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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Taha Hashim (earlier) and Rob Smyth (later)

England v West Indies: third cricket Test, day one – as it happened

England West Indies Mark Wood Jimmy Anderson Edgbaston
Jayden Seales celebrates after taking the wicket of nightwatchman Mark Wood.
Jayden Seales celebrates after taking the wicket of nightwatchman Mark Wood. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

With that, I’ll leave you in the loving, capable hands of Ali Martin and Simon Burnton. See you tomorrow!

Chris Woakes talks to Sky Sports

To lose three wickets tonight is not ideal but we’ve got to be happy to bowl them out after losing the toss on what we think is a good pitch. The ball moved in the air a little bit all day; if that wasn’t the case it would have been a much harder day!

My quad was a bit sore at the end. I’m hoping it was cramp. We’ll see how it pulls up in the morning.

I’ve been fighting for a bit of rhythm, particularly in that first Test. I always feel like I’m a better bowler when I have overs under my belt and I think I’ve got better as the series has gone on.

[On Kavem Hodge’s wicket] It was a wobble ball where I pulled my fingers a bit closer together. My wobble moves quite a lot and I was trying to work out a way to make it move just slightly.

[On Joshua Da Silva’s wicket] It felt like the ball was quite soft and the pitch was slow, so we had an umbrella field to try to force the issue. The plan was to ball at the stumps and then chuck one wide. He’s played well this series but thankfully it paid off this time.

I still think it’s a good batting surface and the bare minimum we want is to get level with them.

Stumps: West Indies lead by 244 runs

8th over: England 38-3 (Pope 6, Root 2) Pope is beaten by a nasty grubber from Seales that only just misses the off stump. This is day one, England have to bat last and I’m never doing a pitch report again.

That’s the end of a topsy-turvy opening day at Edgbaston. At times batting looked straightforward on a slow pitch; at others the ball swung menacingly and nobody was safe.

There were three mini-collapses: West Indies lost five for 39 then five for 58. England lost three for two in 13 pulsating deliveries. That little spell has completed changed the mood of this match; tomorrow could be loads of fun.

7th over: England 38-3 (Pope 6, Root 2) Cries of “Roooooot” from the crowd as Pope drives Alzarri sweetly through mid-off for four. I guess that’s the ultimate compliment. Should be time for one more over.

“Good time for a declaration maybe?” says Stephen. “Get a few overs at the West Indies’ openers tonight?”

6th over: England 31-3 (Pope 1, Root 0)

Updated

WICKET! England 31-3 (Wood c Holder b Seales 0)

Another brilliant catch from Jason Holder! Wood was trying desperately to survive until the close, channelling his inner Matthew Hoggard, but that was a cracking delivery from Seales. It straightened sharply to take the edge and Holder dived forward at second slip to take a brilliant low catch with both hands.

5th over: England 30-2 (Wood 0, Pope 0) This game, eh. No night-hawkery from Mark Wood now; he’s just trying to survive until the close.

“Just finished catching up on the handball and archery from yesterday,” boasts Simon McMahon. “Can you imagine cricket at the Olympics? It’s gonna happen in 4 years time, and Team GB will be the defending champions, having won the gold medal against France. In 1900. Imagine the facial hair in that team photo.”

It’s right here (and disappointingly smooth in most cases).

WICKET! England 29-2 (Duckett b A Joseph 3)

I say! Two wickets in two balls. Duckett chases a wide, very full delivery from Alzarri and drags it back onto the stumps. He goes for 3 from 12 balls, and with a new angle of attack to think about.

Updated

4th over: England 29-1 (Duckett 3, Wood 0) Mark Wood comes in as night-hawk.

WICKET! England 29-1 (Crawley c Holder b Seales 18)

Twelve and out! Zak Crawley hits Seales for three imperious boundaries, only to perish going for a fourth. It was a tempting outswinger and Crawley had already laced a similar ball for four earlier in the over. But this time it was wider and he edged towards second slip, where Holder took a very sharp two-handed catch to his left.

Updated

3rd over: England 17-0 (Crawley 6, Duckett 3) Duckett is dropped by Alzarri off his own bowling! He mistimed a drive whence it came; Alzarri instinctively grabbed at the ball with his left hand but couldn’t hold on. That would have been a great start, especially as it came from a change of approach to Duckett.

Alzarri errs fractionally in line, giving England four leg-byes, then beats Duckett with a peach. The tactic is working up to a point; it’s not often Ben Duckett is 3 not out from 11 balls.

2nd over: England 13-0 (Crawley 6, Duckett 3) It’s a team plan for Duckett, with Seales also starting round the wicket. He’s a bit too straight to Crawley, though, who clips a few into the leg side without finding the boundary.

