England showed almost as much patience as Kraigg Brathwaite, but rather less skill. Their most incisive seamer, as usual in this series, was Ben Stokes, who took the only wicket not to fall to spin. Jack Leach worked hard (44-14-97-1) but, with his bald pate, he found himself cast in the role of the curate’s egg. Dan Lawrence, surely under-used, did well to pop up with a wicket in the evening shadows.
Credit where it’s due: Martin Wright was not the only person calling for Lawrence to come on. “I’ve got to say,” writes Tom van der Gucht, “I’m a bit disappointed to not get credit for calling for Lawrence as far back as Over 97 before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon. With that in mind, and Martin Wright taking on the captain role, can I get dibs on Ashley Giles’ empty slot on the board having demonstrated my prescience?”
Tom, the job is yours. Everyone else, thanks for your company and do join me tomorrow at 2pm GMT, assuming you can face any more of this match.
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Close: West Indies' day
117th over: West Indies 288-4 (Brathwaite 109, Joseph 4) Joseph plays and misses again, so England send for more catchers – five of them now. Lawrence dishes up a half-volley and Joseph, gratefully, drives it for four. Down to the last ball of the day... and England go up for a bat-pad catch! Not out, says the ump. And he’s right – Joseph’s bat was nowhere near it.
So West Indies get through the day for the loss of only three wickets. They can still, technically, follow on – England lead by 219 – but nobody is expecting that. West Indies have had a very satisfying day, if not an exciting one. Their captain, Kraigg Brathwaite, has made an epic rearguard hundred, wand he’s still there. Jermaine Blackwood followed suit, together they put on 183, and so, after three full days, this match has yielded only 13 wickets. Test cricket has 99 problems, and the pitch is one.
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116th over: West Indies 284-4 (Brathwaite 109, Joseph 0) Another over from Leach to Brathwaite, another maiden, so Lawrence can have one more over at Joseph.
“Just checking I’m reading the runes right here,” says Robin Hazlehurst. “England get 500+ declared on a road, the first innings ends at tea on day 4, England still contrive to lose by an innings. Am I calling this one about right?”
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115th over: West Indies 284-4 (Brathwaite 109, Joseph 0) Joseph, facing the mighty Lawrence, lives dangerously again, coming within three inches of a caught behind.
And here’s Martin Wright, savouring his own triumph (106th over). “Better late than never!” he says, with admirable restraint. Martin, are you by any chance available to captain England in the third Test?
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114th over: West Indies 284-4 (Brathwaite 109, Joseph 0) A maiden from Leach, who has now bowled 43 overs in this innings.
“Big deal,” Brathwaite may be thinking. “I’ve batted for more than eight hours and been on the field for three days.”
113th over: West Indies 284-4 (Brathwaite 109, Joseph 0) Out comes Alzarri Joseph, the nightwatchman. He plays and misses outside off, then attempts a big pull that almost goes to hand at short midwicket. I’m not convinced he’s ever faced a balletic part-time off-spinner before.
Dan Lawrence is now top of the bowling averages for both sides in the series, with these improbable figures: 11-6-11-2.
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Wicket! Blackwood LBW b Lawrence 102 (West Indies 284-4)
The breakthrough! And it’s Lawrence!! Blackwood plays no stroke at an off-break, perhaps thinking it’s too high. Given on the field, confirmed on review.
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Missed stumping!
112th over: West Indies 284-3 (Brathwaite 109, Blackwood 102) Brathwaite, finally tiring of all this discipline, gives Leach the charge and misses – but so does Ben Foakes, who perhaps feels the ball is going to hit leg stump. Leach just smiles, ruefully, gently, very amiably.
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111th over: West Indies 283-3 (Brathwaite 109, Blackwood 101) Martin Wright (106th over), I hope you’re still with us because you’ve just got your wish: Dan Lawrence is on, complete with his comedy bowling action. He delivers each ball as if he’s been rudely interrupted while practising for an audition with the Royal Ballet. The end product, though, is fine: just a single off the over.
Hundred to Blackwood!
110th over: West Indies 282-3 (Brathwaite 109, Blackwood 100) Blackwood, facing Leach, eases to 97 with a tuck to leg, to 99 with another – and then there’s an appeal for LBW. Not out! Blackwood flicks again, but Bairstow, brought in from the boundary to save the single, duly does so. Finally the single comes, from a glide past slip. Blackwood has played very well, apart from the moment when he was LBW to Stokes and England failed to review. You don’t make your own luck, but you can ride it, and this has been a masterclass.
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109th over: West Indies 277-3 (Brathwaite 109, Blackwood 95) Woakes finally locates the edge of Blackwood’s broad blade – and it goes for four! Cricket can be such a bastard.
“Test cricket,” says Matthew Lawrenson, “is like an old version of an operating system that a tech company reluctantly maintains because a lot of people would moan if they stopped doing so. I guess we’ve now reached the stage where certain features are gradually being deprecated (adequate preparation on tours, competitive pitches, ease of finding a live feed), ready to be scrapped altogether in readiness for an eventual bricking and migration to a new OS. ‘Well, you’ll HAVE to watch T20 and the Hundred now. It’s all we’re supporting.’” Ha.
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108th over: West Indies 270-3 (Brathwaite 109, Blackwood 88) Another over from Leach, another single to Blackwood and another two to Brathwaite, who thus stays just ahead of the number of overs.
