England are staring down the barrel of yet another series defeat after a woeful performance on day three of the final Test against the West Indies in Grenada. However, while England capitulated, Joshua da Silva and Kyle Mayers performed brilliantly for the hosts.
After play resumed with the hosts 28 runs ahead, England were desperate to wrap up the innings by taking the final two wickets quickly. However, Joe Root's side failed to do so, with the West Indies increasing their lead to 93 thanks to Da Silva's brilliant maiden Test century.
Saqib Mahmood got Kemar Roach caught down the leg side for 25, ending his crucial 68-run partnership with Da Silva. However, the wicketkeeper then added a further 52 runs alongside number 11 Jayden Seales as the West Indies were eventually bowled out for 297.
In response, England lost six wickets before overturning their first innings deficit, with all six players culpable in their own demise. Opener Zak Crawley was the first to go, falling to Seales for just eight in all-too familiar fashion after playing a big drive.
Captain Root then followed soon after for five, getting caught at slip off Mayers. Mayers also picked up the wicket of Dan Lawrence to leave England in absolute disarray at 31-3, with the Essex star offering no shot at a ball which nipped back and hit the stumps.
Ben Stokes became the fourth England wicket to fall when he was caught behind off Mayers for four after attempting a leave. Alex Lees and Jonny Bairstow did mount some resistance though, sharing a 41-run partnership and staying together for 148 deliveries.
However, Bairstow got caught behind off Alzarri Joseph for 22 while attempting to up the ante, leaving England five wickets down and still 13 runs behind. Things then somehow managed to get even worse when Ben Foakes was run out for two after a slight hesitation before pushing for a second.
Lees battled hard on his way to 31 and is the only member of England's top order to emerge with some credit from this Test. However, he became Mayers' fourth victim towards the end of the day after getting bowled by one that kept low.
Mayers then brought up his maiden Test five-fer when he got Craig Overton caught at slip for just one. England closed the day on 103-8 in their second innings, with a mere 10-run lead over the West Indies.
Here are five talking points from the day's play.
England's struggle to clean up the tail
When England got Mayers out on day two to leave the West Indies 128-7, they would have been hoping to run through the tail quickly. However, Da Silva shared key partnerships with Joseph, Roach and Seales to push the hosts up to 297.
England's struggles against the tail are not a new problem, with Root's side conceding a total of 14 eighth, ninth and tenth wicket partnerships worth more than 40 over the last two years - more than any other Test team. Former captain Michael Vaughan highlighted the lack of express pace and mystery spin as an issue behind their troubles, telling BT Sport: "England have struggled for a while to get rid of tails.
"There is no real difference to the attack, no express pace, no mystery spin and tailenders fancy their chances when the pitch flattens out somewhat." Vaughan was also critical of England's plans against Da Silva and Co on day three, tweeting: "Interested to see if a bowling unit bowls a good length & straight for long enough what will happen on this pitch .. England have been all over the place .."
Da Silva's brilliant maiden Test hundred
On a pitch where no other batter was able to reach fifty, Da Silva's hundred was a hugely impressive knock. It was his first ever Test century and he played the situation masterfully.
Pushed down the order to number eight due to Mayers' recall in place of spinner Veerasammy Permaul, Da Silva played the kind of innings which suggests he should be batting higher up the order. "The emotions told it all - tears came to my eyes instantly," Da Silva said at the innings break.
"It means the whole world - thank you to everyone who has supported me. My parents have supported me 100% and have always been there. I couldn't quite do it in Barbados but I'm sure they've watched it on the TV and are very happy."
Crawley out in familiar fashion
Once again, Crawley's desire to play big booming drives early in his innings led to his downfall when he was caught at slip off Seales for his fourth single figure score of the series. He is clearly a talent England are keen to persist with and his hundred in the first Test, albeit on a flat pitch, was a reminder of what he can do.
However, the fact that he got out on the drive in both innings' in Grenada is a concern. Crawley was labelled "consistently inconsistent" by Vaughan following his dismissal on day one, while Nasser Hussain highlighted an issue with his technique earlier in the series.
"The problem he has faced is an obvious flaw in his technique," Hussain wrote in his Daily Mail column. "Because of his strong bottom hand and the way his bat comes down from about fourth slip towards mid-on, he drives with a closed face, which can make him vulnerable when the ball is doing a bit off the seam — as it usually does in England."
Mayers stars again
Having been recalled to the side as more of a batting all-rounder, Mayers has instead made a major impact with the ball in both innings'. He picked up 2-0 in an outrageous five-over spell on day one and followed that up with a maiden Test five-fer on day three.
Mayers claimed the wickets of Root, Lawrence and Stokes in a brilliant seven over spell before tea to leave England in disarray at 39-4. He also had a hand in the wicket of Foakes, producing a bullet throw which led to him getting run out.
Mayers then bowled the dogged Lees with a delivery that kept low and had Overton caught at slip to bring up his five-wicket haul. He ended the day with ridiculous figures of 5-9 and match figures of 7-22.
Another woeful top-order collapse
England began their second innings trailing the West Indies by 93 runs and they lost six wickets before managing to overturn that deficit. And their first four wickets were the direct result of batter error.
Crawley got out on the drive in all-too familiar fashion, while Root was caught at slip playing the same kind of poor shot which regularly got him into trouble during the Ashes. Lawrence was bowled after shouldering arms, while Stokes was too late on a leave and got caught behind off the toe end of the bat.
Although Lees and Bairstow offered some resistance, Bairstow fell after looking to attack and his dismissal was followed by the ridiculous run out of Foakes, which left England six down and still ten runs behind.
"There have been a series of poor shots and bad decisions from England today," Agnew told the BBC. "It's taken seven English wickets to fall, but finally we have one that isn't the batsman's fault."
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