Mark Wood bowled a brilliant spell to help England to a lead of 142 over the West Indies in the third Test, on a day when 16 wickets fell
Related: Mark Wood bowls up a storm to rock West Indies with maiden five-for | Ali Martin
Farewell, then. A cracking day of Test cricket, and hopefully there will be another tomorrow. We’ll be here as ever, a comforting presence in a world of doubt. Thanks for reading, and goodnight.
And here’s the day’s report from Vic Marks out in St Lucia.
Related: Mark Wood’s pace puts England in control against West Indies
If you want a look at the full scorecard, you’re in luck.
A good day for England, then. They were skittled with indecent haste in the morning but Wood and Moeen bowled them to a very handsome lead and that last sessions was negotiated nicely. West Indies have looked slightly purposeless, which is inevitable to a point with the series already won and Jason Holder watching from the sidelines.
10th over: England 19-0 (Burns 10, Jennings 8) Time for one more over, and Roach is going to bowl it. Burns edges, but it bounces a couple of feet in front of second slip and they dash a single. Roach does his best to tempt Jennings into using his bat, but no dice, even if the last ball was certainly a nibble. Still, hats off to these two for gritting out these ten overs.
9th over: England 18-0 (Burns 9, Jennings 8) Burns pushes steadily betwixt mid-wicket and mid-on, but finds enough space for them to run through for three. Jennings then leaves the rest alone: the cruel might say that he looks pretty good when he’s not trying to hit the ball, but happily we are not that cruel.
8th over: England 15-0 (Burns 6, Jennings 8) You don’t really get nightwatchmen for openers, do you? Presumably because you’d have to have two of them, and of course sending in one player who can’t bat to bat in place of a batsman is fine, but two is clearly absolutely ludicrous. Bad over from Gabriel, not making Jennings play at much and he gladly leaves all but one ball.
7th over: England 15-0 (Burns 6, Jennings 8) While Burns’s technique does occasionally resemble a drunk man trying to get through a revolving door, the way he pushes at the ball make his defensive shots very satisfying when he gets them right. We’re treated to an over of them there.
6th over: England 15-0 (Burns 6, Jennings 8) Jennings keeps driving and it’s making me anxious. He misses a full ball with one of those shots that make him look like his joints need a decent oiling, before leaving a few outside off. That’s the spirit, Keats.
Very, very early days but Jennings has looked quite literally okay here.
5th over: England 14-0 (Burns 5, Jennings 8) An early change, as Keemo Paul lines up to replace Roach. Burns, with all those many moving parts to his technique whirling all over the place, tucks a couple through mid-wicket before a carbon copy of that earlier pearler from Roach beats his outside edge.
Meanwhile, this has nothing to do with cricket but we should protect Olivia Colman at all costs.
Olivia Colman winning Best Actress: “We’re gonna get so pissed later!” #BAFTA
4th over: England 11-0 (Burns 2, Jennings 8) Gabriel jags one past a leaping Jennings, then cuts him in half with another stonker, before a convincing shot is played, the England opener late-cutting very nicely through gully for four.
@NickMiller79
Test cricket is so dull and tedious. Someone should invent a new short form of the game. Do you have the number of the ECB?
3rd over: England 4-0 (Burns 1, Jennings 2) Both edges of Jennings’s bat - outside first, then inside - save him from the deadest of lbws in consecutive balls. He reaches for a drive but manages not to give the slips catching practice. Progress.
2nd over: England 4-0 (Burns 1, Jennings 2) Big Shan Gabriel bustles in from the other end, and sends down a spicy over to Jennings, who pleasingly resists the urge to play inexpertly outside off, collects one single and avoids a couple of other nasty ones.
1st over: England 3-0 (Burns 1, Jennings 1) Roach sends an absolutely unplayable one to Burns that is quick, seams away and keeps a bit low: somehow it missed both edge and off stump. Both openers get off the mark with tucks off their hips, and Roach throws in a no-ball to help them along.
They’re back out for this ticklish evening spell. 16 wickets have gone already today: will there be any more in the next 45-odd minutes?