1st over: England 7-0 (Crawley 1, Duckett 2) Alzarri Joseph starts around the wicket to Ben Duckett with mixed success. His first ball flies down the leg side for four byes but then he gets his line just right and Duckett, cramped for room, almost drags on.

The players are back on the field. A tricky little session awaits – but for which team?

Shamar Joseph slogs Bashir miles in the air and is very well caught by Crawley, running round towards long on. That’s a terrific effort from England, who have restricted West Indies to 282 on what feels like a 450 pitch. They now have around 35 minutes to bat tonight.

Updated

WICKET! West Indies 282 all out (S Joseph c Crawley b Bashir 16)

Typical No11.

Updated

75th over: West Indies 282-9 (Seales 7, S Joseph 16) Seales top-edges a pull over the keeper head for four. Atkinson thinks he might have another five-for when Seales leans into a drive; Adrian Holstock says not out and replays confirm that Seales hit his own pad. Excellent umpiring.

74th over: West Indies 278-9 (Seales 3, S Joseph 16) Shamar Joseph sweeps Bashir firmly and decisively for four more, then rocks back to cut for two with very good placement. If he’s a No11 batsman, my backside’s a fire engine.

“When a wicket falls, Sky go to adverts,” writes Romeo. “That is bad. What is worse is they play the adverts at a loud volume, much louder than the cricket coverage has been. (I mute it all.) There used to be rules about this but maybe they were EU rules so it’s a Brexit benefit we weren’t told about.”

I hadn’t noticed that but will keep an ear out. Surely, though, it’s not as irritating as the cardinal sin of TV sport: commentary that is out of sync.

73rd over: West Indies 270-9 (Seales 3, S Joseph 8) West Indies should declare in tribute to Ben Stokes’s decision last year. Nothing else has worked so they might as well try trolling England. What would Marlon do?

A delivery from Atkinson to Seales keeps very low and just misses off stump. Maybe this isn’t a complete belter – but it will be at its best tomorrow. No five-for for Atkinson, yet.

72nd over: West Indies 268-9 (Seales 1, S Joseph 8) Shamar Joseph, who for some reason is still at No11, sweeps Bashir for four. Bashir is back on because Woakes has left the field and Stokes doesn’t want to fire himself or Mark Wood up for what could a one-ball spell.

71st over: West Indies 261-9 (Seales 1, S Joseph 2) Chris Woakes has gone off with an injury to his left squad. It looks precautionary at this stage.

That Root catch gets better with each viewing; he was totally unsighted by Smith’s leap but reacted beautifully to swoop forward and grab it.

Atkinson now has 20 Test wickets with an average of 16 and a strike-rate of 23. The next best strike-rate of anyone with 20+ Test wickets is our man George Lohmann: 112 wickets, average 11, strike-rate 34.

Yep, average 11, or 10.75 to be exact.

Updated

WICKET! West Indies 259-9 (Motie c Root b Atkinson 8)

Gus Atkinson is one away from another five-for. Motie took his eye off a perfect bouncer that hit the the bat handle and looped over the head of Jamie Smith. He leapt in an unsuccessful attempt to take the catch, but Joe Root ran behind him to grab it with both hands. That’s such a quick-witted catch.

Updated

70th over: West Indies 255-8 (Motie 8, Seales 0) Motie, who can bat, hits Woakes for successive boundaries. This score feels well below par.

“I see you are understandably not over the performative Ben Stokes declaration last year at Edgbaston,” says Brian Withington. “For my part I still can’t forgive Andy Flintoff’s decision in the South Australian place that we may never ever name.”

I didn’t love that decision at the time – I was a disciple of Allan Border’s philosophy of mental disintegration, which involved batting on until lunch on day three – but the logic was sound. They also got a wicket that night, which I guess validated it. But I do vaguely recall discussing it on the OBO with Gary Naylor (18 years ago!), and us agreeing that we would have batted on.

Updated

69th over: West Indies 246-8 (Motie 0, Seales 0) “I’m sitting next to Mach of the Caribbean Cricket Podcast and the look he gave me after that shot from Alzarri Joseph almost knocked me off my chair,” says Gary Naylor. “The spirit of Shannon Gabriel lives on.”

On that note, what’s the most execrable shot by an English lower-order batter? Apparently Devon Malcolm’s in the second innings of this game, with the Judge waiting on 99, was a cracker. It’s not on YouTube though so did it even happen.

WICKET! West Indies 246-8 (Holder b Atkinson 59)

Mind the strike rate! Gus Atkinson has bowled Holder with a fantastic delivery that swung away to peg back the off stump as Holder tried to flick the leg. Holder trudges off after making an excellent 59; his conscience should be clear because that was a beauty.

