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A last-wicket stand of 71 gave the West Indies a handy lead in the second Test as England paid the price for their failure to wrap things up with the ball.
At Lord’s last week, England were toasting James Anderson’s retirement with pints of Guinness by lunch on the third day but things were shaping up very differently at the same stage in Nottingham.
When number 11 Shamar Joseph joined Josh Da Silva at the crease the tourists were still 30 adrift of England’s 416 but a combination of smart batting, care-free hitting and curious captaincy from Ben Stokes saw them finish 41 ahead.
Joseph hit five fours and two sixes, the second of which hit the roof of the Larwood and Voce tavern and rained tiles down on the fans below. His knock of 33 was a huge thorn in England’s side but he was expertly shepherded through the partnership by Da Silva.
The wicketkeeper, who made his only Test century against England during Joe Root’s final Test as captain in 2022, made a brilliantly judged 82 not out to usher his team to 457 all out.
That turned a bright start for England into a thoroughly underwhelming morning. Resuming 65 ahead with the score on 351 for five, they had taken four for 35. Chris Woakes was responsible for three of those, getting the better of Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales during a cagey session that brought out the best in the Warwickshire all-rounder.
Gus Atkinson grabbed the other, Kevin Sinclair well caught by Harry Brook in the gully, but England were unable to deliver the killer blow.
Stokes was guilty of being too defensive, spreading the field wide as he effectively gave up on getting Da Silva out. He protected Joseph well, allowing him to settle into his work, and collected enough boundaries to chip away at England’s buffer.
He brought up his half-century with a wonderful flowing six off Mark Wood, who hit 97mph on Friday, and used the pace to his advantage to carve six more over deep third.
Joseph then deepened the frustration as he levelled the scores by swatting Atkinson into the leg-side for six and put his side ahead with six more, as he cracked the roof tiles.
England leaked more runs as Root’s occasional spin failed to do the job and needed the extra half-hour to finally close things out, Wood belatedly getting his first wicket of the match as Joseph flubbed a catch to mid-on.