Well then. We’ve got about 20 overs left in the day, so you wouldn’t be confident about England keeping m/any wickets intact, but they’re in a particularly strong position thanks to Wood and, in a more low-key way, Moeen Ali.
Here’s Wood for a late burst, and Gabriel lashes his loosener in front of point for four. Then next ball he cleans him up comprehensively with a phenomenal yorker.
47th over: West Indies 150-9 (Roach 16, Gabriel 0) Two more runs from the over as Roach drives out to deep cover.
Meanwhile, who remembers Lowgold? Some gentle, whimsical, loosely cricket-themed indie: they named their debut album ‘Just Backward Of Square.’
WHAT A CATCH! WHAT AN EM-EFFING CATCH! Joseph goes for the huge hoik but only sends it high, high, high into the air. Broad is at mid-off and backpedals rapidly, at no point looking like he will even get close to taking the steepling catch, but at the very last he throws back his right arm and plucks the thing from the air. Remarkable stuff.
46th over: West Indies 147-8 (Roach 13, Joseph 2) Joseph doesn’t play the rest of the over especially convincingly, not least a massive inside edge from an inswinger that goes down to fine leg. They dash back for the second run and Joseph only just makes it home, surviving a trip upstairs for the run-out.
It was Broad! What a ball it was, by the way: pitching on off from a wide angle, straightening a bit and would have hit that very same stump.
Broad thinks he has Dowrich lbw, the umpire doesn’t. Let’s see who’s right...
45th over: West Indies 141-7 (Dowrich 34, Roach 13) Root scrambles to stop a Roach drive in the covers and does so, but seems to jar his shoulder in the process. He doesn’t complain too much but could be a problem. Mo tries round the wicket and Roach uses the angle (if we’re being charitable) to slash a drive just backward of point and Stokes can’t catch it before it reaches the boundary.
44th over: West Indies 135-7 (Dowrich 33, Roach 8) Broad continues. Wonder whether Wood will get another brief spell before stumps. Dowrich flicks one very fine past Bairstow for a boundary: a lovely shot, and indicative of how he’s played.
43rd over: West Indies 131-7 (Dowrich 29, Roach 8) Mo beats Roach’s edge by a gnat’s eyelash. Single from the over, before they have a drink. As a spectator you always want things to move on at a pace, but both teams might be relatively content with this slow spell.
42nd over: West Indies 130-7 (Dowrich 28, Roach 8) It’s been a fairly quiet few overs: two runs from the last four and just a single from that one, another that Broad lands on/around off stump at a decent length six times.
41st over: West Indies 129-7 (Dowrich 27, Roach 8) Dowrich gets into a bit of a muddle and is beaten, in his ground but Bairstow flips the bail and they go upstairs to see if his foot was raised. It wasn’t: but only just. Actually it might have been a hair off the ground, but there was no way the third umpire could say for certain so not out the only decision he could make.
40th over: West Indies 128-7 (Dowrich 26, Roach 8) Beaut from Broad, beating Roach’s edge with one that bounced and nipped away, before Roach ducks into a short ball which smacks his helmet’s peak full-on. He’s fine, the lid is changed, and Broad closes out the over with a repeat of the first ball.
39th over: West Indies 128-7 (Dowrich 26, Roach 8) Moeen really isn’t spinning it more than a fraction, but does still keeping beating the bat with flight, drift, dip, whatever. Not that time though: Dowrich drives very nicely wide of mid-off and to the boundary.
38th over: West Indies 121-7 (Dowrich 21, Roach 6) Wood is done, and interestingly it’s Broad who replaces him: Stokes hasn’t bowled yet, which you assume has something to do with that heel injury that nearly kept him out of the Test. Broad opens with a wide short one which seems to hit a dodgy patch in the pitch and loops high over Bairstow’s head and to the boundary for five wides. Unusually, Broad takes the whole thing in good humour. Roach plays a lovely classical drive through the covers, not timed perfectly and Wood makes an unwelcome trudge out towards the fence to save one run.