Updated

68th over: West Indies 244-7 (Holder 57, Motie 0) That’s drinks.

Updated

WICKET! West Indies 244-7 (A Joseph c Stokes b Woakes 15)

Who says no-balls have to be depressin’? Woakes bowls two in a row – then takes a wicket with the eighth ball of the over. Alzarri Joseph, beaten twice earlier in the over, clunked a drive straight to Stokes at mid-off to end a scruffy cameo of 15 from 31 balls.

Updated

67th over: West Indies 238-6 (Holder 56, A Joseph 12) A bit of extra bounce from Atkinson is dealt with well by Alzarri, who then slices another big drive for a single. I was going to say he’s a bit loose, especially with Holder looking so secure, but I guess he wants to maximise these old-ball overs.

Incidentally it was at this stage of the Edgbaston Test last year that Ben Stokes started to consider a declaration; no, I’m not over it.

66th over: West Indies 237-6 (Holder 56, A Joseph 11) Alzarri mistimes a pull off Woakes that flies back onto his body. Good time > long time.

That time is almost up when he edges on the bounce to Crawley in the gully.

“I have been stung into delayed action by your mischievous aspersions about hockey watching,” says Brian Withington, which for a split-second had me worried that hockey watching is a euphemism that comes with a P45. “I was toying with reworking a 2021 Edgbaston ELO offering re: Joe Root captaining Olly Stone - (‘I turn to Stone, when Wood is done’) - but was stopped in my tracks by the well set Da Silva’s horror dismissal to Chris Woakes. Potentially requires an exorcism by Kim Thonger’s Bishop of Blatherwycke & Glapthorn and something stronger than a Tandoori Chicken Massala?”

I’ll courier the Lambrini over.

65th over: West Indies 236-6 (Holder 56, A Joseph 10) A poor ball from Atkinson is touched fine for four by Alzarri. Atkinson has been quite expensive in this series, going at 4.25 runs per over, but you can’t really complain when he has a strike rate of 25. Not even George Lohmann managed that.

64th over: West Indies 231-6 (Holder 56, A Joseph 5) Alzarri clunks Woakes over cover for two to get off the mark. He’s not one for batting time and plays a similar shot later in the over.

Woakes now has 122 wickets at 21.95 in Tests at home. Of those with 100 wickets in England, only Jim Laker, Tony Lock, Fred Trueman, Alec Bedser and Shane Warne have a better average.

63rd over: West Indies 225-6 (Holder 55, A Joseph 0) Alzarri Joseph whips across the line at Atkinson and inside-edges the ball onto the pad. England started to go up for LBW and then realised halfway through. But after a very flat period of 30 overs or so, things are happening again for the bowlers.

62nd over: West Indies 224-6 (Holder 54, A Joseph 0) “Don’t worry, you have at least one reader,” says Robert Ellson. “(Still think the best bit of sport on Super Saturday was KP’s furious hundred against South Africa.) Who has the more thankless task, the OBO writer on the first day of the Olympics, or the fast bowler trying to get some life out of this pudding of a pitch? Poor old Woody.”

I’m glad somebody remembered that KP’s 149 was on Super Saturday. I was in the office, emitting soft moans that would normally lead to many a quizzical look. On that day nobody noticed.

I’m not sure I’d call it a furious hundred. The thing I loved most about it was the serenity, particularly his slow-motion pull off Dale Steyn. I guess there was a swan fury (and a Swann fury): all calm on the surface, effing and jeffing in his internal monologue. He might be the only player to score a hundred for England and against England at the same time. Three figures, two fingers, one gauche genius.

Updated

WICKET! West Indies 224-6 (Da Silva c Smith b Woakes 49)

England have burgled a wicket! Very good bowling from Chris Woakes, who started to get a hint of swing and had an decent LBW shout against Da Silva turned down. That unnerved Da Silva sufficiently that he chased a very wide outswinger and edged a lazy dab through to Smith. A frazzled shot to end an otherwise clear-headed innings.

Updated

61st over: West Indies 220-5 (Holder 54, Da Silva 49) Wood is still bowling. Looks utterly shattered but one wicket would make it all worthwhile. An attempted yorker turns into a low full toss that is flicked for a single by Holder.

This pitch is a true old-fashioned shirtfront, not just flat but painfully slow. I knew Jimmy Anderson retired too soon; he might have made his first Test hundred on this.

Updated

60th over: West Indies 217-5 (Holder 53, Da Silva 47) Woakes replaces Bashir, who may in turn replace Wood. Holder push-drives a couple to bring up an excellent half-century, responsible and composed, from 92 balls.

England had slips galore this morning when it was swinging around. Now they have a subcontinental field: one slip and three men on the drive.

Btw, where is everyone? Hockey fans today are we?