“Sorry,” says Harry Drew, “had to defend a West Country finger spinner… Surely the stat about Leach’s first-innings performances is misleading? Under normal circumstances most first-innings wickets have been mopped up by Anderson or Broad. The underperforming bowler right now is not Leach, it’s Woakes, or maybe more accurately the muddled thinking that has left us without our greatest bowler, his sidekick and all the broken pace bowlers who were supposed to lead the line. I think Leach is just an easy target for carping because he’s not Graeme Swann or Ravi Ashwin.
“Keep up the good work. Blessed relief against the Talksport inanity.” Thanks!
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107th over: West Indies 267-3 (Brathwaite 107, Blackwood 87) A better over from Woakes, bar a slower ball so bad that Brathwaite can’t reach it outside his leg stump.
The PA plays Sweet Caroline for about the 496th time in the match. Lovable though it is, I’d rather hear something Bajan. Get Rihanna on!
106th over: West Indies 266-3 (Brathwaite 107, Blackwood 87) Leach bowls one of his periodic rippers, but it’s his slower ball, as advocated by David Gower – slow enough for Blackwood to change his mind about playing it. Joe Root goes off the field with what looks like a sore knee, so Stokes moves out of the doghouse into the driving seat.
Here’s Martin Wright. “Lawrence! Please…” he pleads. “Must be worth a try?” Absolutely.
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105th over: West Indies 265-3 (Brathwaite 107, Blackwood 86) Root takes Stokes off, like an old-school parent saying “Go to your room!” Back comes Chris Woakes. If his awful record this winter is weighing on his shoulders, you wouldn’t know it, but as he did just after tea, he starts with a bad ball, a freebie on the pads which Blackwood clips away for three. There are 12 overs left, in theory, so (a) England’s over rate has slumped again and (b) Blackwood has plenty of time to reach a hundred.
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104th over: West Indies 262-3 (Brathwaite 107, Blackwood 83) Blackwood inside-edges Leach, this close to leg slip, but no cigar.
“Hey Tim, thanks as ever for your erudite company on a day of low action,” says Ben Walker, generously. “Humblebragging in from the beach in Barbados where we just flew in from NYC for day 4. Wondering if we should swerve it and stay on the beach?” First-worlds problems.
“What are the odds of anyone taking 10 wickets, let alone 20? Why isn’t The Rootster getting people round the bat? Thanks sir – Ben, Paul and Hywel Lewis and the news.” Ha. I suspect Sod’s law will swing into action: stay on the beach and you’ll miss Saqib Mahmood’s hat-trick on debut. Go to the game and you’ll find this partnership continuing for several weeks.
Stokes told off for sledging
103rd over: West Indies 260-3 (Brathwaite 106, Blackwood 82) Stokes, straining for the reverse swing that Mahmood got, goes too full and gets clipped for two and four by Blackwood. Stokes is fuming, giving Blackwood what looks very much like a volley of abuse. The umpire has a word with him, and so does Root.
Stokes carries on chuntering at Blackwood, with the crowd piling in on backing vocals, which may have been the purpose of the whole operation. The umpires have another word with Stokes, and with Root. Stokes finds a smile from somewhere, which is probably wise.
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102nd over: West Indies 254-3 (Brathwaite 106, Blackwood 76) A maiden from Leach, and a rare blot on Ben Foakes’s copybook as one ball goes for four byes. That brings up the 150 partnership.
101st over: West Indies 250-3 (Brathwaite 106, Blackwood 76) Stokes bowls a bouncer and Blackwood upper-cuts for four, popping it over the head of Bairstow at cover. On a better pitch, that might have been a catch at third man.
Meanwhile Tanya has just retweeted this from Lancashire Women. “We’re opening our doors to any female cricketer (16+) who plays hard-ball cricket in the North West to train @EmiratesOT to showcase their skills & talent! If you’d like to attend, please contact Chris Chambers (Women & Girls Pathway Manager) on cchambers@lancashirecricket.co.uk.” Really hoping we have a few teenage tearaways reading the OBO. In case we don’t, please mention it to your daughter. Or grand-daughter.
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100th over: West Indies 244-3 (Brathwaite 106, Blackwood 70) Leach wheels away and Brathwaite dabs a couple past slip.
Now here’s a question. “Will Test cricket ever be good again?” asks Ian Batch. “These pitches are terrible for Test cricket – but does anyone care any more?. What nobody can claim though is that this is elite sport. Compared to tours of the WI over previous decades this feels like an end of the pier show put on for the tourists’ mild amusement. Everyone is always writing off Test cricket, but this does have an end times feel to it. There’s no jeopardy, no drama, no great exhibition of skills, just two poor teams playing boring cricket on another lifeless pitch.
“Maybe Test cricket peaked in the 80’s/90’s and is now in terminal decline. Maybe I just need a drink.”
99th over: West Indies 242-3 (Brathwaite 104, Blackwood 70) Stokes to Blackwood, and it’s another maiden. A good stat from the commentators: those ten tons of Brathwaite’s are the last ten hundreds made by any West Indian opener – ie, since Chris Gayle. So it’s not unlike what has happened to England’s openers since Alastair Cook, though he, of course, scored much faster than Gayle.
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98th over: West Indies 242-3 (Brathwaite 104, Blackwood 70) Leach dishes up something from the hotel buffet – short, wide and asking to be cut for four. As Brathwaite obliges, Steve Harmison argues that Leach drops short when he drops his pace, losing the full length that comes naturally if he’s firing it in. It doesn’t make Joe Root any less inclined to deploy him: of these 98 overs, Leach has bowled more than a third (35-11-83-1).