37th over: West Indies 113-7 (Dowrich 21, Roach 3) Mo beats Roach’s edge with a drifter. Dowrich twists his body around and plays a perfect reverse-sweep for four. The camera cuts to a slightly paunchy chap in the crowd who does a spot of belly dancing. All human life.
36th over: West Indies 107-7 (Dowrich 16, Roach 2) Wood is back, and Dowrich slightly naively takes a single first up which exposes Roach to Wood’s pace. Actually the bowler does pretty well, clipping an attempted yorker in front of mid-wicket for a couple, then wears a shorter one but manages to keep gloves and bat out the way.
35th over: West Indies 104-7 (Dowrich 15, Roach 0) Another tight one from Moeen: just one from it, meaning his nine overs have gone for 12.
Mo’s back on, and Keemo Paul sees that as his cue to charge down the pitch. Unfortunately, he charges right past the ball and Bairstow neatly completes the formalities.
34th over: West Indies 103-6 (Dowrich 14, Paul 9) Lovely shot by Dowrich, lifting up on his tippy-toes and flicking a ball on middle-off through square leg and it eventually reaches the ropes. Then Paul jabs a nicely-timed cut in front of point for a boundary of his own. That was Wood’s seventh over, admittedly interrupted by tea: would be surprised if he’s back, but that has been a sensational spell - 7-2-34-4.
33rd over: West Indies 94-6 (Dowrich 9, Paul 5) “I see the couple of months of internet giggling at the clownish ineptitude of Wood’s bowling has gone the way of all such things as he smilingly gets on with it and unhistrionically takes a decent side apart,” writes Robert Wilson. “I’m expecting the usual hormonal storms of online love and admiration for Grumpy Jimmy’s performance. He’s been exceptionally mulish and huffy today. I’m sure there’s a lesson here about economy of effort and emotional maturity but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
In fairness Anderson has been grumpy for his whole career and has 572 Test wickets to show for it, so it does seem slightly pointless asking him to cheer up at this stage.
32nd over: West Indies 91-6 (Dowrich 6, Paul 5) Paul, as before, is having a go at pretty much anything. Burns makes a fantastic diving stop from one of his more reserved shots, before he heaves a slower, fuller one from outside off that ends up near deep mid-wicket.
Never seen Mark Wood bowl like this before. Unreal. This is the bowler we all imagined he could be. Just superb.
31st over: West Indies 89-6 (Dowrich 5, Paul 4) Broad bowls a textbook, line and length over that Dowrich is happy to defend. Varying approaches from these two batsmen then. Differing batting for different...needs.
30th over: West Indies 89-6 (Dowrich 5, Paul 4) Keemo Paul is the new man, and woof! He larrups a back of a length ball from Wood, cross-batted, over mid-on for four. And then throws everything at a short one which is called wide, and flies past Bairstow to the boundary. This is absolutely smashing fun.
Me oh my what a spell this is. Wood follows a nasty shorty with a slightly fuller one that Bravo drives at without much conviction, and edges to Root at first slip. Superb bowling.
29th over: West Indies 79-5 (Bravo 6, Dowrich 5) Stewpot Broad gets another bowl, replacing Mo. Dowrich is presented with a buffet ball of a wide half-volley, which he spanks to the cover fence and rightly admires for a few seconds.
Meanwhile, Sky have just cut to a shot of Trevor Bayliss without his floppy hat on. Barely recognised him. Bayliss is hatless: repeat, Bayliss is hatless.
28th over: West Indies 75-5 (Bravo 6, Dowrich 1) Wood tickles the hairs on the back of Dowrich’s neck with a steamer of a short ball the new man does well to get out the road of. He then shrewdly gets off strike with a single.
The players are back out: Shane Dowrich is the new bat, and there are five balls remaining from the over Wood started before tea.
Just a note for the ‘England are idiots for not picking Wood earlier’ crew: in his previous four Tests he took 2, 2, 0 and 1 wickets - 5-324 at 64.8. Sure, he’s good, has been brilliant in this spell and there are various caveats in those figures, but let’s not pretend England were ignoring peak Courtney Walsh here.
