Lunch West Indies 114 for 3 (Brathwaite 44*, Blackwood 7*) trail England 507 for 9 dec by 393 runs
England added two more wickets on the third morning to keep the pressure on West Indies during the second Test in Barbados.
After resuming on 71 for 1, still 436 runs in arrears, West Indies were 114 for 3 at lunch, thanks to captain Kraigg Brathwaite’s resistance to reach 44 not out at the break. He was joined by Jermaine Blackwood, unbeaten on 7.
Jack Leach extracted considerable turn in his first over of the day, beating the outside edge of both Brathwaite and Shamarh Brooks, but Brooks was as culpable in his own dismissal inside the first half hour. Leach broke through with a shorter, wider delivery that saw Brooks’ attempted cut sail to backward point where Chris Woakes took a good catch low to his right.
Brooks and Brathwaite had put on 69 runs for the second wicket but added just 12 runs in 7.4 overs on the third morning as Leach and Matt Fisher kept them well contained.
Ben Stokes, whose rapid-fire 120 had propelled England to a first-innings 507 for 9 declared on the second day, entered the attack midway through the morning session and struck in his second over, removing Nkrumah Bonner lbw for just 9 to ensure there would be no reprise of his first-innings century in Antigua. Bonner reviewed umpire Nigel Duguid’s decision, UltraEdge failing to shed definitive light on whether he had hit it first and ball-tracking showing that it was clipping the top of middle stump as Bonner trudged off.
If Bonner was hard-done-by, it was a case of swings and roundabouts a short time later when Stokes pinned Blackwood on the back leg, with England choosing not to call for the DRS, only for replays to show it was hitting leg stump halfway up.
Saqib Mahmood thought he had his first Test wicket when he struck Blackwood on the boot and England reviewed the not-out decision, but replays showed Blackwood had got outside the line of off stump. As he and Brathwaite negotiated the remaining overs before lunch safely, Mahmood went unrewarded, despite conceding just seven runs from his eight overs so far and getting the ball to reverse.
Valkerie Baynes is a general editor at ESPNcricinfo