Updated

59th over: West Indies 213-5 (Holder 49, Da Silva 47) This is Wood’s 15th over, more than anyone else today. That feels like a lot, though I guess Ben Stokes knows him far better than we do. And he’s still bowling 90mph.

Da Silva is squared up by a fantastic short ball that hits the bat handle and loops straight to where short leg woulda coulda shoulda been. A maiden.

Updated

58th over: West Indies 213-5 (Holder 49, Da Silva 47) Three singles from Bashir’s over. This has been a really good partnership – not just the batting but the mental strength to ignore a mood of fatalism that grew with each wicket either side of lunch.

Twenty years ago today, Freddie Flintoff opened his mouth to delicious effect.

57th over: West Indies 210-5 (Holder 48, Da Silva 45) England appeal unsuccessfully for caught behind when Holder muffs an attempted hook off Wood. They only have one review left and decide not to risk it; replays show the slightest murmur on UltraEdge, though not enough to suggest a top-edge.

Very good decision from the umpire Adrian Holdstock. And a good over from Wood, who also beat Da Silva with a short ball.

Updated

56th over: West Indies 209-5 (Holder 48, Da Silva 44) Lovely bowling from Bashir, who induces a loose stroke across the line from Da Silva. The ball loops off a leading edge and lands safely in the covers.

55th over: West Indies 207-5 (Holder 47, Da Silva 43) Wood continues peppering the batters from round the wicket. There are fielders at leg slip, short leg and long leg, but Da Silva is assured enough to work the ball fine for four. Nicely played.

Holder’s approach is different; later in the over he clears his front leg and clouts Wood over midwicket for four. One wicket is all England need to validate this approach. For now, West Indies are picking up runs with relative ease.

54th over: West Indies 195-5 (Holder 42, Da Silva 36) Bashir almost strikes in the first over after tea. Da Silva, surprised by a bit of extra bounce, turns the ball just short of Pope at leg slip and through his legs for a single.

Interesting to note that Stokes has pushed mid-on and midwicket back for Holder, who gave Bashir a bit of tap before tea. There’s an argument he wouldn’t have done that a year ago.

“Not sure I would pair a claret with a chicken TM,” says Andrew Cosgrove. “I would favour a punchy white like an NZ riesling.”

I’ve never understood this culture of pairing food and wine. Isn’t it all just booze?

(I jest. Not even I’m that much of a heathen. Now pass me the Monster Munch and Lambrini.)

Teatime reading

This is really good, and the book is even better.

Tea

That’s an impressive recovery from West Indies, who were facing another clip of the Giant from Twin Peaks when they slipped for 76 for 0 to 115 for 5. But the level-headed pair of Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva regrouped, first patiently and then punchily when Shoaib Bashir came into the attack.

They’ve added 79 in 23.1 overs; the challenge now is to double that, and then some, in the 27 overs before England can take the second new ball.

53rd over: West Indies 194-5 (Holder 42, Da Silva 35) Wood gets his line and length just right, hitting Holder on the glove from round the wicket. There’s no pace in this pitch, though sometimes that can make the short ball even more awkward to play.

Wood continues to flog the dead pitch and is safely pulled for three singles. That’s tea.

“I always thought World Series Cricket was the high-water mark of hirsute cricketers,” says Gary Naylor, “but this photo suggests not. However, what a photo!”

52nd over: West Indies 191-5 (Holder 41, Da Silva 33) A worried Holder snaps his head round after inside-edging Holder past leg stump. He continues to attack Bashir when the ball is tossed up; this time he clatters a lofted drive over mid-off for four. Bashir’s five overs have cost 35.

“I has been planning to spend a day in the Hollies Stand on Monday in character as my alter ego the Bishop of Blatherwycke & Glapthorn, but as it looks as though the game will be over in three days could you let OBO readers know that the Bishop will instead be available to perform his usual Monday morning exorcisms in the church car park in Blatherwycke, at the normal flat rate of £250 cash and a chicken tikka masala and bottle of claret,” says Kim Thonger. “Punters should form an orderly queue and not park on the grass verge. Most kind.”

I must confess: when I replied to Wisden Cricket Monthly’s work experience advert 25 years ago, I didn’t envisage it leading to Blatherwycke, a chicken tikka masala and an unspecified bottle of claret.

51st over: West Indies 183-5 (Holder 36, Da Silva 30) Atkinson off, Wood on. He starts with a slower bouncer that beats Da Silva’s attempted pull; I think it got stuck in the pitch. Wood moves around the wicket and is easily milked for a couple of singles.

At this precise moment in time, at least three and possibly all five of the West Indies’ top order are giving themselves a brollocking: they’ve left a lot of runs out there.

