England collapse to 53-6 with three wickets dropping in as many overs after lunch; Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow were fired for ducks; Jack Leach (41st) and Saqib Mahmood (49) share in the impressive final ticket booth to watch tourists beyond 200
Jack Leach and Saqib Mahmood put up 90 for the final wicket to frustrate the West Indies
Last-wicket pairing Jack Leach and Saqib Mahmood avoided England’s blushes after the Tourists suffered another batting collapse to open the third Test against the West Indies in Grenada.
Leach (41st) and Mahmood (49) shared a remarkable 90-run position, helping England recover from 114-9 to a much more believable total of 204 when Mahmood was denied a first-class maiden fifty by being dropped in the final. finished the day.
England had earlier collapsed to 53-6 with three wickets dropping in as many overs shortly after lunch, Alzarri Joseph (2-33) picking up dangerous Ben Stokes (2) and Jonny Bairstow (0) on either side of opener Alex Lees (31) falling to Kemar Roach (2-41).
It is true that England’s recent batting problems have come when they were faced with much more bowling-friendly conditions than in the first two Tests drawn, with plenty of swing and seam movement on offer, which the West Indies closers duly took advantage of. after winning the draw.
England’s starters may have hoped to have weathered the early storm, watching the first 12 overs without much alarm, only for Zak Crawley (7) to later loose the fielder on deck.
The breakthrough was provided by Kyle Mayers (2-13), the new man in the West Indies’ attack, as they opted to drop front row player Veerasammy Permaul given the conditions.
Mayers then added Joe Root’s key scalp for a duck, the England skipper feathering an edge behind, as part of a remarkable first-of-five spell in which the closer didn’t give up a run.
With England going nowhere, Dan Lawrence (8) was next to go, just before lunch, when Jayden Seales (3-40) hit him to the right and hit him at the front pad.
However, it was after the interval that England really lost their way, with Stokes first taking a short ball from Joseph but only managing to serve a simple return to the bowler.
Lees and Bairstow then quickly followed him back to the dressing room, both approaching Roach and Joseph respectively to leave the tourists reeling.
Seales dismantled Ben Foakes’ stumps (7) next, getting another to snap back from the seam, while Roach did the same to beat Craig Overton’s defenses, bowling him clean for 14.
He left England 90-8 and struggling to record even a triple-figure score, although Chris Woakes and Leach at least avoided that ignominy as they scored the required 10 runs when leading the tourists safely into the tea interval.
It looked like the innings wouldn’t last much longer as Woakes (25) was sent packing with the second ball after the break, Seales cleaning another England batsman through the gate.
But that couldn’t have been further from the truth, as the combination of some inspired hitting from Leach and Mahmood, with the pitch flattening, the ball aging and the spirit of the West Indies closers fading, the final pair England’s wicket keeper scored 90 together while denying their hosts by more than 46 overs.
Leach broke five limits in his 141-ball stint, while No. 11 Mahmood, appearing in only his second Test and debut innings, shattered the first six of his red-ball career, along with four limits, though he will be devastated by going down with only two balls left on the day, cutting a harmless delivery from part-timer Jermaine Blackwood on his stumps.
West Indies and England will resume the third Test at 2pm UK time on Friday. Follow the text commentary one after another from 1:45pm on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