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Drinks: these two still there
97th over: West Indies 238-3 (Brathwaite 100, Blackwood 70) Mahmood gives way to his mentor, Stokes, who starts with a maiden. And that’s drinks, with West Indies still sailing along serenely, helped by that no-ball, just as they we’re helped earlier by Stokes not reviewing a leg-before
“It sounds like Leach is bowling at least one beauty an over,” says Tom van der Gucht. “It got me thinking about the Warne documentary on Prime where he talked about the balance of aggression and theatre. If Root was half the captain Warne never got the chance to become, he’d gamble for a few overs and crowd the batsmen with seven close catchers aggressively crowded round the bat and breathing down their necks whilst bowling Leach and Lawrence in tandem for a few overs with an increased number of theatrical ooohhs and aaahhhsss for good measure.
“If it doesn’t work, then fine, bring back Mahmood, but you never know what a bit of pressure can bring.”
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96th over: West Indies 238-3 (Brathwaite 100, Blackwood 70) Brathwaite celebrates by playing a sweep shot, possibly his first in this innings – and not his best, as it brings no runs. A caption reveals that he has been out there for 410 minutes. Plus, of course, the whole of England’s innings, which was the best part of two days.
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Hundred to Kraigg Brathwaite!
A tenth Test ton! And he reaches it with a lovely shot, dancing back to play a deft late cut off Leach. He has batted for 278 balls: not just a captain’s innings, but a monument to self-discipline.
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95th over: West Indies 236-3 (Brathwaite 98, Blackwood 70) Mahmood’s non-wicket has had one repercussion: both batters are now treating him with more respect. He makes them play and keeps them honest, but the magic eludes him.
“I’m amazed we’re even having the discussion about Leach,” says Kevin Wilson. “He has been the best spinner on the county circuit for a while now. He has taken wickets on turning tracks in Asia and kept it tight and chipped in when conditions don’t suit. These pitches are roads. He has outbowled Permaul by a mile. Leach is not Ashwin or Jadeja but he’s about on par with Maharaj and that’s fine. If the pace bowlers weren’t lobbing up pies, we wouldn’t even have this debate.”
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94th over: West Indies 233-3 (Brathwaite 97, Blackwood 68) Leach is still bowling too fast for the commentators’ taste. David Gower is more het up about it than he ever was about anything when he captained England himself, with the possible exception of one press conference. I suspect they’re right. This is a third-innings pitch, and Leach, for all his steadiness, is turning in a first-innings performance.
93rd over: West Indies 231-3 (Brathwaite 97, Blackwood 66) Mahmood had continued with Stokes standing at mid-off and coaching him. Stokes was his captain in his finest hour, leading the attack in the demolition of Pakistan’s ODI side by Stokes’s Understudies. And just now Stokes was leading the celebrations that were so cruelly cut short. But at least Mahmood reacts well to adversity, almost reproducing his yorker next ball. That first wicket shouldn’t be long in coming.
Wicket off a no-ball! Mahmood!!
Mahmood spread-eagles Blackwood’s stumps with an inswinging yorker, celebrate this first Test wicket ... and then finds that he overstepped, by about two inches. Poor guy.
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92nd over: West Indies 227-3 (Brathwaite 96, Blackwood 64) Off goes Fisher and on comes... Leach again! With a change of ends, he bowls a jaffa to Blackwood, taking the edge – but it goes to gully, where there is only a gap. The partnership stretches to 126.
91st over: West Indies 226-3 (Brathwaite 96, Blackwood 63) Here is Mahmood, and he begins as if doing his best to make his admirers look deluded. Straining for swing, he goes too full and gets picked off by Brathwaite – a clip for two, a gorgeous on-drive for four. For a moment Brathwaite thinks he’s got his hundred, but his next caress into the on side is well stopped at midwicket. Mahmood sticks at it and gets his reward in the form of a few dots.
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90th over: West Indies 220-3 (Brathwaite 90, Blackwood 63) Fisher, with Brathwaite to bowl at rather than Blackwood, manages a maiden.
“Gary Naylor (80th over) posed the ‘Is Jack Leach doing enough?’ question.” says Timothy Sanders. “It reminds me of the 2015 tour when Adil Rashid ferried the drinks whilst James Tredwell was tidy but, particularly at Antigua, couldn’t force the win. Rashid had had a storming title-winning season with Yorkshire, but reportedly bowled poorly in the warm-up game. The captain, as ever, chose the containing option. Eoin Morgan liked the look of Rashid for limited overs cricket, picked him that summer, and you know the rest.
“As for Gary’s question... I think Leach shows promise, and the West Indies batters have played patiently and well. I also remember how well Brathwaite and Hope countered Moeen’s attacking line and spin in that 2017 Headingley run-chase.
If the question is Leach or Parky, then I’d get them both in for the third Test!”
89th over: West Indies 220-3 (Brathwaite 90, Blackwood 63) A better over from Leach, with more variation, fewer darts, but still no breakthrough. The case for a burst from Mahmood is getting stronger.
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88th over: West Indies 218-3 (Brathwaite 89, Blackwood 62) Fisher, remembering that lifter from his previous over, tries it again. Blackwood, remembering it too, is quicker onto the back foot, more precise, forcing it for four. And that in turn forces an error from Fisher, who goes too far the other way, full on leg stump, and gets flicked for four more.