“Unlike John Starbuck, I don’t know where I stand on the the hirsutometer,” writes Ant. “My teenage daughter took one look at my admittedly awful beard yesterday and told me I look like a toddler who’s been allowed to play with loose leaf tea and a Pritt Stick. God – I love her.”

50th over: West Indies 181-5 (Holder 35, Da Silva 29) Holder accepts Ben Stokes’ invitation and drives successive Bashir deliveries over mid-on for four and six. Good game, good game.

Updated

49th over: West Indies 170-5 (Holder 25, Da Silva 28) Atkinson’s surprise fuller is driven for three by Holder, with a couple more singles making it a good over for West Indies. This partnership has been a lesson in taking it one ball at a time. The match situation doesn’t look great for West Indies – but right here, right now, there are runs to be scored out there.

“All the talk about Wood hitting 100mph reminded me that Wood’s 100 used to be a notoriously strong rum they sold in my village pub as a teenager, The Old White Bear,” writes Tom. “They also used to brew their own beer that was £1.25 a pint when I first visited in 1996. From my paper round, I could afford four pints and a packet of Pork Scratchings after scouts before heading home to watch Eurotrash – great days.”

Updated

48th over: West Indies 165-5 (Holder 22, Da Silva 26) Holder laps Bashir deftly for four to bring up a patient, clear-headed fifty partnership. England will have to work hard to break this partnership as batting looks very comfortable now.

47th over: West Indies 158-5 (Holder 16, Da Silva 25) A-ha, Gus Atkinson has changed ends to replace Stokes. His remit, with the old ball no longer swinging, is to bowl a bit of rough stuff. For now West Indies are resisting whatever temptation England offer them and it’s another low-key over.

“On TMS they’ve just mentioned ‘the beardless Smith’,” notes John Starbuck. “Is this because they want him to become fully hirsute and constitute a majority in the team? The Australians used to be extremely hairy, I recollect, back in the day. Rather like me.”

46th over: West Indies 156-5 (Holder 15, Da Silva 24) Just a couple of singles in Bashir’s second over. Stokes has mid-off and mid-on up as always, inviting the lofted straight drive.

Updated

45th over: West Indies 154-5 (Holder 14, Da Silva 23) Da Silva, who is inadvertently monopolising the strike, works Stokes’ fourth ball for a single to bring up the 150. Holder makes up for lost balls by cuffing a poor delivery through point for four.

44th over: West Indies 149-5 (Holder 10, Da Silva 22) Ben Stokes has had enough of the stalemate: he’s bringing on Shoaib Bashir for Gus Atkinson, who bowled only a couple of overs in that spell. Da Silva slaps his first ball over midwicket for four, a nice statement of intent and the first deliberately played boundary in 13 overs.

Updated

43rd over: West Indies 142-5 (Holder 10, Da Silva 15) Stokes has a couple of strangled shouts for LBW against Da Silva. Both were too high, though the second was closer. A single off the last ball makes it 23 from the last 13 overs.

Updated

42nd over: West Indies 141-5 (Holder 10, Da Silva 14) Groundhog over: Da Silva takes a single, Holder defends the rest.

41st over: West Indies 140-5 (Holder 10, Da Silva 13) Another good over from Stokes. England are using discipline and accuracy as their weapons, making West Indies play at almost everything. There have been only 11 runs from the last seven overs, and four of those came off the inside-edge.

40th over: West Indies 139-5 (Holder 10, Da Silva 12) Cheers Taha, hello everyone. Gus Atkinson is back in place of Woakes, hunting his 19th wicket of the series. Nobody else has more than ten.

A textbook yorker is dug out by Holder, who then hits mid-off with a handsome drive. One from the over.

39th over: West Indies 138-5 (Holder 10, Da Silva 11) Stokes hoops an inswinger into Da Silva that nearly chops the batter into two. This Dukes ball refuses to stop misbehaving; next up is an outswinger that beats the bat. That’ll be drinks and the end of my stint. Say hello to Rob Smyth.

38th over: West Indies 137-5 (Holder 10, Da Silva 10) Out of nowhere, Woakes delivers a slower ball to try and flummox Da Silva. Always love seeing white-ball variations come into the Test game; I’ve never understood why we don’t see more of them.

37th over: West Indies 136-5 (Holder 10, Da Silva 9) Holder has some luck as an inside edge off Stokes evades the stumps and runs away for four. Stokes finishes the over by slapping Holder’s pads … the umpire says no. England review, but I reckon there may have been an inside edge. Once again, I am completely right.

36th over: West Indies 132-5 (Holder 6, Da Silva 9) Woakes’ inswinger is too straight, going down the leg side. He thuds the next ball into Da Silva’s pads, prompting a big shout. Looked to me like it was going down leg … England review it. Call me Umps: the ball is shown to be missing the stumps.