The guys on Sky have been saying “Why oh why wasn’t Wood playing from the start of this series?” but unless I’ve missed something I didn’t hear many people clamouring for him before the first Test.
Well then. England bowled really well in that session: Anderson and Broad beat the bat a lot but didn’t get their reward, before Moeen and Wood took over and grabbed five brilliant wickets in 54 balls for 17 runs.
Another for Wood! That had been coming, as Hetmyer jabs at another rapid ball outside off and edges to first slip, where Root juggles a high catch but holds on at the second try.
27th over: West Indies 74-4 (Bravo 6, Hetmyer 8) Three from another reasonably quiet over: there really isn’t much/any spin here, but Mo’s figures read 8-4-11-2, so he’s at the very worst holding down an end.
26th over: West Indies 71-4 (Bravo 4, Hetmyer 7) Hetmyer, as we’ve come to expect and love, reasons “Eff this for a game of soldiers” and tries to flay Wood through the covers, which gets a thick edge that flies just above gully. Next ball is an edge too, this time Hetmyer edging away like a tailender, but that one somehow falls about three feet short of first slipper. Hetmyer picks up another couple with something close to a proper shot, a mistimed cut in front of point, then Bravo plays an actual proper shot with a well-timed dab in roughly the same direction, this time to the boundary.
Mark wood ☄️
25th over: West Indies 59-4 (Bravo 0, Hetmyer 0) “Very nice Mo-zer,” says J.Bairstow from behind the stumps. After those very nice balls Mo gets away with a couple of honkers - one a long-hop, the other a full-toss - both of which are hit straight to Buttler in the covers.
24th over: West Indies 59-4 (Bravo 0, Hetmyer 0) Hetmyer watches the hat-trick ball go past, wide of off, but then Wood sends a 91mph-er whistling just by his edge, before he desperately gropes at another rapid one that Bairstow takes above his head. Incidentally, good to see that while he’s changed his run-up, Wood is still falling over in his follow-through: twice in that over alone.
23rd over: West Indies 59-4 (Bravo 0, Hetmyer 0) “Good to see Mark Wood looking good (apologies to Dr Seuss),” writes Seth Levine. After the chaos of the 22nd and 19th overs, Bravo calms things down by playing out a maiden.
22nd over: West Indies 59-4 (Bravo 0, Hetmyer 0) What an over! Some wheels from Wood too: all six balls are clocked in the 141-145 range, which is high 80s/90mph in old money. West Indies are 2-4 in the last 25 minutes.
Two in two for Wood now! He sends down a rapid one that jumps outside off, but Roston Chase plays a loose shot he need not have done and fences one to Burns again.
Now then: here’s Mark Wood, with a lengthened run-up so he no longer does that backward-forward step thing at his mark. He’s quick, and it works! Hope drives the fifth ball loosely to gully, where Burns safely pouches.
21st over: West Indies 59-2 (Bravo 0, Hope 1) An over of little incident, save for Hope getting off the mark with a single and a brief hint of a chance as Hope drives towards cover.
20th over: West Indies 58-2 (Bravo 0, Hope 0) Anderson round the wicket to Bravo, and smacks him on the hand to the point that he requires attention from the physio. He gets a few squirts on his left index finger from a spray bottle that looks like the one we spray the cat with when he’s been naughty. He’s deemed fit to continue, though. Bravo, not the cat.
OB Jato writes: “With the Australian Open going on a few weeks ago, my eyes fell upon the ‘shot clock’ introduced in the major tennis tournaments to prevent wastage of time between the playing of points. Some claim it has taken a bit of the soul out of the game, but it still makes for compelling viewing, without any apparent dip in the quality of mental strategies being put in place during the rallies.
19th over: West Indies 57-2 (Bravo 0, Hope 0) Root arranges most of the England team around the bat but Darren Bravo survives the hat-trick ball. But after their day so far England will greedily take a two-wicket maiden and two fresh bats at the crease.
It was hitting the top of leg, and Moeen Ali is on a hat-trick!
The very next ball, Moeen traps Campbell (the batsman crossed while Brathwaite’s shot was threatening satellites), the finger goes up but he goes upstairs. There were a couple of noises....
