Advantage Windies

BIRMINGHAM, England (CMC):

Three wickets – two to pacer Jayden Seales – enabled West Indies to finish the day strongly against hosts England after their batting again fell apart in the third Test of the Richards-Botham Trophy Series yesterday.

Seales removed opener Zak Crawley and nightwatchman Mark Wood, while new-ball partner Alzarri Joseph dismissed Ben Duckett, and England limped to 38 for three, replying to the Caribbean’s first-innings total of 282, in a brief period of play before the close on the first day of the Test at Edgbaston.

Half-centuries from their captain Kraigg Brathwaite and former captain Jason Holder had propped up the batting of the visitors after they won the toss and decided to bat.

Brathwaite hit the top score of 61 and Holder supported with 59, and they shared important partnerships for the first and sixth wickets with Mikyle Louis and Joshua Da Silva, respectively, to add some beef to the West Indies total before they were bowled out about 15 minutes before the scheduled close.

The hunt for early wickets proved fruitful for the Caribbean side, with about half-hour available to them before stumps were drawn.

Seales got Crawley and Wood caught at second slip for 18 and a duck, respectively – both catches taken by Holder swooping low – and Joseph, having dropped left-handed opener Duckett in his second over, bowled him for three off the inside edge in his third over.

Seales ended the day with two for 19 from four overs; while Ollie Pope, not out on six, batted out the remaining 10 minutes with Joe Root, not out on two of the 14 he requires to overtake former West Indies captain Brian Lara at No. 7 on the all-time list of scorers in the format.

Earlier, Brathwaite shared 76 for the first wicket with Louis, but they were two of the five wickets that fell in the span of an hour either side of lunch that had the Caribbean side wobbling on 115 for five before Holder and Joshua Da Silva came to the rescue with a stand of 109.

Da Silva made 49 and Louis added 26, but none of the visitors’ other batsmen reached 20.

Pacer Gus Atkinson led the England bowling with four for 67 from 20 overs, Chris Woakes bagged three for 69 from 18 overs, and Wood grabbed two for 52 from 16 overs.

Before lunch, Brathwaite defied several blows to the body from the England pacers to reach his first half-century in nine Test innings, spanning more than a year, when he nudged his 70th ball from his opposite number Ben Stokes through backward square leg for a single.

Brathwaite and Louis got through a testing first hour to give West Indies a solid foundation, but careless batting in the final half-hour before the interval left the Caribbean side wobbling on 97 for three.

Louis was caught behind off Atkinson for 26, left-hander McKenzie hit three boundaries in 12 in a brief stay at the crease before Wood beat him and bowled him for pace, and Athanaze, one of the batting heroes from the second Test at Trent Bridge, was bowled for two, dragging on an ill-advised pull at a short ball from Atkinson.

After lunch, Holder and Da Silva stabilised West Indies and frustrated England. Holder and Da Silva absorbed the pressure of the situation and conditions eased considerably with the England pacers unable to get much movement through the air or off the pitch, and the pair mounted acts of defiance to see West Indies through to the break at 194 for five.

After tea, Holder drove the first ball of a new spell from Woakes through mid-off for two to reach his 50 from 92 balls and bring up the century mark in the partnership with Da Silva.

But Da Silva, nearing his 50, became restless and was eventually caught behind off Woakes for 49, nibbling outside the off-stump at a delivery of no great merit.

Holder and Joseph inched the visitors closer to 250, but the West Indies vice-captain again proved unreliable when he was caught at mid-on off Woakes, playing an ill-advised slog.

Holder was bowled by Atkinson in the next over, and the Caribbean side lost their last four wickets for 38 in the span of 44 balls.