“Problem with Leach,” says Rob Dicxon, “is even if he had pitches in his favour, I don’t have the confidence he can grab the game in last innings with 5-6 wickets that other spinners can do. Parkinson must be close to taking his place?” Yes, Parkinson should be playing, but Leach’s record in the third and fourth innings is flawless – he’s one of the best in the world, averaging 20 over the past four years. The problem is the first half of the match, in which he averages 52 – the worst by any spinner in the world (min. 20 wickets).
87th over: West Indies 210-3 (Brathwaite 89, Blackwood 54) Well, Woakes has been taken off, but it’s not Mahmood – it’s Leach again, with an uneventful maiden. On the plus side, it means we can go back to the debate started by Gary Naylor.
“Hey from Norway Tim,” says Brendan Large. “I know there’s no point... but imagine Adil Rashid’s variations on this pitch. I reckon they’d be following on already.”
86th over: West Indies 210-3 (Brathwaite 89, Blackwood 54) Fisher, whose lengths have been good throughout, gets his line right too and bowls a maiden to Blackwood. The last ball is a lifter in the channel which draws a waft and a miss. Very Angus Fraser.
85th over: West Indies 210-3 (Brathwaite 89, Blackwood 54) Woakes has two slips and a gully, which seems a bit half-hearted. Mind you, he’s not moving the ball away from these two right-handers. If I were Saqib Mahmood, I’d be doing some rather obvious stretching.
84th over: West Indies 208-3 (Brathwaite 88, Blackwood 53) Leach is taken off as Matthew Fisher gets his hands on the second new ball for the first time. He drifts onto the pads, so the batters help themselves from the tea trolley.
Here’s Pete Salmon. “I have to say I’m a big fan of Jack Leach, precisely because he doesn’t take wickets, or at least not very often. It’s like a comfort blanket – like back when John Emburey was wheeling away for a decade not doing anything very much. The odd seven-wicket haul, and between that averaging about 40. Proper cricket.”
Hundred partnership!
83rd over: West Indies 204-3 (Brathwaite 87, Blackwood 50) A new ball, a new session – but it’s the same old Chris Woakes (overseas version). His first ball is a freebie, full and wide, and Brathwaite cover-drives it for four. The fourth ball is no better, just a bit straighter, so it’s off-driven for four. And that’s the hundred partnership, off 38.1 overs. Scoreboard pressure, what scoreboard pressure?
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Tea: West Indies 196-3
And that’s teatime, with Brathwaite and Blackwood fully earning their chocolate digestives. They’ve batted through the whole afternoon session, showing endless patience and adding 82, which is a lot better than this morning (43). See you soon: I’m off for a scotch egg.
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Fifty to Blackwood!
82nd over: West Indies 196-3 (Brathwaite 79, Blackwood 50) Sharing the new ball with Woakes is ... Leach! He starts with the worst ball I’ve seen from him on this tour – a long hop, some way outside off. Brathwaite cuts it for three as Dan Lawrence makes a good tumbling save. Look out for another good Toblerone pic in a minute. Another short ball and Blackwood cuts for four to reach a painstaking fifty, off 113 balls, only six of which have gone for four. By the end of the over, Leach has come to terms with having a nice ball in his hand: he beats Blackwood twice outside off.
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81st over: West Indies 189-3 (Brathwaite 76, Blackwood 46) The new ball is taken instantly, and it’s a thing of beauty, like a baby beetroot from Waitrose. Woakes gets some swing, but it’s not late enough to bother the batters.
80th over: West Indies 188-3 (Brathwaite 75, Blackwood 46) Leach continues, still with three men round the bat, all of whom seem to be chirping at the same time. Blackwood plays half a false shot, gets a thick inside edge and picks up two for it. The new ball is due.
“Is Jack Leach doing enough @TimdeLisle?” asks Gary Naylor, acting as counsel for the prosecution. “Like Jos Buttler, his admirers always seem to have an excuse - not enough runs on the board, dead pitches, erratic selection. But, just as Buttler didn’t make enough runs, maybe Leach doesn’t take enough wickets. Which is the main job.” Discuss!
79th over: West Indies 186-3 (Brathwaite 75, Blackwood 44) Woakes, fortified by a spot of clearing up, replaces Stokes, but then has a problem with his boot that takes several minutes to sort out. The batters take a drink, a single and a leg-bye.
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78th over: West Indies 184-3 (Brathwaite 74, Blackwood 44) Leach changes his line from off stump to middle. This brings a big LBW appeal against Blackwood, and then another. Joel Wilson gives them both some thought and then shakes his head, rightly I think, though only just. Root sends for an extra catcher, at short leg. That’s a maiden, and a very good one. Bowling Leachy!
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77th over: West Indies 184-3 (Brathwaite 74, Blackwood 44) The players may not be having an exciting day, but the Toblerone that marks the boundary is. Not only has it had Jonny Bairstow using it as an armchair (see below, 70th over): a chunk of it has now taken flight and landed near where Stokes begins his run-up. Someone has to tidy it away, and yes, it’s Chris Woakes, showing why so many older fans once had him in mind as their next son-in-law. Also: ten off the over! A few ones and twos, a no-ball, and a deft glide for four from Brathwaite to round things off. Even after this carnage, Stokes still has the figures of a Scrooge: 13-6-22-1.
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76th over: West Indies 174-3 (Brathwaite 68, Blackwood 41) A maiden from Leach, whose last delivery is a ripper., slow and turning square. Unfortunately, it rips right past Brathwaite’s outside edge. Shane Warne would have loved it.
