The second Test between England and the West Indies looks to be heading for another draw after Kraigg Brathwaite's mammoth 11-and-a-half hour innings of 160.
After resuming on 288-4 with Brathwaite and nightwatchman Alzarri Joseph at the crease, the West Indies quickly went past 300. The pair put on a fifty-run partnership and continued to chip away at England's lead.
Joseph eventually fell to Ben Stokes for a 75-ball 19, with Dan Lawrence taking a sharp catch at backward point. Jason Holder, who scored a brilliant 202 not out in the last Test these two sides played in Barbados, was the next man in and he and Brathwaite continued to frustrate England's bowlers.
The hosts reached lunch on 351-5, with just 63 runs added in a dour first session. Then, in the first over after the break, Saqib Mahmood was gifted his maiden Test wicket by Holder.
The all-rounder uncharacteristically attempted to hoick Mahmood into the leg side and got a leading edge. The ball went flying up into the air and Matthew Fisher took an incredibly difficult catch at mid-on.
In his next over, Mahmood thought he had picked up his second wicket when Joshua Da Silva was given out lbw. Da Silva made a very late decision to review the dismissal and replays showed he had got an inside edge, meaning he was given a reprieve.
After that brief spell of drama, it returned to business as usual as Brathwaite raised his bat once more after passing 150. England ultimately needed a third new ball to bring an end to Brathwaite's brilliant innings, with Jack Leach getting a well-deserved second wicket.
In his first over with the new ball, Leach bowled an absolute beauty which pitched on middle and leg before turning past the edge of Brathwaite's bat and clattering into the stumps. It brought about an end to the skipper's remarkable vigil and left the hosts 385-7 and still trailing England by 122 runs.
Chris Woakes then finally got his first wicket of the match when he got Kemar Roach out lbw for one, before Mahmood picked up his second by getting Veerasammy Permaul lbw for five. England then finally wrapped up the West Indies' innings with Leach taking the final wicket.
The hosts were ultimately bowled out for 411, with England earning a 96-run first innings lead. In response, Zak Crawley and Alex Lees stretched that lead by a further 40 runs.
Here are five talking points from the day's play.
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Roach's pitch criticism rings true
Speaking after day two of the Test, Roach gave some stinging criticism of the state of pitches in the Caribbean, with the surfaces in both Tests so far this series offering little in the way of help for bowlers. "It's all dead tracks now," he told BBC Test Match Special.
"It’s a bit concerning for me as a fast bowler, we’ve got a good group of fast bowlers coming through in the future as well. You need to have a discussion about it, and what we can go for, improve the pitches, and bring back cricket back to life again in the Caribbean."
And Roach's criticism has rung true as the game has continued, with CricViz data revealing that no Test series in the Caribbean since 2006 has had flatter pitches than this one.
Leach toils admirably
As England's sole frontline spinner, Leach got through a whopping 69.5 overs in the West Indies' first innings. That is the most overs he has bowled in a single innings in his entire Test career, comfortably surpassing the 47 he bowled against New Zealand in 2019.
In fact, Leach bowled more overs in this innings alone than he has done in every other Test match bar the first Test in Antigua, which saw him get through 73.4 overs across both of the West Indies' innings.
He ended the innings with figures of 3-118, with the wickets of Shamarh Brooks, Brathwaite and Da Silva to his name. In perhaps the best illustration of Leach's toils, he bowled 214 times to Brathwaite before eventually getting his man.
"If you look at the fluctuations of confidence he has gone through with what happened in the Ashes when Australia got after him in the first Test then I think he has done a good job for the team here," former England bowler Steven Finn told BT Sport. "No one has looked like running through batting line-ups on this pitch."
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Brathwaite's remarkable vigil
Although the game certainly seems to be heading towards another draw on what has been a pretty turgid pitch, Brathwaite's monster innings of 160 must be applauded. Much like Nkrumah Bonner's effort in Antigua, Brathwaite's knock has been a great example of his mental strength and durability.
In total, Brathwaite's innings lasted 489 balls and more than 11 hours and 39 minutes, with the 1,918th delivery of the match the first one he was not on the pitch for. According to CricViz, it was the seventh-longest innings by a West Indian in terms of balls faced.
"This has been a wonderful example of concentration in this chanceless, stubborn innings," former England bowler Jonathan Agnew told the BBC. "Focussed, perhaps, because he's captain - he's grafted away to keep the game safe. It's not a thing of great beauty, but sometimes you just need something that's effective."
Woakes' overseas struggles continue
When James Anderson and Stuart Broad were controversially dropped for this tour, Sir Andrew Strauss spoke about it being an opportunity for Woakes to take on "a senior leadership role". As the most experienced seamer in the squad, Woakes has been afforded that opportunity but so far struggled to make an appreciable impact.
He has managed to pick up just two wickets in the series so far and, given his often publicised poor overseas record, there have been calls for England to stop picking Woakes in Test matches away from home. On day four, his limitations away from England were clearer than ever, with the two debutants looking more threatening than him and both bowling more overs.
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Will England push for a result?
The only real chance of there being a positive result on day five is if England look to force one. Having reached the close of play on day four with a lead of 136, England will first need to score quickly in the morning.
They did make a more attacking declaration in Antigua than they have done in the past and Root will need to make another attacking declaration here if his side have any hope of winning. Root will surely have a total in mind but, on an unresponsive pitch, he may have to try and tempt the West Indies with one they feel they have a chance of chasing down.
The odds are very much against any result other than a draw, but there remains a slight possibility and it will be interesting to see how England go about their business tomorrow.
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