35th over: West Indies 130-5 (Holder 5, Da Silva 8) Wood is granted a well-deserved breather as Stokes returns for another spell. The England captain oversteps for a no-ball but otherwise doesn’t give Holder any room to attack.

34th over: West Indies 129-5 (Holder 5, Da Silva 8) Holder drives Woakes straight … but hits the stumps. A punch through point gives him three.

33rd over: West Indies 125-5 (Holder 2, Da Silva 7) Wood’s toil continues as West Indies pick up a couple more, Da Silva and Holder just trying to calm things down after the collapse.

32nd over: West Indies 123-5 (Holder 1, Da Silva 7) Da Silva, who’d probably be higher up the order if he wasn’t a gloveman, whips away to bring Holder on to strike. A Woakes inswinger nearly sneaks through Holder’s defence before the blade, resembling an autograph bat in the big man’s hands, gets down at the last second.

31st over: West Indies 119-5 (Holder 0, Da Silva 4) Wood pitches the ball up and lets it swing against Holder, who is resolute in defence.

30th over: West Indies 119-5 (Holder 0, Da Silva 4) Da Silva, the keeper, is positive, advancing down the pitch to punch Woakes through point for a boundary.

WICKET! Hodge b Woakes 13 (West Indies 115-5)

Another one! Hodge leaves the ball from Woakes alone and watches it thud into off stump. Poorly judged: he expected it to jag away but it kept on going, sending another batter back to the changing room.

Updated

29th over: West Indies 115-4 (Holder 0, Hodge 13) Now, we can safely say, West Indies are in trouble, having lost four wickets for 39 runs.

WICKET! Brathwaite c Smith b Wood 61 (West Indies 115-4)

Quite something to watch Wood, at his pace, still find such exaggerated movement through the air. Hodge squirts an edge through third man for a boundary and is looking positive alongside his captain, with West Indies’ run rate above four.

Hodge pulls away for one before Brathwaite departs! It’s the short ball that tangles him up, with the captain throwing his bat at it, the flick down the leg-side gathered, eventually, by Smith.

Updated

28th over: West Indies 110-3 (Brathwaite 61, Hodge 8) Woakes is a little too floaty, allowing Hodge to push the ball through cover point for three. Brathwaite is provided with width and cuts away for four, over point.

27th over: West Indies 103-3 (Brathwaite 57, Hodge 5) Hodge begins like a man with a Test hundred, swivelling a Wood delivery that didn’t lift all that high away through the leg side for four. There’s still plenty of swing on offer for Wood as he shapes one away, which means he doesn’t need to go hell for leather with the short ball.

Right then, the players are heading back out there. Kavem Hodge, centurion in the second Test, will join his skipper out in the middle.

Elsewhere in the game:

LUNCH: West Indies 97-3

The session belongs to England despite a 76-run opening stand between Brathwaite and Louis. Atkinson found the edge of the latter before Wood steamrolled through McKenzie. Athanaze’s stay was even shorter, but the visitors will cling on to the efforts of their captain, who has batted bravely for his half-century, just about managing to survive against Wood’s bouncer barrage.

WICKET! Athanaze b Atkinson 2 (West Indies 97-3)

Athanaze clips Atkinson for a couple. The left-hander batted well at Trent Bridge, getting a Test-best of 82, and his first task is simple: get his side through to lunch without any further damage … and he fails. With the final ball of Atkinson’s over, Athanaze tries to pull but just drags the ball on to his stumps. That’s incredibly disappointing for West Indies, their efforts of the first hour damaged by three wickets in the second.

26th over: West Indies 97-3 (Brathwaite 56)

Updated

25th over: West Indies 93-2 (Brathwaite 55, Athanaze 0) Athanaze flicks Wood on to Pope’s boot at short leg. It’d be mean to call that a chance.

WICKET! McKenzie b Wood 12 (West Indies 93-2)

Wonderful from Wood. McKenzie’s stay is enterprising but short as England’s fastest bowler delivers a staggering inswinger that uproots middle stump. Just reward for the man who has caused West Indies plenty of trouble this morning.

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24th over: West Indies 92-1 (Brathwaite 54, McKenzie 12) Why hello, Kirk McKenzie. He wallops through the off side to begin Atkinson’s over with consecutive boundaries. After a dot he unfurls another stunner, a cross-bat punch through extra cover for four.

23rd over: West Indies 80-1 (Brathwaite 54, McKenzie 0) Wood returns as Stokes sniffs an opportunity, and an unplayable outswinger sneaks past Brathwaite. The next ball thuds into, um, Braithwaite’s box. My thoughts are with the West Indies captain. He eventually summons the strength to resume, and prods the ball to the third-man rope for four.