75th over: West Indies 174-3 (Brathwaite 68, Blackwood 41) Stokes concedes a run for the first time in this spell as Brathwaite nurdles another single. It’s all about the new ball now. Come on Joe, give Lawrence a go.
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74th over: West Indies 173-3 (Brathwaite 67, Blackwood 41) Leach’s over begins with a sudden flood of runs: three of them off the first two balls. Brathwaite tucks a single into the leg side, and then Blackwood goes crazy and flicks a two. Leach then restores order with four dots. Where’s Matt Parkinson when you need him?
73rd over: West Indies 170-3 (Brathwaite 66, Blackwood 39) Stokes continues, pounding in at Blackwood, either going short and being ignored, or going full with some reverse and being blocked. The batters have been staunch. After Antigua, we thought Nkrumah Bonner was the titan of tedium, but these two are giving him a run for his money. Or rather, no run.
72nd over: West Indies 170-3 (Brathwaite 66, Blackwood 39) You’re not going to believe this but there’s been a run! And a false shot too. Jack Leach, replacing Fisher, bowls a beauty to Blackwood, nice and slow – just what the Gower ordered. It goes through the top of the pitch and turns sharply, taking the edge – but the ball goes wide of slip and trickles away for a single. Still, it’s a glimmer.
71st over: West Indies 169-3 (Brathwaite 66, Blackwood 38) Root, clearly unimpressed with his own bowling, brings back Stokes, who bowls a maiden too. He’s England’s leading seamer in this series, with twice as many wickets (four) as any of the specialists (Craig Overton has two). This may have been noted by a Mr S Broad and a Mr J Anderson. If you’re reading, guys, send us an email!
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70th over: West Indies 169-3 (Brathwaite 66, Blackwood 38) It’s still Matthew Fisher, getting some gentle inswing, bowling fifth-stump and hoping to tempt Blackwood into an indiscretion. It doesn’t work, but that’s a maiden.
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Afternoon everyone and thanks to the excellent Tanya. If this match was a village, it would be described as sleepy.
69th over: West Indies 169-3 (Brathwaite 66, Blackwood 38) Another fairly uneventful Root over - though he just wings down a bouncer off the last ball - and it is time for me to hand over to the excellent Tim de Lisle who will take you through till stumps. Thanks for all the messages, have a lovely afternoon.
68th over: West Indies 165-3 (Brathwaite 65, Blackwood 35) Five from Fisher’s over, including a couple off another punchy looking cover drive from Brathwaite and a couple more friskily past a diving gully.
67th over: West Indies 163-3 (Brathwaite 65, Blackwood 33) Root, hair held back with wax and a head band, twirls it in, but there’s nothing much there and Brathwaite and Blackwood can see this as a victory of sorts. A cover drive for four off the last ball by Blackwood is the cream on top of the milk.
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66th over: West Indies 154-3 (Brathwaite 6e, Blackwood 28) There’s not much noise from the barmies in the post-lunch lull as Blackwood and Brathwaite dig in. Fisher it is, who always seems to smile at the top of his run. A couple of singles, nudged off the legs.
65th over: West Indies 154-3 (Brathwaite 62, Blackwood 27) Joe Root decides it is time for a change and brings on himself. His first ball drifts past Blackwood and Foakes whips off the bails, but with Blackwood safely strapped into his crease. A couple of untroubled singles follow.
64th over: West Indies 152-3 (Brathwaite 61, Blackwood 26) Fisher in his short shirt sleeves, returns. Brathwaite brings up the fifty partnership with a punching drive through the offside. A couple of optimistic appeals for an lbw and a caught behind, which was, nonetheless, nicely taken by Foakes on the tumble.
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63rd over: West Indies 147-3 (Brathwaite 57, Blackwood 25) The notorious DIG is getting very irate as Root moves silly point back towards cover, immediately after Blackwood punches a short ball through the covers for four
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62nd over: West Indies 142-3 (Brathwaite 57, Blackwood 20) Ian Bishhop is looking for a better length from Mahmood, more pitched up, and he gets it midway through the over. Meanwhile Crawley at short mid wicket gets one on the upper body as the ball bounces awkwardly.
61st over: West Indies 136-3 (Brathwaite 54, Blackwood 17) , We are given an extended panama of the Caribbean sea, all sparkling and turquoise. Just a single off Leach’s over.
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60th over: West Indies 135-3 (Brathwaite 53, Blackwood 17) Mahmood continues weaving his magic, but West Indies hare picking up quick singles hither and thither. Blackwood almost cut in half after a ball edges off the bat into his tummy - if athletes have a tummy. Abdomen.
“Afternoon Tanya.” Ah, Brian Withington.
“Your plaintive query regarding the missing white age 13 football shorts had me instantly recalling those halcyon days. The youngest son was always ‘ready’ to leave for a match apart from the one or other elusive item of kit, discovered missing as we got in the car.
Fortunately these days he (now 26) only has to remember his boots and shin pads as Worcester City kindly provide and launder everything else. Having said that, he’s kindly left said boots for me to clean before he returns from 3 months Californian cricket coaching …”
Sounds like it was all worth it!
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59th over: West Indies 132-3 (Brathwaite 50, Blackwood 17) Blackwood nicks Leach past Crawley at slip for four, then pounces on a short one sending it spiralling through cover for four more, despite a sprawling Bairstow’s best efforts.
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58th over: West Indies 124-3 (Brathwaite 50, Blackwood 9) Another no ball for Saqib who hasn’t quite located the crease. But it’s another testing, misery over.
