3rd Test
Day-1 Evening Session Highlights:
West Indies has mounted a comeback after posting 282 runs in the 1st Innings
At the Stumps of Day-1:
West Indies scored 282 (1st Innings), where as England scored 38/3 (1st Innings).
So, finally West Indies lead by 244 runs.
Half-centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Jason Holder, along with a useful 49 from Joshua Da Silva, made for a promising batting performance, but West Indies couldn’t capitalize as England’s persistence with the ball saw the visitors bowled out on Day 1 of the third Test at Edgbaston.
A collapse followed a 76-run stand for the opening wicket, with West Indies losing five wickets for the addition of only 39 runs.
A 109-run sixth-wicket stand between Holder and Da Silva steadied West Indies but was followed by a heap of wickets, resulting in the team losing four for 35 runs and eventually folding for 282.
Gus Atkinson starred again, picking up 4 for 67, while Chris Woakes (3-69) and Mark Wood (2-52) also delivered with the ball.
England started positively in their reply but lost the openers in quick succession.
Alzarri Joseph dropped a tough catch off his own bowling to give Ben Duckett a reprieve early in the innings.
Zak Crawley hit three fours in an over off Jayden Seales before getting an outside edge to second slip.
Duckett fell soon after, inside edging an Alzarri delivery onto the stumps.
Wood came out as the nightwatchman but fell for an eight-ball duck, edging Seales to second slip.
Joe Root and Ollie Pope made it through to stumps without further damage as England ended the day at 38/3.
Earlier, after West Indies opted to bat, Woakes and Atkinson kept their lengths full to the West Indies openers in their bid to find the edge and even went past the bat on a few occasions.
However, Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis countered and handled a short-ball barrage from Wood and Ben Stokes, seeing through the first hour without any damage.
The openers registered their third successive fifty-plus stand and managed regular boundaries despite not being in full control of some shots.
Their association ended when Atkinson got Louis to edge to the ‘keeper, dismissing him for 26.
Kirk McKenzie got going with three boundaries in an over off Atkinson, cover driving and cutting with confidence.
But his brisk outing was cut short by a pacy delivery from Wood that swung in, beat his defenses, and uprooted the middle stump.
Alick Athanaze fell off the last ball before lunch, inside-edging a pull onto the stumps off Atkinson.
Having lost quick wickets leading into the lunch break, West Indies found themselves in more trouble as the well-set Brathwaite and Kavem Hodge fell in quick succession.
Brathwaite, looking in good touch, gloved a short delivery from Mark Wood down the leg-side to the ‘keeper.
Hodge fell victim to misjudgment and a nice bit of setup from Woakes.
After moving the ball away from the batter in his previous over, Woakes bowled a straight one and saw Hodge shoulder arms to be bowled for 13.
From 76/0, West Indies slipped to 115/5, leaving the middle order with a lot of heavy lifting to do.
Holder and Da Silva dug in with a watchful partnership while England lost a couple of reviews.
Shoaib Bashir was finally introduced into the attack in the 44th over, and he was welcomed with a boundary through midwicket by Da Silva.
A paddle shot from Holder off Bashir helped raise the half-century stand for the sixth wicket, and the batter continued to attack the spinner, getting a four and a six off successive deliveries, and another boundary in his next over.
They also negotiated an over from Wood, who bowled short deliveries, to go into the tea break unbeaten.
Holder and Da Silva struck a boundary each at the start of the third session, with the former bringing up a fine half-century as the sixth-wicket pair extended the partnership past 100.
But England managed to end the stand thanks to Woakes, who took one away from Da Silva after a string of inswingers, having the wicketkeeper-batter caught behind one short of fifty.
Alzarri stuck around with Holder for a while, adding 20 for the seventh wicket before Woakes had him caught at mid-off to bag his third wicket.
Atkinson then picked up his third with an excellent delivery that beat Holder’s flick and disturbed the stumps.
Gudakesh Motie hit a couple of boundaries off Woakes, helping West Indies past 250 before a superb catch from Root gave Atkinson his fourth wicket.
Shamar Joseph came up with a useful 16, including two fours off Bashir, and Seales struck a top-edged boundary off Atkinson as they helped West Indies past 280.
But the 23-run final-wicket stand was ended by Bashir, thanks to a good catch from Crawley, as Shamar was the last to be dismissed.
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