Out of absolutely nowhere, having patiently scored 12 runs from 50 balls, Brathwaite lumbers down the pitch and tries to cart Mo over cow corner, gets nothing like enough on it and Anderson takes a good catch running round from long on.
18th over: West Indies 57-0 (Brathwaite 12, Campbell 41) Anderson strays onto the DANGER ZONE, that strip of pitch down the middle onto which bowlers shall not tread, and receives an official warning. Two more of them and Anderson will be forbidden from bowling. Meanwhile Campbell merrily clomps down the middle of the track when taking a single and nothing is said. Batsman’s game, this.
17th over: West Indies 53-0 (Brathwaite 11, Campbell 38) Quiet start to the post-drinks part of the day. Maybe the players drank too much too quickly and had to let the Gatorade settle. One run from an over of non-spinning spin by Mo.
Hello all, and thanks Tanya. Emails to me from now, if you please: Nick.Miller.casual@theGuardian.com, or if you prefer tweeting @NickMiller79.
And that’s drinks here at the Darren Sammy stadium. Thank you very much for your company, good cheer and biscuit advice - Nick Miller will be your guide for the rest of the day.
16th over: West Indies 51-0 (Brathwaite 10, Campbell 33) Anderson gets the other end, with the wind against him this time. Can Campbell resist...? Anderson raps him on the pad, then Campbell catches one slightly over-pitched... and with a clop through the covers that’s over the boundary. And the fifty opening partnership! The fourth of the series.
Urgent missive from John Starbuck: “Good advice about M & S digestives (10th over). I concur; to which I’d add: be careful when purchasing Granny Wild’s ginger biscuits. These are large, tasty and crunchy but also intensely vulnerable. If I’m shopping by car, they go into the boot separately from the other groceries, because they crumble as soon as you put them in a shopping bag. Not good travellers at all.”
15th over: West Indies 46-0 (Brathwaite 10, Campbell 33) Campbell sweeps Moeen for four, then Brathwaite has a go for a single. KEaton Jennings has disappeared from short leg. It feels like we’re waiting for something to happen here..
14th over: West Indies 41-0 (Brathwaite 9, Campbell 29) Broad again. Short ones into the ribs, a fuller length, out-swingers. A cracking over, but no breakthrough. West Indies live on. Broad face reads : utter frustration
Mark and Diane are salivating in Stechelberg :
13th over: West Indies 40-0 (Brathwaite 9, Campbell 28) Joe Root decides a bowling change is in order and brings on Moeen Ali to replace Anderson. Jennings takes up his usual position under the helmet. A good over and that’s two maidens on the trot - which will rile Campbell in the mood he’s in. Will he scratch the itch?
12th over: West Indies 40-0 (Brathwaite 9, Campbell 28) A mixed-up maiden from Broad.
Peter Rowntree has biscuits on his mind. “I would put Bourbons above Custard creams , but where do you put the humble Jammy Dodger in this list? I don’t like the Jammy Dodgers with jam and cream, but the ones with just the jam I would put above the bourbons.
11th over: West Indies 40-0 (Brathwaite 9, Campbell 28) Hee! Hee!. Campbell lofts Anderson straight back down the ground for four, holding his perfect pose for a few seconds just for Jimmy -that’s a great high elbow there John. Anderson responds with a wobbled-seam beauty last ball.
10th over: West Indies 33-0 (Brathwaite 7, Campbell 23) Campbell’s a muscular chap, he has a thrash at Broad through the covers and then a couple more singles.Whether he has the concentration to go with the bling and go on to score his first half-century of the series, I guess we shall find out.
9th over: West Indies 28-0 (Brathwaite 6, Campbell 19) Anderson’s back, but he has Brathwaite not Campbell to bowl at, a far calmer character. Nevertheless, Brathwaite can’t resist a swing first ball. A maiden. No! Ooops, the umpire miscounted his pebbles. No, it is still a maiden.
8th over: West Indies 28-0 (Brathwaite 6, Campbell 19) Another lbw appeal, more scampered runs, more angry bowlers, Campbell with ants in his pants.