“Tanya...” Hello Mark Slater.
“I should think that any 13 year old pair of soccer shorts, especially if still white, should be in a gallery!”
So true! Daft colour, like white school polo shirts in primary school.
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Brathwaite fifty!
57th over: West Indies 122-3 (Brathwaite 50, Blackwood 8) With a sweep of a ball from Leach down the leg side, Brathwaite brings up his fifty, his slowest in Test cricket. A doughty captain’s effort. By contrast, his fifty at Antigua was his fastest.
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56th over: West Indies 118-3 (Brathwaite 46, Blackwood 8) It’s Mahmood, yellow soles of his shoes kicking up the air. Dan Lawrence at slip sweeps his forehead and the back of his neck for sweat and applies it to the ball alongside a shirt polish - but the commentators can’t see much evidence of a shiny side on the ball. To my eye, the ball looks generally knackered. Brathwaite and Blackwood scamper three quick singles - definitely more intent between the wickets since lunch. A Mahmood no ball adds to the score.
“Do the teams eat lunch together or are they kept separate?” asks Malcolm Henderson in Panama. Malcolm, I’m not sure. They used to, I think, but everything changed with Covid.
Afternoon session
55th over: West Indies 114-3 (Brathwaite 44, Blackwood 7) Jack Leach resumes his duties after lunch. Dot to dot - the 23rd maiden of the innings - as Stokes polishes the ball vigorously on his flanks.
A wonderful photo by Philip Brown:
That’s Out! #BenStokes pic.twitter.com/yppfKN2pz8
— PHILIP BROWN (@dudleyplatypus) March 18, 2022
A hot cross bun and a cup of tea.
David Harland is battling jet lag but is still capable of defending Chris Woakes:“Guy Hornsby’s question whether you retain Woakes if Overton is fit ... I would say absolutely, he remains capable of great spells and can bowl a tight line whilst also having a batting average of 27... “
They’ll retake the field in a couple of minutes, in the meantime if anyone knows where a pair of age 13 white football shorts have disappeared to, please let me know.
A pleasing session for England as West Indies continued to struggle despite the intractability of Brathwaite. Wickets for Leach -who had his best session of the winter - and Stokes, who can consider himself lucky with the wicket of Bonner, though he would have had another had he reviewed that lbw against Blackwood. Promise a plenty from Fisher and Mahmood - who got the ball reversing before lunch. Expect to see more of him after the fish and rice. I’m going to grab a cup of tea, back in half an hour.
Apologies if the email hasn’t been working - if you’ve something to say, drop me a line at tanya.aldred.freelance@theguardian.com
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Lunch: West Indies 114-3 trail England by
54th over: West Indies 114-3 (Brathwaite 44, Blackwood 7) Lees comes in at short leg to mutter reverse-swing in Brathwaite’s ear. Mahmood eases to the crease, six dots and that is lunch. Root gives Fisher a hug as they walk off the pitch, and England are all smiles.
Afternoon @tjaldred. For all the 'reset' story (dropping *those guys*) it's hard not to feel excited by this all. Two young, bright bowlers doing well and Leach getting a decent run. This needs the question, when Overton is well, is Woakes retained? I suspect they will, but...
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) March 18, 2022
53rd over: West Indies 114-3 (Brathwaite 44, Blackwood 7) A couple of scampered singles as Stokes pitches the ball up looking for reverse swing in the penultimate over before lunch.
52nd over: West Indies 110-3 (Brathwaite 43, Blackwood 5) Leach’s long spell comes to an end as Root plumps for Mahmood just before lunch. First though, Stokes and Fisher are sent down to the boundary to push the sightscreen into position. The first ball reverses viciously and Root licks his lips. The third ducks into the boot, but outside the line. A no ball gifts West Indies a run but it is an over full of promise. Mark Butcher thinks he can see something of Waqar Younis in him - quite the compliment, but Mahmood wears his talent lightly.
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NOT OUT!
Killer reverse swing but it tonks him on the toe outside off stump
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REVIEW! Blackwood lbw Mahmood 4
Sounds like it hit the boot....
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51st over: West Indies 108-3 (Brathwaite 42, Blackwood 4) Just a leg bye off Stokes as he continues to pound in and test the West Indian batters, with just ten minutes left till lunch.
Some highlights from the last day at Karachi and Babar’s 196, where Pakistan batted out 172 overs to draw the second Test.
Babar batted for more than 10 hours in the second innings 😱👏
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) March 18, 2022
50th over: West Indies 107-3 (Brathwaite 42, Blackwood 4) Brathwaite grabs at a couple of runs through point, as Leach twirls onwards.
49th over: West Indies 105-3 (Brathwaite 40, Blackwood 4) Stokes again, tubular bandages (?) tucked under the shirt arms. He’s persisted with the longer hair he grew during lock-down. I’m a fan, it is Denis Compton-esque . Blackwood drives at a wide ball and sends it tumbling through cover to the rope. Stokes comes in for a chat, smiling wolfishly.
“The rare sent-from-the-ACTUAL-office email here (in a Parisian workplace, OBOing is an almost revolutionary act). I was a Brathwaite early adopter. He’s pulled off so many boy-on-the-burning-deck, collapse-defying innings that I’ve lost count. For about 18 months he played what amounted to one against eleven (he was particularly magnificent in Australia).
Coming in to bat against 500 disrupts the normal laws of sporting physics but if anyone can do it, Brathwaite can. Recalcitrance is where he lives. Truth or Dare is always Dare. The gauntlet is what he picks up.