22nd over: West Indies 76-1 (Brathwaite 50, McKenzie 0) Louis did the hard work, getting through that tricky first half hour where he couldn’t find a single run … alas, it’s another unconverted start for the promising opener.

WICKET! Louis c Smith b Atkinson 26 (West Indies 76-1)

Atkinson does it for England! Louis, once again in this series, is defeated in the channel outside off, fending and providing an outside edge for Jamie Smith to snap up gleefully.

Updated

Half-century for Kraigg Brathwaite!

21st over: West Indies 74-0 (Brathwaite 50, Louis 24) Brathwaite nearly gives point a chance, pushing forward against Stokes, but finds the boundary before a single takes him to a half-century, his 30th in this format. He’s a proper fighter, an old-school operator, and he’s finally able to lift his bat after hitting 48 and 47 at Trent Bridge.

20th over: West Indies 65-0 (Brathwaite 45, Louis 23) Fortune for Louis. Atkinson goes short to him, the pull leaves the batter in a tangle, and an edge flies over the cordon for four. West Indies have had quite a bit of luck against the short ball this morning, the top-edges not finding the man. Smith makes another fine leg-side take; I haven’t seen him do anything wrong since coming into this side.

Updated

19th over: West Indies 60-0 (Brathwaite 42, Louis 18) Brathwaite throws the bat at a wide, full delivery from Stokes and gets an edge to fly over the cordon for four. Stokes finishes the over with an inswinger, but Brathwaite shows it the full face.

Updated

18th over: West Indies 56-0 (Brathwaite 38, Louis 18) Respite for the two batters as Wood is replaced by Atkinson, though he’s got wheels too. Louis plays the best shot of his innings so far, punching the quick through mid-off for four.

17th over: West Indies 52-0 (Brathwaite 38, Louis 14) Brathwaite adds two off Stokes’ over, the West Indies captain perhaps just grateful to avoid the thunderbolts of Wood for a few minutes.

16th over: West Indies 50-0 (Brathwaite 36, Louis 14) Wood begins the second half of this session with a pearler, bending the ball past Brathwaite’s off stump. After a bouncer, Ben Duckett drops to the fine-leg boundary, indicating that a barrage is about to follow. Brathwaite, once again in a tangle against Wood, pushes the ball to the right of short leg to get himself to the safe haven of the non-striker’s end.

15th over: West Indies 49-0 (Brathwaite 35, Louis 14) Stokes gets Brathwaite leaping with a lifting ball that jags away from the right-hander. A leg-side clip gets Brathwaite off strike before Louis lets one go outside off. It’s been a strong first hour for the visitors.

14th over: West Indies 48-0 (Brathwaite 34, Louis 14) Wood tries to find Brathwaite’s armpit, but goes a bit too short with his venomous bouncer. A fuller ball follows before Ollie Pope gets his helmet out and slots in at short leg. Brathwaite fends off another bumper, unconvincingly but safely for one. A 93mph outswinger then beats Louis’ bat. Not sure how you play that.

13th over: West Indies 47-0 (Brathwaite 33, Louis 14) The England captain decides to do it himself. He’s on to bowl for Woakes, easing himself in with a couple of wide outswingers before getting his line right with the third. Brathwaite drives the next ball to pick up three.

A good morning to Simon McMahon:

I’m not in the crowd at Edgbaston, instead following events there via the OBO, but I am watching Scotland v Namibia in a CWC League 2 ODI at Forthill CC here in Dundee. If I half shut my eyes it could be Edgbaston. Decent crowd in, Scotland batting first, sun shining, life is good. Hopefully some excellent cricket here today, and in Birmingham, and of course over in Ireland too…

12th over: West Indies 44-0 (Brathwaite 30, Louis 14) Wood greets Brathwaite with a sharp bumper; the captain is left in a tangle, trying to duck but still hanging his bat out … he somehow manages to get the ball over the keeper’s head for four. Runs for the batter but a win for the bowler. Louis fends one down the leg side, the ball running away for four … until Shoaib Bashir pulls off a terrific diving stop at fine leg.

11th over: West Indies 37-0 (Brathwaite 25, Louis 12) Louis punches Woakes behind point for four and then lands another boundary, clipping through midwicket, the ball trickling to the rope. The opening bat, playing just his third Test, has recovered well from a difficult start.

10th over: West Indies 29-0 (Brathwaite 25, Louis 4) And we have our first change of the day: Mark Wood is in to deliver his 90mph+ heat. Louis suddenly looks more comfortable despite the extra pace, perhaps just emboldened by finally getting off the mark. He gets himself a couple of singles, while Brathwaite finds three behind point. Smith takes a terrific leg-side grab as Wood loses control. A yorker completes the over, well dug out by Brathwaite.