7th over: West Indies 20-0 (Brathwaite 6, Campbell 12) Anderson comes in for bit of a battering, and takes it as well as you might expect. First Campbell hits him for four, then six. Then Anderson hurls a ball at the stump which Campbell hits back at him. Then the review, which is given out, then reversed by the third umpire. Anderson chunters back to his fielding position.
A fuming Anderson marches back to his mark
given out by the onfield umpire...
6th over: West Indies 9-0 (Brathwaite 6, Campbell 2) A beautiful final ball from Broad’s over - a leg-cutter that squares Brathwaite up.
Kim Thonger has an inspired thought for a new member of the ECB’s backup crew. “ I wonder perhaps could ‘Failing’ Chris Grayling be usefully employed as an England defensive batting coach? He seems extremely adept at dead-batting every journalistic intrusion with soft hands and lingering around forever in situations where everyone, including I suspect his teammates, simply wants him back in the pavilion? If he could impart these skills to the England top order they might very well drive all future opponents’ fast bowling attack completely utterly barking and generally unfit for purpose?”
5th over: West Indies 8-0 (Brathwaite 6, Campbell 2) Brathwaite guides Anderson past the slips down to the boundary, next ball a near-run-out when Campbell starts running from the non-striker’s end, is sent back by Brathwaite, slips, and would have been out if Denly’s throw had hit.
Timothy Beecroft has thoughts about Mark Nicholas: “Surely you don’t believe that Mark Nicholas’s wife makes him tea? What do you think the parlourmaid and butler are for?”
4th over: West Indies 4-0 (Brathwaite 2, Campbell 2) Broad resumes after lunch, with a breeze blowing the umpire’s shirt. He gets immediate encouragement with some extra zing, as Campbell plays and misses, an old dog poking his nose at a cat now too fast to catch.
(BTW: that was the 30th time Bairstow had been bowled in Tests)
@tjaldred I hate to be that that that that person, but a reincarnation isn't necessarily a second incarnation. The Ainley version was the fourteenth version of the Master (although we'd only see three on-screen).
The players are back on the pitch as I finish my bourbon - a far superior biscuit to its crumbly cousin the custard cream.
Fire-crackingly good bowling by West Indies puts the game in the balance - apologies about the driving seat reference earlier by the way, don’t know what I was thinking of.
The rather brilliant Nasser Hussain is on the ground: “That was a brilliant session, that first hour was as watchable Test cricket as I’ve seen for a long time. Top-drawer Test-match cricket. High-quality fast bowling that tested the technique and the ticker.”
3rd over: West Indies 2-0 (Brathwaite 2, Campbell 0) I’m really curious to know whether cricket commentators, particularly Mark Nicholas, speak in the same way at home as they do at work. ‘By Jingo, darling, that is some cup of tea.”
Anyway, that was a fairly uneventful over to finish off an eventful, fascinating, session. The players march off for lunch, Atherton ponders why there is no short leg when Keaton Jennings is in the team - give the poor man a job he can do!
2nd over: West Indies 2-0 (Brathwaite 2, Campbell 0) Broad gets one to whip off the pitch, and square up Campbell, before passing by the outside of his bat. Campbell then completely fluffs a sweep. A few fluffy clouds look down and West Indies will have one mroe over to face before lunch.
1st over: West Indies 1-0 (Brathwaite 1, Campbell 0) Anderson to see if he can extract the same venom as West Indies’ bowlers this morning. By the third ball, Campbell is fumbling at one that dances across the outside edge . And Root and Anderson have a battle of wills over the fielding positions.
Well that was a rapid downhill descent in the second hour - 231 for 4 overnight became 277 all out.. I didn’t even have time to describe Wood’s penultimate ball from Roach which deserves a little glory all of its own - an inswinging yorker that bounced mini-fractions from Wood’s toe and was kept at bay only by a desperate dig by his bat.
Atherton is exhalting, rather than scolding: “It is a working total, I woudn’t be too critical of England, the cricket West Indies played today was as good as anything we’ve seen this series from them.”