I bet I hex him.”
Robert Wilson, his afternoon is in your hands.
48th over: West Indies 101-3 (Brathwaite 40, Blackwood 0) The replay shows that the Stokes LBW shout was OUT! On the field Stokes grins easily - it is easy to take the knock-backs the day after you’ve walked on water (again). Another Leach maiden - the good ship West Indies is fully becalmed. Can they score another run before lunch in half an hour?
47th over: West Indies 101-3 (Brathwaite 40, Blackwood 0) The West Indies scoring rate has ground to a crawl as Stokes sends down another maiden. A huge appeal to his fifth ball, a creeper which nips into Blackwood’s back pad. Stokes wrinkles his nose and signals that is searing down leg.
46th over: West Indies 101-3 (Brathwaite 40, Blackwood 0) The Spice Girls zig-a-zig-ahh across a full Bridgetown as Woakes spears down another maiden.
The latest on Mark Wood.
45th over: West Indies 101-3 (Brathwaite 40, Blackwood 0) Stokes does the business with a wicket maiden though Bonner can consider himself unlucky. The third umpire certainly has better eyes than me.
WICKET! Bonner lbw Stokes 9 (West Indies 101-3)
It’s tricky to tell whether or not the ball has glanced the bat as it hits the pad, but the umpire rules in the bowler’s favour and the replay shows the ball would have hit the top of middle stump. Bonner is squared up, feel firmly stuck in the crease.
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REVIEW! Bonner lbw Stokes 9 (West Indies 101-3)
44th over: West Indies 101-2 (Brathwaite 40, Bonner 9) Woakes picks up after the break. Brathwaite pokes at a short one but it goes only to point. Woakes is busting a gut as always, powering to the stumps, slightly pigeon chested and is rewarded with a maiden.
43rd over: West Indies 101-2 (Brathwaite 40, Bonner 9) Stokes now, as Root rings the changes and I have to squint in the light of the fierce Manchester sun as it streams through the window. Just a leg bye from the over and actually we now take DRINKS.
42nd over: West Indies 100-2 (Brathwaite 40, Bonner 9) Brathwaite joins in the sudden boundary rush, sending Woakes spinning to the square leg boundary. And I think that is DRINKS.
41st over: West Indies 93-2 (Brathwaite 33, Bonner 9) Two fours from Leach’s over as Bonner wafts a charming cover drive to the rope, and sweeps a leg-side here-you-are behind square.
A email drops by. Hello Tim Sanders.
“Somehow, Fisher and Mahmood’s presences seems to cast Anderson and Broad’s absences in a better light. They’ve both started promisingly, and like you I think Mahmood’s moment might come with the older ball.
“Regarding pace, I’d like to give a shout out to Worcestershire’s Dillon Pennington. New Road is generally a sluggish surface with its annual spring inundation, which affects his numbers. But he could consider himself unlucky to be behind the current debutants in the queue. I’ve seen him take a triple wicket maiden at Headingley - a T20, but proper bowling at the top order; and in a four-day victory at Scarborough in 2018, Kane Williamson really didn’t enjoy facing him.”
That’s a great call. I saw him in 2018, I think, the year Surrey won the Championship. He put the wind up the Surrey batting at New Road as they were chasing a small target.
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40th over: West Indies 85-2 (Brathwaite 33, Bonner 1) Root whisks Mahmood off, after just two wicketless overs, and calls for Chris Woakes. A mixed bag, gets away with a couple of loose ones, surprises Brathwaite with some ping-pong bounce with the last ball. A maiden.
39th over: West Indies 85-2 (Brathwaite 33, Bonner 1) Another maiden for Leach and much oohing from the fielders and prodding from the batsmen. The pitch, says Mark Butcher, has much more of a sandpapery feel on day three than it had previously. This is what is giving Leach his purchase off the surface.
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38th over: West Indies 85-2 (Brathwaite 33, Bonner 1) A bit of late swing, a bit of dig, Mahmood is providing plenty of threat but no cigar. Yet. But his action is poetry.
“Greetings from Singapore!” Hello Kevin Tong. “Glad to get an early email in, for once. During his interview yesterday, Ben Stokes mentioned that the spinner is in the game, and we all know that it’s going to be a big day for Jack Leach. Might I posit that it is also going to be a big day for Ben Foakes? We haven’t had much of a chance to see the silken glovework he is known for, so here’s hoping we’ll see some of that today.”
Yes, good point.
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37th over: West Indies 84-2 (Brathwaite 33, Bonner 0) A Leach maiden.
@tjaldred How many more Tests do you think Mark Wood will play?
— Daniel King (@TunnelKing) March 18, 2022
I don’t want to think about this question, it is too poignant. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Wood came to the conclusion that his body was just too fragile for this red-ball lark and decided to concentrate on white-ball.
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36th over: West Indies 84-2 (Brathwaite 33, Bonner 0) Root beckons to Mahmood, to replace Fisher after a good morning spell. Mahmood is up in the high 80mphs immediately and beats Bonner with a snorter.
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35th over: West Indies 83-2 (Brathwaite 32, Bonner 0) The replay of the wicket shows a bit of the pitch flying off as Leach lands the ball. It also shows Brooks bending down in frustration when he realises what he’s done.
Thanks to Ali, for this from the local Bridgetown paper, by young Anmar Goodridge-Boyce.
