England battle back after flaccid first hour to prise out three key wickets

Stokes the catalyst as England quicks drag lengths back to make inroads

Lunch West Indies 71 for 3 (Bonner, 1*, Blackwood 1*) trail England 204 (Mahmood 49, Leach 41*, Seales 3-40) by 133 runs

England’s seamers battled back before lunch on the second morning in St George’s, bagging three quick wickets after a flat first hour of the session, to revive their hopes of staying in the game after being bowled out for 204 on the first day of the third and final Test against West Indies.

By the break, West Indies had slipped from 50 for 0 to 71 for 3, and while England had been seven-down for the same score, their final total of 204 was looking distinctly more competitive than it had seemed at the morning drinks break.

Even so, while the pitch was still offering more than either Antigua or Barbados had done, it proved to be distinctly less lively than West Indies’ own seamers had made it seem after winning the toss on a humid first morning.

Whether that was a reflection on the conditions or the bowling, however, was a distinctly moot point. The ease with which Jack Leach and Mahmood had added 90 for England’s tenth wicket on the first evening had hinted that the nibble in the deck had dissipated, but the onus had still be on their own seamers to strike hard and fast in the morning session, and revive their prospects.

Instead – and not for the first time in this series – England’s new-ball came and went with scarcely a hint of trouble for West Indies’ opening pair. Prior to this series, Brathwaite and Campbell hadn’t made a half-century stand on home soil since England’s last visit to the Caribbean in 2019 – and they’ve never yet made a century stand in 35 attempts, the most by a top-order pair in Test history.

Now, however, they’ve racked up three fifty stands in as many Tests, and once again, their success was a reflection of England’s inadequate use of the new ball. Chris Woakes and Craig Overton, reprieved for this Test because of the injury issues that have beset Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood, once again floated the ball up too full for a cracked surface that demanded the ball be driven into the deck to extract the uneven bounce, and both men were all too easily thwarted in the opening exchanges.

Mahmood, England’s likeliest wicket-taker in Barbados, entered the attack in the tenth over, and despite beating Brathwaite with his very first ball, he was taken on by a well-set Campbell with consecutive cuts for four.

Inevitably, it was Stokes who found the way through, two overs after drinks, as he dragged his length back to hit the pitch harder, and Brathwaite all but walked for a plumb lbw as the ball skidded low into his shin and sent him on his way for 17, his lowest score of a stellar series.

One over later, Campbell got in a tangle to a fearsome lifter from Overton, which followed him into his attempted duck and smashed him flush on the visor, He carried on after a mandatory concussion test, but the success of that length was an indication of the threat that awaited if England were willing to test the facilities.

Sure enough, Mahmood dragged his own length back to pin Shamarh Brooks in front of leg stump with a similarly skiddy delivery to Stokes’, and then, six balls later and in the penultimate over of the session, Overton’s aggression into Campbell’s body paid dividends, as he scuffed an attempted pull down the leg side, and was sent on his way after a review.

The concerns about England’s injuries isn’t over yet, however, with Stokes visibly troubled by his long-standing knee injury, and he did not bowl another ball after making the breakthrough for his team.