England enjoy handy lead despite Da Silva heroics

NOTTINGHAM, England (AP):

BEN DUCKETT and Harry Brook helped to turn a frustrating third morning at Trent Bridge into a 207-run lead for England against the West Indies in the second Test in the Richards-Botham series yesterday.

In last week’s series opener at Lord’s, England had won by lunch on day three, marking an innings victory in James Anderson’s farewell outing, but are being made to work considerably harder in Nottingham.

A last-wicket stand of 71 between Joshua Da Silva and Shamar Joseph handed the tourists a 41-run lead, frustrating England as they failed to kill off a first innings that sprawled to 457.

England were still 34 behind when Zak Crawley was unluckily run out by a fingertip touch at the non-striker’s end. But an enterprising knock of 76 from Duckett set England on the way to a stumps score of 248-3.

Brook took over in the evening session, showcasing some wonderfully instinctive strokeplay as he racked up an unbeaten 71 and bossed a 108-run partnership with Joe Root, 37 not out.

Duckett, whose very participation had been in doubt due to the imminent arrival of his first child, hit 71 in 59 balls in the first session of the Test and followed up with another impactful effort at the head of the second innings.

While he would dearly have loved to go on to a fourth Test century, the importance of the left-hander’s energy and ambition cannot be overlooked. At a time when England could have made a meal of clearing an awkward deficit, he refused to let the West Indies attack settle and had the controlling interest in a second century stand of the match with Ollie Pope.

Pope, fresh from his sixth Test hundred on Thursday, fired the starting pistol by sending five of his first 11 balls to the boundary, but it was Duckett who kept the bowlers on the back foot consistently.

He leaned into his drives, and manipulated the gaps either side of backward point. Although not quite able to keep pace with his 32-ball half-century from day one, Duckett brought up his second fifty of the week with three fours in an over from off-spinner Kevin Sinclair.

QUICK SUCCESSION

After sharing a stand of 119, both batters fell in quick succession, undone as a change of ball and a change of overhead conditions converged. Alzarri Joseph used both to his advantage; Pope feeding an away swinger to gully and Duckett lbw after a hooping yorker smashed him on the boot.

Brook took his chance to shine, uppercutting over the slips, threading the gaps behind square at will and taking a step down the ground to hammer Jason Holder.

Root was more sober but no less effective, peaking with a pair of immaculate cover drives.

England’s day started well with the ball before the stubborn partnership between Da Silva, 82 not out, and Shamar Joseph, 33, held up the hosts.

Resuming 65 behind on 351-5, West Indies lost four wickets for 35. Rejuvenated after a slow start to the series, Chris Woakes shouldered a 90-minute spell at the Radcliffe Road End and came up trumps, finding just enough nip under murky skies to pick off Holder, Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales.

That is when things started to take a turn for the worse. Ben Stokes kept the all-rounder on too long, an apparent attempt to guide his teammate to a five-wicket haul on his 50th appearance, then set some uncharacteristically negative fields in pursuit of the final wicket.

That set up a game of cat and mouse that Da Silva emphatically won, cleverly marshalling the strike to get Shamar Joseph up to speed. What started as an annoyance became something more significant as the West Indies deficit was polished into a useful advantage.

Da Silva, whose only Test hundred came against England in Grenada two years ago, launched Mark Wood for sixes over extra-cover and deep third man before his tail-end partner rubbed salt into the wounds.

Twice he spanked Gus Atkinson into the Fox Stand, the second time sending a flurry of roof tiles onto the spectators underneath the Larwood and Voce tavern.

Wood eventually had the number 11 caught at mid-on, belated reward for his sustained barrage of pace over 20 luckless overs.