An evil short ball gets Anderson on the glove and it billows to fourth slip . That’s 4-48 for Roach and a lesson in high-class bowling by West Indies this morning. England out for 277
Wood has a swing, and gets a soaring top-edge which swirls and Joseph catches it on the sprint at the boundary. A cracking take.
101st over: England 275-8 (Wood 4, Broad 0) Joseph building on the superb impression he gave in the last Test. Bowling around about 85mph, with long-limbed accuracy and quiet intent.
Cosmo writes @tjaldred I hate to be that that that person, but a reincarnation is already a second incarnation. [over 93]
Moeen pushes at Joseph, the ball kisses the angle of the outside edge and goes comfortably to Bravo at third slip. Impermanence now permanent.
100th over: England 274-7 (Wood 4, Moeen 13) As if to rub salt into the wound, Wood comes in and clips his first ball for an-all-run-four, thus in one-ball overtaking Bairstow’s 33-ball vigil.
Bairstow’s long and painful innings goes the way it has been looking like going all morning, bowled neck, crop and all the rest. A real ta-da! ball by Roach.
99th over: England 270-6 (Bairstow 2, Moeen 13) Time for Alzarri Joseph who is immediately in the groove.Moeen pushes at one outside off-stump, feet solidly, um, unmoving. Then a couple of runs from a stretched bat poked towards cover. I’m probably condemning him to a century, but this innings doesn’t have the air of permanence.
98th over: England 266-6 (Bairstow 2, Moeen 8)A peculiar incident. Roach appeals for an lbw after a ball arrows into Bairstow’s leg, it is turned down and in the meantime England run a single. West Indies then review somewhat optimistically...and perhaps missing Holder’s immaculate judgement on reviews - but it was missing and they lose their second review. Braithwaite brings a fourth slip in for Moeen.
97th over: England 264-6 (Bairstow 2, Moeen 8) Moeen does what Moeen does. He leans far too far into a drive and plonks the ball in to the empty space where point might be. He wafts a few more. Meanwhile Bairstow, who it turns out was hit in the gentleman’s department in the previous over, remains marooned on 2.
96th over: England 260-6 (Bairstow 2, Moeen 4) Moeen glides a delivery from Roach politely to the left of third slip for three. Meanwhile Bairstow tries to cut one that bounces, the batting spirits aren’t with him this morning.
James Walsh has some news: “For years, I ran the cricket & Doctor Who podcast with a pal, which we promoted when tagline “the world’s nichest podcast.” The chat of the past few overs has made me wonder if we quit too soon...
95th over: England 257-6 (Bairstow 2 ,Moeen 1) The ball before drinks. Bairstow, who has been tested by Paul all over, has a lapse of concentration and pulls out an ugly flap. He survives. They sup on energy liquid. Bairstow has 2 from 23 balls and hasn’t looked completely convincing.
94th over: England 256-6 (Bairstow 2 Moeen 0, ) Still admiring that superb catch by Dowrich. Unlucky for Stokes who played really well for that 79, characteristic/uncharacteristic depending on whether you judge him on his career or the last year. He’s probably done enough to put England in the driving seat.
Stokes has an old fashioned heave and Dowrich, sprinting 30 yards from the stumps to square leg grabs the ball a hair’s breadth from the ground. Superb!
93rd over: England 255-5 (Bairstow 2, Stokes 78) A crashing, four by Stokes dispatches Paul behind square. England suddenly pulling away a bit here. and Gabriel can’t have many overs left
Meanwhile, Phil Sawyer, has put me right about Dr Who. “Afternoon, Tanya. I don’t want to be that person, [oh you do!] but the Master was most definitely a 70s Dr Who villain, played by the legend that is Roger Delgado. He was resurrected in the 1980s, played by Anthony Ainley, but, like me nowadays, he was a shadow of his former self.
92nd over: England 250-5 (Bairstow 2, Stokes 73) Gabriel prods Stokes again, a repeated needleing elbow in the ribs. He has Stokes bent in two, then Stokes sweeps, rather magnificently, just for one, but it brings up the 250. Then a DROP! Bairstow chips the ball back to Gabriel who can’t keep hold of it in his heavy-footed follow-through. The man looks weary as he pulls on his maroon cap.