Three stories the hard way … Front, page 4 and Back … hope y’all enjoy today’s Weekend Nation, I definitely had a blast writing these articles for you Barbados ! @NationBarbados pic.twitter.com/73d1e7Lnbi
— Anmar Goodridge-Boyce (@anmargboyce) March 18, 2022
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WICKET! Brooks c Woakes b Leach 39 (West Indies 83-2)
The breakthrough! Brooks plays a heavy-footed cut which flies to Woakes at point who swoops and takes on his belly. Just reward for Leach, though not to his best ball of the day.
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34th over: West Indies 81-1 (Brathwaite 31, Brooks 38) Agonisingly close! Fisher finds some extra bounce and catches the top edge of Brooks’ bat, from where the ball flies just short of Crawley, who almost flicks it up one-handedly as he dives forwards in hope.
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33rd over: West Indies 80-1 (Brathwaite 31; Brooks 37) Yikes, the fourth ball is another big turner, catching the outside edge, squeezing past gully. I imagine the voice of Ben Kenobi whispering, “soft hands, Shamarh, soft hands.”
“I’ve just hand-washed two jumpers and they are lounging across a chair outside soaking up the sunshine.” says Andrew Benton. “I’d like to think that WI will be 225-8 when I take them in, nice and dry, in a few hours, but I think they’ll do an England and get a loadaruns, so....heading for a draw. A top drawer draw, but still a draw. What do you think?”
Now you’ve put me on the spot. I’m going with your first prediction: wickets for the wily Leach and Mahmood reverse-swing. And your washing will definitely be dry.
32nd over: West Indies 77-1 (Brathwaite 31; Brooks 34) A maiden from Fisher, who wears thick white wristbands halfway up each forearm. Some nippy bounce to put doubt in the batsmen’s mind.
31st over: West Indies 77-1 (Brathwaite 31; Brooks 34) Not quite as lip-smacking a second over from Leach, and Brooks picks up a couple through the covers.
30th over: West Indies 74-1 (Brathwaite 30, Brooks 32) Fisher is an expressive figure, runner-bean-fingered hands reaching out in supplication after a good ball. Another perfectly good over, a hint of extra bounce, nice and full.
“Tanya,” John Starbuck, hello!
“Good afternoon. I rather like the phrase ‘the elongated Fisher’. It reads like a particular species of fast bowler, generally seen in sunny climes.”
These tall fast bowlers do feel a bit like a species apart. Jason Holder in particular has a celestial air.
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29th over: West Indies 73-1 (Brathwaite 29, Brooks 32) It’s spin from the Malcolm Marshall end, and Leach’s first ball lands and spins sharply past Brooks’ bat - and it was 76kph, slower, just like Uncle Gower asked for. That’ll sit and and fester in the West Indian minds. The fourth ball is a cracker too, shimming past Brathwaite’s pressing blade, and the fifth flies past a diving short leg.
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Morning session
28th over: West Indies 71-1 (Brathwaite 28, Brooks 31) Here we go. The elongated Fisher, squinting into the sun, has the ball and delivers the first on the money as Jerusalem is belched from the stands. He continues to be tidy and the first over is a maiden.
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The players are out, and the cameras pan round the full stands which are filled mostly with Brits.
A lovely story about Shamarh Brooks from Carlos Brathwaite in the BT studio - Brooks was picked for West Indies A on the recommendation of Brian Lara, who watched him hit four fours and was transfixed.
David Gower, resplendent in a pink shirt covered in birds, thinks Jack Leach needs to bowl much slower. It is hazy in Barbados, and a ruffling kind of wind swings over the ground.
This was lovely from Matt Fisher’s brother Mark.
Written in the stars that it would be in Barbados, Dads favourite place in the world, so proud, love you bro @9M_Fisher https://t.co/eI8ZNFtqu8
— Mark Fisher (@MarkFisher92) March 16, 2022
Mark Wood out of the tour
And awful news for Mark Wood, who had such an impressive Ashes series. He will miss the rest of the Caribbean tour AND The Indian Premier League with a “right elbow injury.”
No news yet on a call up. Wood will see a specialist back in the UK.
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While we wait, more internal turmoil from Yorkshire CCC, as ex-chair Robin Smith puts his oar in and reignites the whole mess.
Sometimes I can barely believe what I have to write: Yorkshire: Robin Smith continues attack on DCMS committee's handling of racism scandal | The Cricketer https://t.co/QuPCyvtUje
— George Dobell (@GeorgeDobell1) March 17, 2022
Ali’s super report on Thursday’s business:
And what Ben Stokes had to say after his wunder-innings:
Preamble
Good afternoon from Manchester, where the skies are rivalling Bridgetown in all their hyacinth gorgeousness and there is a waft of jasmine blossom in the spring air.
Yesterday couldn’t have gone much better for England - 150 for Joe Root, 120 for Ben Stokes, back to his belligerent best, and promising debuts for the two new caps: Matt Fisher and Saqib Mahmood. Fisher took a wicket with his second ball, probing the corridoor of uncertainty like a pro. There were no scalps for Saqib Mahmood, but he was miserly and fierce.
Whether England can dig a win from this pancake pitch is down to their perseverance and West Indian fortitude. Ben Stokes, for one, was optimistic:
“I don’t want to eat my words here but I can’t see [the pitch] getting any better. I think the spinner is in the game and the seamers felt in the game the whole way, so it’ll be an exciting day tomorrow.”
Play starts at 2pm GMT, I’ll be back to read the tea leaves at 1.30pm.
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