(CMC – Two late wickets rocked the West Indies and undermined a courageous effort with the ball, leaving them staring at a series whitewash at Edgbaston yesterday.
Half-centuries from wicketkeeper Jamie Smith (95), former captain Joe Root (87), all-rounder Chris Woakes (62) and current skipper Ben Stokes (54) threatened to put the game well behind West Indies, but fast bowlers Alzarri Joseph (4-122), Jayden Seales (3-79), and Shamar Joseph (2-63) never relented and managed to limit England to 376.
Trailing by 94 runs on the first innings, the West Indies then lost Captain Kraigg Brathwaite without scoring and left-hander Kirk McKenzie for eight to limp to the close on 33 for two—still 61 runs adrift heading into Sunday’s day three of the final Test.
innings with a vital lower order knock of 95
“We started pretty well with the ball and had them under a little bit of pressure,” said Seales, who reached 50 wickets in his 13th Test.
“Obviously a big partnership [was] built, and you could see the experience in their batting lineup, which took them out of that spot of bother, so kudos to them.
“We showed great fight with the ball yesterday and this morning to start, so it’s just a matter of doing it a little more consistently and backing it up all the time.”
Resuming the morning on 38 for three, England were plunged into deeper trouble inside the first 20 minutes when they lost Ollie Pope (10) and Harry Brook (2) cheaply to find themselves tottering on 54 for five.
Pope, on six at the start, chopped on to Shamar Joseph and lost his middle stump while Brook faced three deliveries before edging a drive behind off Seales to depart for two.
Root and Stokes initiated the recovery, the pair posting 115 for the sixth wicket in a partnership that carried England to lunch on 157 for no further loss.
Unbeaten on 48 at the interval, Stokes completed his 33rd Test fifty before falling in the third over following the resumption, pulling Alzarri Joseph to Brathwaite at square leg after facing 69 balls in 1-¾ hour and counting five fours and a six.
Root, who struck seven fours in a knock lasting 124 balls in just under 3-¼ hours, added a further 62 with Smith while passing 12 000 runs in Tests and looked set to complete his second hundred of the series when he played down the wrong line to left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie and was plumb lbw.
Smith and Woakes then combined in the second century stand of the innings, adding 106 for the eighth wicket to propel the hosts to 274 for seven at tea.
Smith produced an up-tempo innings, belting a dozen fours and six off just 109 deliveries, while Woakes added to the touring side’s pain with seven fours in a 78-ball knock.
The right-handed Smith was marching towards his maiden hundred when he missed a pull at one from Shamar Joseph, which kept low and rattled his stumps, and Alzarri Joseph picked up the two last wickets to leave the West Indies’ batsmen with a tricky period to navigate at the end.
And it proved a minefield. Brathwaite was bowled by a beauty from Woakes in the opening over, and McKenzie caught behind, pushing uncertainly at seamer Gus Atkinson.
