Harry Brook’s unbeaten fifty helped England take a strong position by the end of the third day of the second Test against the West Indies at Trent Bridge.
England finished the day at 248-3 in their second innings, leading by 207 runs.
Harry Brook was 71 not out and Joe Root was on 37, with the pair sharing a partnership of 108 runs.
England were in control against a struggling West Indies bowling attack. Ben Duckett scored 76, his second fifty of the match, and Ollie Pope added 51 to his first-innings 121.
A change of ball brought some luck for the West Indies as Alzarri Joseph dismissed both Duckett and Pope, reducing England from 127-1 to 140-3.
However, Root and Harry Brook steadied the innings, scoring quickly against the tired West Indies bowlers. The pitch remained good for batting on the third day.
England began their second innings 41 runs behind after a strong last-wicket stand of 71 between Joshua Da Silva (82 not out) and Shamar Joseph (33) took the West Indies to 457 runs. This was the first time in nearly ten years that the West Indies had scored 450 in a Test innings.
Zak Crawley, who got out for a duck in the first inning, was unlucky to be run out for three when Jayden Seales deflected a Duckett drive onto the stumps.
Pope showed England’s determination to fight back with three fours in a row off Seales. Duckett was also in good form, hitting off-spinner Kevin Sinclair for three consecutive fours to reach his fifty in 55 balls.
But after the change of ball, Pope edged an Alzarri Joseph delivery to Sinclair in the gully, and Joseph then bowled an inswinging yorker to get Duckett out lbw.
Harry Brook counter-attacked, hitting Jason Holder for four. He completed his fifty by stylishly driving Alzarri Joseph to the boundary for his fifth four in 62 balls.
Despite their struggles, the West Indies could take some pride from their batting performance, especially after being dismissed for just 121 and 136 in their defeat by England at Lord’s. This left them 1-0 down in the three-match series.
Da Silva Rampage
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The West Indies resumed their innings at 351-5, trailing by 65 runs, thanks to a 175-run partnership between Kavem Hodge (120) and Alick Athanaze (82), which had lifted them from 84-3.
This was England’s first home Test since 2012 without their retired bowling stars, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who together took 1,308 Test wickets. They had a tough time on Friday, but an overcast Saturday morning seemed promising for England’s bowlers with the new ball in hand.
Jason Holder (23 not out) and Joshua Da Silva (32 not out) aimed to reduce the deficit. Chris Woakes quickly dismissed Holder, then took out Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales in consecutive deliveries. Woakes finished with figures of 4-84 in his 50th Test.
Da Silva made an impressive 50 off 87 balls, hitting fast bowler Mark Wood for a six over extra cover. He then helped the West Indies surpass 400 with another six, this time an uppercut off Wood.
Boundaries flowed, with Shamar Joseph pulling fast bowler Gus Atkinson for a six to level the scores. Two balls later, he hit another six that knocked tiles off the roof of the Larwood and Voce Tavern.
England captain Ben Stokes brought on Joe Root to break the partnership, but Da Silva hit Root for three fours and a six in a row. Wood eventually got Shamar Joseph out, chipping to mid-on, but not before Wood bowled at speeds over 97 mph (156 kmh) and beat the outside edge several times.