91st over: England 249-5 (Bairstow 2, Stokes 73) Paul has Stokes in trouble, missing the outside edge of his bat by a whisper. England, frazzled? go for a quick single, but make it home. Then Bairstow shows immaculate/questionable judgement by leaving the last ball of the over.
90th over: England 246-5 (Bairstow 2, Stokes 70) Gabriel has pulled up his socks and hit the kind of bowling sweet spot to dream of . He sends one short into the pitch and it flies at Bairstow’s throat, who weaves and ducks back, further, further, as the ball follows him, it clonks him on the grill and billows over the slip cordon for four. It’s all rather vulgarly thrilling, like a punch up at a rugby match. Sky repeat it about 37 times.
89th over: England 242-5 (Bairstow 2, Stokes 70) Kemo Paul replaces Roach, and has a decent first over. On Sky,Atherton is worried that when Stokes is defending, his left shoulder comes too far round and he becomes too chest-on.
Meanwhile, in OBO-land, Peter Salmon writes:
88th over: England 240-5 (Bairstow 2, Stokes 68) Gabriel and Stokes have quiet word with each other - not, I’m guessing, their recommendations for a good read. Gabriel has his eye on Bairstow’s stumps, which on a good day you or I might have a chance at knocking over in a bowling alley. A hearty appeal for lbw against him by Gabriel, saved by an inside edge. Testing times.
87th over: England 238-5 (Bairstow 1, Stokes 67) The first boundary of the day comes from Stokes who clips Roach stylishly-fine, like a final whisk of an egg-white before it turns into meringue.
By the way, if you want to get in touch my email is tanya.aldred.freelance@theguardian.com
86th over: England 234-5 (Bairstow 1, Stokes 63) It was a super delivery from Gabriel to dismiss Buttler, who tried to drive but unfortunately forgot to move his feet. No addition to his overnight score. Which brings in Bairstow, presumably in the position where he wants to bat, which may bring its own mental pressures. Gabriel tests him with an awkward bouncer which Bairstow avoids by diving onto one knee and twisting his head yoga-style. That beard makes his helmeted face look a bit like 1980s DR WHO? villain The Master.
Buttler misses a full, straight one, doesn’t get his leg to the ball. Bails a’flying.
85th over: England 232-4 (Buttler 67, Stokes 63) Kemar Roach, Mr Breakthrough, gets a fresh start from the other end.He saves his best delivery till last, a sharply-rising bouncer that passes the top of Stokes’s bat.
There is a strange effect on the pitch, not sure why - artistic mowing? but it seems to be emitting rays of light like the sun.
84th over: England 232-4 (Buttler 67, Stokes 63) Brathwaite throws the ball to Gabriel who starts his 15-paced wide-legged run-up. The third ball is over-pitched and Stokes, upper arm densely inked, turns the ball off his toes to get the scoreboard ticking over.
The players are on their way out to the middle in this gorgeous ground and beautiful island. As Nick Knight says, “it is the first time West Indies have been under pressure in this series.” Which is both true and quite a statement.
Feeling a little sorry for Keaton Jennings, who has taken a bit of a pasting in the Sunday papers - and on twitter from Kevin Pietersen. A nice guy - hope things work out for him.
Mark Butcher, in a pink open-necked shirt with matching pocket hankerchief, and Rob Key in regulation sportsman’s sports-casual, are digesting the back feet of Stokes, Root and Buttler. The conclusion is that Root needs to go back and do some homework.
Welcome back, this Sunday lunchtime, to an intriguing Third Test, the day after England rediscovered the beauty of being (relatively) boring. A fifth-wicket stand of 124 by Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler - with a late no-ball retrieve for Stokes - put England in a place they haven’t been for a while: quiet control. Were West Indies a little lost without Jason Holder’s leadership, catching and bowling? Probably. But England’s first-century stand of the series, after the usual calamity with the top order, just gave them time to breathe and put the pressure on their opponents.
There’s been a little overnight rain but play is due to start on the button.
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