Overnight rain gave England some reason to hope to expect more than the three wickets they managed on Friday. More moisture in the surface? Some assistance in the air? Wishful thinking.
It was, all told, a taxing day’s play – perhaps the most turgid of the series so far. England did at least finally bowl West Indies out for 411, squeezing the remaining six first-innings wickets out of 70.5 overs. England retaining a lead of 96, thanks to 3-118 from Jack Leach and two each for Ben Stokes and Saqib Mahmood.
That was bumped to 136 by the time stumps was called, as Alex Lees (18 not out) and Zak Crawley (21*) got England’s second innings to 40 for no loss. Just as in the first Test at Antigua, it is down to the tourists to set up a game. That involved a declaration to set West Indies 286 for victory only for pitch to win out as only four wickets were taken within 70 overs, while the hosts only managed 147. Given the staleness of this pitch, Joe Root’s side will need his bowlers to dig even deeper than they have done over the last 187.5 overs across the previous three days to turn this into a win.
Just as England profited on the first two days, the West Indies followed suit thanks to Kraigg Brathwaite – captain, leader, barnacle. Unpretentious and unshifting in his role as chief England defier, not worried about entertainment over ensuring his side didn’t give up. His 153 took 10 minutes shy of 12 hours, and charts at number four on the longest innings by a West Indian list with 491 balls faced.
When he was eventually dismissed by a pearler from Jack Leach – pitching on leg stump, clipping the top of off – it finally allowed him to put his feet up. Since losing the toss on Wednesday, he had been on the field for 319.5 overs, the last 168.4 of those since opening the West Indies innings on Thursday afternoon. As he walked off, it was hard to shake he’d taken a positive England result with him. Or more accurately that he was an accessory to a Bridgetown pitch that had won out.
Alzarri Joseph morning-after nightwatchman-ed for a bit, slapping Dan Lawrence’s off-tweaks over square leg for the first six of the home side’s first innings. He was soon gone for 19 off 75 trying to hit the red off a Ben Stokes delivery, caught very well by Lawrence who was in closer at gully.
At the other end, ticking through 69.5 overs in some kind of bowling purgatory, was Leach, spinning the odd worldie past the edge or over the shoulder of the bat, all for nothing beyond a few whoops, each less enthusiastic than the last. A run of six straight maidens – three from Leach – coincided with the passing of an hour for Brathwaite with just one run scored.
Lunch came as a relief: 40 minutes to eat, drink and cleanse from the previous 34 overs of just 63 runs. Slightly longer, in fact, due to the smattering of rain. But the second session brought largely more of the same, albeit with a few more inroads.
And celebration amid the tedium. Jason Holder’s wild swipe gave Saqib Mahmood his first Test wicket, caught very well in the swirling winds at mid-on by fellow debutant Matt Fisher. Fisher had experienced that feeling with his second ball in the format on day two, while Mahmood had to wait until his 104th. It might have come sooner had he not overstepped when bowling Jermaine Blackwood, on 62, allowing the batter to move on, eventually, to 102.
Brathwaite was raising his bat again, his 150 coming off 458 deliveries. It needed something special to get rid of him: Leach finally getting one of those magic deliveries to disturb the timber. Suddenly, the immovable object had been shifted and there was an opening of sorts. Chris Woakes, after 52 wicket-less overs across 20.4 in this innings and the rest in the second innings of the last Test, finally had something to celebrate when Kemar Roach was trapped LBW.
Joshua Da Silva – who, on three, successfully overturned an LBW from Mahmood through an inside edge – took it upon himself to assume most of the strike, chaperoning Veerasamy Permaul through to tea on 396-8, trailing by 111.
Mahmood was to get his second, late movement into Permaul trapping him in front for five. And after having an LBW overturned against Jayden Seales for 410 all out, Leach repeated the dismissal to Da Silva for 411 all out.
With quick third innings runs the only way for England to move this along, there would have been a temptation to shake up the batting order and front-load it with the white-ball hitters. Joe Root, however, trusted the traditional two of Lees and Crawley and would be satisfied with the platform they have set for a quick dash on Sunday morning.