9th over: West Indies 24-0 (Brathwaite 22, Louis 2) Woakes goes fuller … but Brathwaite punches down the ground for four. A fine drive through the covers follows a couple of balls later, Woakes going too wide this time.

8th over: West Indies 16-0 (Brathwaite 14, Louis 2) Louis’ wait for a run continues, half an hour into this match. Atkinson thuds the ball into his pads, but he can’t seize upon it. And then, finally, he gets some runs, punching off the back foot into the covers for two.

7th over: West Indies 14-0 (Brathwaite 14, Louis 0) Woakes is still struggling to turn his movement into something more definitive, though he still nabs a maiden.

6th over: West Indies 14-0 (Brathwaite 14, Louis 0) Atkinson is growing into his spell, pitching the ball up and letting it dance, his line now attacking off stump … and just as I type that he goes too straight, allowing Brathwaite to flick down the leg side for four. Another ball on the pads gives Brathwaite an easy single.

5th over: West Indies 9-0 (Brathwaite 9, Louis 0) Woakes continues to find swing that beats Brathwaite’s bat. Ian Bishop wonders if he needs to go fuller to get the breakthrough. I reckon so.

Steve Pye writes in:

Although I am an England fan, I’d really like to see the West Indies battle hard for at least four sessions. They showed at Trent Bridge that the talent is there, and that should give them a bit of confidence looking to the future.

The fact that I have day four tickets has nothing to do with what I’ve just said above.

4th over: West Indies (Brathwaite 4, Louis 0) Atkinson is going a bit too straight at present, though Louis still can’t find himself a single, without a run after 13 deliveries. Make that 14: Atkinson decides to copy Woakes, unfurling a wonderful away swinger to square up the right-hander. A 15th dot for Louis follows.

Updated

3rd over: West Indies 4-0 (Brathwaite 4, Louis 0) Woakes delivers a maiden, offering a very different proposition to Atkinson at the other end. The senior bowler is arriving wide of the crease, hoping to bend it round corners. Atkinson is all straight lines and wobbling seam.

2nd over: West Indies 4-0 (Brathwaite 4, Louis 0) Close to calamity for West Indies. Louis wanted a single after diverting the ball down the leg side with his thigh; Brathwaite wasn’t having it. Louis was forced to turn back, and would’ve been walking back to the changing room if Jamie Smith’s throw had taken down the stumps. Louis survives. Three runs off Gus Atkinson’s opening over.

Updated

1st over: West Indies 1-0 (Brathwaite 1, Louis 0) Chris Woakes takes the new ball at his home ground, ready to examine Kraigg Brathwaite’s forward defence. The West Indies captain nabs a quick single off the opening ball, dropping it into the offside as Woakes goes a touch too short. An outswinger beats Mikyle Louis’s bat, and one jag backs in moments later, not far away from off stump. There’s some very decent swing on offer here; Woakes is in the game.

The players are out for the anthems. It looks a gorgeous day. Jealous of all those in the crowd.

To those asking, here’s an overseas link to listen to TMS.

The teams

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir

West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite, Mikyle Louis, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales

West Indies have won the toss and will bat first

The sun’s out in Birmingham and Kraigg Brathwaite’s going to have a bat under it. The other good news for the visitors: Shamar Joseph remains in the XI.

Scott Oliver, the finest storyteller on club cricket, has done something on Sobers. Enjoy.

Some chat about Mark Wood potentially clocking 100mph. Always been kinda funny how the fastest recorded delivery, Shoaib Akhtar’s 100.2mph effort against England in 2003, was dealt with pretty calmly by Nick Knight.

Here’s some pre-match reading. First, Ali on how England are refining their Test game.

Preamble

Hello, hello, hello and welcome to the third and final match of this Test series between England and West Indies. Yep, the main stuff is done: Jimmy’s testimonial, the direction of the Richards-Botham trophy, the arrivals of two very promising cricketers from Surrey. But this is still a Test match, at Edgbaston, and there’s nothing more tantalising than the opening morning of a five-dayer.

England are unchanged but West Indies have been forced into at least one: a Mark Wood thunderbolts in Nottingham fractured Kevin Sinclair’s forearm, bringing Gudakesh Motie’s left-arm tweak back into the mix. Shamar Joseph could be out with the flu which would be disappointing. He’s thoroughly watchable with both bat and ball.

Here’s my wish for the next few days: a proper game. Lord’s was one-sided and Trent Bridge had its moments, but West Indies’ fourth-day collapse ruined the fun. Let’s get to five. Pretty please.

I’ll be with you for the next few hours so please send in your thoughts, queries, song requests, favourite pizza toppings, what you’re reading at the moment, hopes, dreams, fears, whatever you fancy.

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